Julian Sturdy

Over 12 hundred people including local MP John Greenway have backed our campaign to improve road safety at the notorious Hazelbush crossroads on the A64. Local residents who share my concerns about the dangerous crossing were asked to sign a petition calling on the Highways Agency to provide funding options for improving road safety at the junction.

The support we have received for the campaign has been absolutely fantastic. This junction is the main access onto the A64 for residents of Strensall, Towthorpe and Stockton on the Forest and has been the scene of a number of accidents over the last few years. With over 12 hundred people backing our campaign we feel that the Highways Agency must act now to improve safety for motorists and local people who use this important crossroads.

There have been 17 accidents causing injuries recorded over the last three years at the junction and some residents have told me they avoid using it for fear of having an accident, it is now time for action.

John Greenway MP for Ryedale said “The Highways Agency refusal to upgrade the A64 means that we must give urgent attention to these junctions in an effort to improve road safety and the flow of traffic. The Hazelbush junction is a notoriously dangerous crossing point and the Highways Agency has previously acknowledged this. It is now time we saw some action.”

City of York Council’s East Area Planning Committee last Wednesday (17th December) turned down the planning application submitted by a mobile phone company to construct a 21 metre high telecommunication mast, along with three antennas and two transmission dishes on Green Belt land at the bottom of Church Lane Huntington. The site which is located on farm land just south of Hall Farm is on the edge of Huntington Village’s Conservation area and close to the popular public footpaths that run alongside the river Foss.

At the planning meeting which I attended with local residents, the Planning Officer reported the 82 objections I had received from residents of Huntington as well as the local Parish Council’s objection. Thankfully the committee listened to all the arguments made against the application and refused it on the grounds that the mast would be harmful to the character, appearance and visual amenity of the area, a victory for common sense. Thank you to everyone who took the time to return objections to me.     

I listened with intent to yesterday’s Pre Budget Report delivered by Alistair Darling, probably the most important and defining PBR ever given. After 50 minutes, I came to the same conclusion as many papers have done today, Labour has done it again mortgaged our Country to the hilt, used the credit card to the max and we the hard working British public will be left to pick up the pieces for years to come.

The Chancellor in one move has doubled the national debt to more than £1 trillion, and borrowed more than at any time in our history. We now know that Britain will be paying off Gordon Brown’s debt for decades to come. With this Budget Gordon Brown has mortgaged the country’s future to try and safeguard his own.

What a selection of the papers are saying today about Browns big gamble.

“Yesterday, the battle lines were drawn. The 18 months to polling day now have their theme. A tax and spend Labour government which has trashed the public finances is trying to defy the lessons of history by spending its way out of a recession, in the process saddling future taxpayers with a crippling bill. And a Tory opposition will seek to reclaim the badge of economic prudence through sound money, a smaller state and tax cuts that last. Now that is a fight worth waging.” - Daily Telegraph

George Osborne condemned Alistair Darling for producing “a precision-guided missile aimed at the heart of a recovery”, as he tore into the Government for planning tax rises to pay for billions in borrowing to help the economy out of recession. The shadow Chancellor delighted the Conservative benches as laid into what he called an “unexploded tax bombshell” which he said would explode when the economy started to recover after the next election.” - Independent

Gordon Brown says it is not his fault that we are worst placed in the Western world to weather this storm. We must blame America’s chaotic mortgage crisis — not our own overblown housing bubble or badly-run banks. And it will take seven bitter years before we get our heads above water again. But the Prime Minister cannot wash his hands of responsibility like that. Yes, the whole world is suffering. But Britain’s special weakness is, at least in part, down to Labour’s reckless 12-year spending spree on bloated and inefficient public services.” - The Sun

A Liberal Democrat Councillor on Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council has defected to the Conservative Party. This means the Conservatives now have a majority on Harrogate Borough Council.

In his letter of resignation to the Liberal Democrats, Councillor John Wren said:

“The Leadership of the Liberal Democrat Group is more interested in scoring points off the Conservatives than in serving the best interests of the Borough and the well-being of constituents is my first priority. I have come to see that the Conservative administration of the Council are more in tune with this sentiment than the Liberal Democrats ever could be.”

