Alison Hume MP column: view from Westminster on moorland peat burning and flood defences

My weekly commute to London means my drive over the Moors to catch a train has been beautiful.

The future of our stunning heather moors is now a matter of consultation by the Government as it looks to further limit peat burning.

After a well-attended meeting in Goathland which heard opinions from the pro and against practice of burning, I formed a working group to organise the constituency response.

I have visited the moors and learnt about the management of the land, as well as talking the residents in the valley who are affected when fires are lit and the smoke descends.

I’ll be holding a public meeting in Goathland on May 17.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] or call my office on 01723 679333.

As well as walking the Moors I have also travelled beneath them, and then several miles under the North Sea!

We have the world’s largest deposit of the mineral polyhalite beneath our feet, with enough to sustain both Boulby and Woodsmith mines for a hundred years.

Polyhalite is a powerful organic fertiliser and an alternative to chemicals.

I am determined to see polyhalite included on the critical mineral list and recognised for its export potential.

Woodsmith is currently in ‘slowdown mode’ as Anglo American seeks a partner to inject funds.

Meanwhile, over at Boulby, mining continues alongside the exciting Underground Science Laboratory which boasts one of the ‘deepest’ toilets in the world as well as a cornucopia of elite physics experiments from the world’s finest universities grappling to find the answers to the universe, which according to the late Douglas Adams, is 42!

Over in Scarborough, I was delighted to welcome an investment of £863,000 from the Government for flood defence work on North and South Bay as well as Scalby Beck.

The Government is investing £20m into Scarborough over 10 years as part of the new Neighbourhood Plan.

Labour has ditched the parcelling out of pots of money with strings attached under ‘Levelling Up’ which led to money spent on art installations where residents might possibly have preferred to see the money spent on restoring faded but previously splendid parts of the town.

Now it will be up to the community to select priorities, which is exactly how it should be.