View from Westminster: Scarborough and Whitby MP on banking and revitalising our high streets

One local item which has been filling up my inbox has been plans to turn the Halifax bank branch on Baxtergate in Whitby into a 24-hour adult gaming centre once the bank closes.

Beyond what people think about the gambling harms associated with slot machines, there were concerns about noise and antisocial behaviour.

I supported local residents by presenting my first petition in Parliament which was linked to more than 400 signatures online.

I was delighted when North Yorkshire Councillors on the Planning Committee rejected the application.

This doesn’t mean that the mini casino won’t happen but local democracy meant that it wasn’t just waved through by faceless officers in Northallerton.

Whitby will sadly lose its two last bank branches this Spring as the high streets banks continue to put profit before service.

The government has stepped in to stop Whitby becoming a banking desert and have approved shared banking hub run by Cash Access UK (CAUK).

This means the major banks can take turns to provide an in-person service one day per week from the hub.

At the moment the hub is on Church Street next to the White Horse & Griffin but it will move to a permanent home.

Revitalising our high streets are very much on the agenda for the new Neighbourhood Board which has been funded by the government to the tune of £20m over 10 years to regenerate Scarborough.

Under the Tories, levelling-up money was micro-managed from Whitehall, meaning money was often spent on surface-level improvements that didn’t deliver long-term change.

The policy options that can be considered by Neighbourhood Boards are much wider and crucially communities are put at the heart of making these changes.

Scarborough needs to align itself quickly and closely to the green energy revolution happening off the coast if we are to give our young people access to year-round jobs and careers in marine engineering and beyond.

Scarborough has a unique opportunity to carve out a piece of the pie servicing the wind farms.

Working with the Mayor for York and North Yorkshire, North Yorkshire Council and local stakeholders, I am committed to seeing this happen.

Finally, congratulations to the fabulous volunteers at Newby and Scalby Library and Information Centre for receiving the prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Services.

The award is equivalent to the MBE for charities.

The purple-themed library is the heart of its community and loved by all.

My thanks to these, and all volunteers, who give so much and improve our lives every day.