During my five years representing Marston Moor Ward on H B Council I worked with John and always found him to be a hard working local Councillor prepared to put people above politics, a man of principle and someone I always respected. This will not have been a decision he would have taken lightly but it goes to show how far the Conservatives have come under David Cameron over the last few years, as more and more people are joining the party, especially from the Liberal Democrats.    

David Cameron came to Haxby Memorial Hall on September 18th where local residents from across York were able to put their questions direct to him and he was left in no doubt about the strong support he has in the region following the warm and enthusiastic welcome he was given.

The hall was packed with people from all political backgrounds, and all ages too, eager to quiz him on topical issues. There was even one question from a seven-year-old girl asking him what he had eaten for breakfast that day. David Cameron gave a humorous reply as he described the chaotic family breakfast in his home with his three young children, which sounded no different to any other home including mine.

David Cameron wants to take politics back to the people, back to the grassroots. There is nothing he enjoys more than talking directly to people and answering their questions unscripted. And the audience at Haxby was great, firing lots of pertinent questions at him, if you want to watch a recording of the event please click here.

Chris Grayling Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions was up in York last week speaking at the Citizens Advice Bureau Conference held at York University.

Following the event I took Chris to York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce who are based at the Innovation Centre on York Science Park. We met with members of the Chamber to discuss key issues facing businesses across the county at this current time and the effect of current Government legislation on small and medium enterprises.

After last years fantastic achievement which saw the village of Dunnington win gold in Yorkshire In Bloom, this year the competition got harder as the village goes for glory in Britain In Bloom. This is now my third year helping out with the village’s entry and last Saturday I was out with the local working party helping to make sure the village looked its best for the judging day. 

Following the judges extensive tour around the village today (13th August) they ended up back at the village hall to be welcomed by the In Bloom committee and members of the community who had been involved in working so hard to make Dunnington look its very best. It was a great privilege for me to be invited to attend this event and to have helped in a small way in what I hope will bring another gold award to Dunnington, which would be just rewards for everyone’s hard efforts. 

This really is a great community competition which helps to bring together local people of all ages to get involved in their local communities and take pride in where they live.

Over the last few days local Councillor Siân Wiseman and I have launched a campaign to improve road safety at the notorious Hazelbush Crossroads on the A64. We are asking local residents who share our concerns about the dangerous crossing to sign a petition calling on the Highways Agency to provide funding options to improve road safety at the junction.

This junction is the main access onto the A64 for residents of Strensall, Towthorpe and Stockton on the Forest and has been the scene of a number of accidents over the last few years. We feel that it is now time for action to improve safety for motorists who use this important crossroads.

The A64 falls under the responsibility of the Highways Agency and we feel it is very important that we highlight the strength of feeling in the local community to improving road safety at this junction, which is what this petition aims to do.

I have already had meetings with the Highways Agency to discuss this along with other issues that fall under their remit in the Constituency. They have told me that they recognise the problem with the junction, but have not prioritised it for funding. There have been 17 accidents causing injuries recorded over the last three years at that junction and some residents have told me they avoid using it for fear of having an accident. By launching this campaign, we hope to convince the Highways Agency that the Hazelbush crossroads is a high priority and action should be taken.

If you want to back our campaign you will find the petition at the retail outlets near the crossroads and in the villages of Strensall and Stockton on the Forest or you can email me at Julian.sturdy@btconnect.com

As a local Yorkshire farmer I have always been a great supporter of the Great Yorkshire Show and ever since I was a young boy going with my father to help him in his role as a cattle ring steward I have tried to play an active role in supporting the event. For the last twelve years now I have been carrying on the role, volunteering my services as a cattle ring steward which involves getting all the different cattle into the correct judging rings for their different classes and making sure the judge turns up on time.

This year saw the 150th anniversary of the show as it welcomed  Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to visit.  Despite the weather which made the ground rather wet under foot it was another successful year as the show goes from strength to strength. It is now certainly the North’s leading agricultural show as it yet again produced a fantastic showcase for British agriculture. 

On Saturday my four year old son and I went to Copmanthorpe Carnival. Unfortunately the British summer was up to its old tricks again as umbrellas were the name of the day, however this did not dampen spirits as the Carnival celebrated its 40th anniversary with a wonderful day enjoyed by all ages. The fact that the Carnival has been running for forty years and is still going strong is a great testament to everyone involved.  My congratulations to the Carnival team, George and I are looking forward to next years event.