I love my regular visits to Coate Water, which are often accompanied by my attempts at running, so it is exciting news that a new waterside restaurant, café and accessible play area could be coming there. The Borough Council will be asked to approve these new additions along with a proposal to clean the iconic diving board.
Coate Water is one of the jewels in Swindon’s crown and it is great news to see it receiving the additional investment it deserves. That is why I fully support the Council’s strategy to use money from developer contributions, grants and other funding to turn Swindon’s country parks into viable and sustainable assets which will help improve our health and wellbeing as well as the Town’s recreational facilities.
I am pleased to have worked closely with Jenny Jefferies and Brian Mattock, the two Conservative ward councillors for the local area and tireless champions of Coate Water in their push for further investment and to help them secure what is known as Section 106 developer contributions for the park.
We all look forward to these improvements being approved and work beginning on them in the near future.
The Government has announced £600 million worth of funding to help fund critical maintenance work in hospitals across England, including projects for the Great Western Hospital Trust here in Swindon.
The Trust will receive £195,000 to carry out the work, which could include building new or refurbishing buildings to deliver key services, upgrades to electrical infrastructure, improvements to ventilation systems, works to improve fire safety and the replacement of hospital lifts.
This money is part of £1.5 billion announced by the Prime Minister in the summer to level up hospital infrastructure across the NHS. While this £600 million will be spent on these critical maintenance upgrades, the remainder of the money will be spent on modernising mental health facilities, expanding A&E capacity and improving infection control ahead of winter.
The latest funding announcement is in addition to the £29.5 million investment from the Government to build a new ‘Integrated Front Door & Transitional Care Facility’ at the GWH which will provide a reconfigured and rightsized Emergency Department as well as a transitional care facility.
I am delighted that the GWH will benefit from Government funding to carry out vital maintenance work over the coming months. These crucial projects will deliver immediate benefits and provide staff with the facilities they need to provide world-class care to patients, helping our NHS to build back better after the pandemic.
At last year’s General Election, I campaigned for further investment in our local NHS and it is good news for our town that the Government is delivering on its promise to invest heavily in our health service.
