Our County Council has received £41 million from the government for its Bus Service Improvement Plan. This, in a bid to improve public transport and the numbers opting for it and reduce congestion in our town.
Local plans are for more services, cheaper tickets and new bus lanes on Seaside, Station Parade, Kings Drive and a new bus gate linking the North and South Harbours that I have campaigned for. This will improve reliability and double bus capacity for the harbour - a big win.
There are public consultation events people can attend or anyone interested can read the plans on East Sussex County Council's I attended a public event at The Town Hall this week and had the opportunity to raise questions in support for small businesses on Seaside and for residents on Kings Drive.
The next event is on 16th September from 9:30am to 1:30pm at the Foundry in the Beacon Shopping Centre
And, on the subject of going places, many congratulations to all those who received their GCSE results last week, to their families and teachers. Success is almost always a team effort.
I’d like to highlight one particular ‘team’ and that is Ratton student Lara Kyprianou-Hickman, her parents, Sophia and Matt, their friends and colleagues and fellow students and petition leads, James Jewell & Jas Turner.
They went public earlier this year with Lara’s story of battling cancer and fighting for her GCSE qualifications instead of a ‘certificate of recognition’ if she was not well enough to sit her exams.
The campaign saw justice done for Lara and for hundreds, potentially thousands, of young people similarly placed across the country who will also have received their GCSE qualifications. It was a win that will affect many young people for many years to come.
I worked with the campaign and the exam boards to assert Lara’s and others’ rights to receive GCSE results under the Equality Act.
I was privileged to be able to play a part in highlighting her case with the Prime Minister in Parliament and I am delighted to say Lara duly received her qualifications this week and will go on to her college course and an exciting future. The very best of luck to her and to everyone in their future studies.
