Julian Sturdy

A few days ago I had the opportunity to show Stephen Hammond one of the Conservative Shadow Transport team around York Outer, highlighting to him the transport problems we face in and around the City. We started with the notorious Northern Ring Road and the problems it creates for local residents and business on a daily basis. We then looked at the existing rail hault in Poppleton before going on to Haxby to look at the proposal for a station there. We discussed the local bus services and the issues faced by some residents especially in the more rural areas through lack of regular services. I also pointed out the traffic congestion problems on the A19 and the safety issues on the A1079 to name but a few other hotspots we looked at.

The idea is to make sure the Conservative transport team are well briefed on the current situation that we face around York, so that this can be feed into the transport strategy of a possible future Conservative Government.  

Thank you to everyone who has responded to our ‘Keep it Local Campaign’ launched to support local shops and businesses, the nominations have been flooding in. We are currently compiling all the responses and the nominated shops and businesses will feature in future leaflets under ‘York’s Villages Roll of Honour’.

I was recently lucky enough to welcome fellow Yorkshire man and Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles to York to discuss this campaign. He met with some of the shopkeepers and business owners who have been nominated by local residents for providing a particularly good service to the community, during which he discussed the problems faced by independent retailers during these difficult economic times.