Duncan Hames, MP for Chippenham - Differences of opinion expressed with maturity (From This Is Wiltshire)

I was delighted to see last week that Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s bid for a City Deal – for which I have lobbied hard in Parliament – has been successful.

The full details of the deal are now to be hammered out, but the partnership will seek to maximise the economic potential of the area’s current and former military presence.

Our part of Wiltshire, which has the equivalent of 61 football pitches of disused military land, could attract many new jobs.

Last week was half-term for Parliament, which provided an excellent opportunity for me to get out and about in the constituency.

On Monday, I met users of the Wiltshire Mind drop-in centre in Chippenham to discuss their experience of accessing mental health treatment. At the weekend, I visited Chippenham Hospital to mark the switch-on of its radio station.

I went door-knocking in Winsley and Chippenham, and heard local people’s views on health services and transport issues.

Last week also provided an opportunity to speak to assembled members of the Rotary Chippenham Vale branch, which reminded me of one of my earliest introductions to public speaking: their Youth Speaks competition run for schools.

I also gave a talk hosted by Bradford on Avon Churches Together about the situation in Israel and Palestine, based on my visit to the region last year. The discussion which followed was especially rewarding: a number of attendees had personal accounts of their visits to share and, whilst there were differences of opinion, they were expressed with respect and a maturity Parliament doesn’t always manage.

I was pleased to open the new Companion Care Vets surgery in Bumpers Way, Chippenham, and wish their team well. These new jobs are very welcome in the town.

I later visited Wiltshire College Chippenham’s Aspire Salon to congratulate them on their achievement of winning the Institute of Anti-Ageing’s first Centre of Excellence award in England. It’s a real vote of confidence for the college, and I’m sure it will boost the employment prospects of those students.

I was pleased to discuss the Enough Food IF campaign with members from Oxfam South West during my most recent surgery. My next surgeries will be on Saturday, from 9-10.30am at Melksham Town Hall, and on Friday, March 15, at Corsham’s Pound Arts Centre (11am-12.30pm) .