Meeting the Chancellor following the Waterloo Road fire

Yesterday I sat down with the Chancellor at 11 Downing Street to talk about South Shore. I went there with one message. Our community needs urgent investment and it needs it now.

This meeting followed the question I put to her in Parliament last month about the future of South Shore. I told her how this part of Blackpool has the highest concentration of deprived communities and the most deprived ward in the country. She agreed to meet and hear the case in full.

That meeting happened yesterday but this weekend the situation became more serious and urgent than ever.

On Friday night a major fire broke out at the Smart Mart furniture shop on Waterloo Road – a prominent site right in the heart of South Shore. Now demolition crews are clearing what is left leaving another gap on the high street and another reminder of how fragile the future of the area is and time is not on our side. Investment was necessary before – now it is urgent.

I was on the ground with the community and fire crews this weekend before heading back to Parliament on Monday. While my constituency team has continued supporting residents and businesses after the fire, I took the issue straight to the Chancellor.

I showed Rachel Reeves the South Shore masterplan, commissioned by the council to guide real regeneration across the area. It’s not a set of vague ideas – it sets out what needs to change and where the investment should go.

Alongside that, we now have the People’s Plan, led by local residents and Empowerment charity. It sets out 47 actions covering housing, safety, youth services, jobs, high streets and public spaces. It reflects what people in South Shore want to see.

When I sat down with the Chancellor I wasn’t speaking in general terms – I was speaking with a clear plan and a clear community voice behind me and I’m confident that voice has now been heard at the highest levels of government.

Since I was elected I have been working to make sure South Shore is no longer ignored. I’ve brought senior Cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister, to Waterloo Road and Bond Street – walking them through the area so they could see the challenges with their own eyes.

I’ve secured a further commitment from the Communities Minister to visit the area and we have a significant share of the £1.5 million Pride in Place Impact Fund for improvements in the area. We have already started to see small changes on the ground, from clean ups to new planters and public space improvements.

Of course the recent fire has undone some of this good work and the scale of the challenge we face means we need long term investment as well as quick wins. The Chancellor was receptive and sympathetic to our cause. She understood the challenge and I made it clear that this is about more than one building or one street. It is about a community that has been overlooked for years. I am hopeful that action will follow.

South Shore deserves a high street that is busy and safe, residents here deserve decent housing. We deserve public spaces we feel proud of and opportunities for our kids close to home.

I will keep pushing in Westminster and here at home until we see the investment South Shore deserves. This community has waited long enough.