There is no more pressing an issue than flooding in Fylde. As I have mentioned in recent weeks, insufficient progress has left communities across Fylde repeatedly exposed to flood damage and on Thursday I convened the first of a series of meetings with key stakeholders to hear about their work to reduce the likelihood of their reoccurrence.
This is very much the start of the process. I remain concerned about the slow pace of work since I brought these organisations together in the aftermath of the August 2020 flooding and it is clear that the County Council, Environment Agency and United Utilities need to be held to account.
I have scheduled a further meeting for later this month, at which I expect to be given a detailed commitment to the actions they intend to take, and a firm timescale for delivery. I will be continuing to liaise with residents as well as publishing regular progress updates on my website.
It was fantastic to join with colleagues from across Lancashire on Friday to welcome the Secretary of State for Education as we discussed the future of skills and routes into employment for young people in our county. The event, hosted by BAE Systems at their Salmesbury site, focussed on the work the company is doing to support growth in new technologies like Artificial Intelligence as well as the ongoing Team Tempest project.
BAE Systems and the wider defence sector is our largest local employer, creating thousands of highly skilled technical and manufacturing jobs. This is particularly true for young people, with BAE alone bringing on 2300 apprentices this year, offering a fantastic career path. I had the opportunity to speak with some of those on currently on the apprenticeship scheme, including from Warton, and it was hugely encouraging to hear of how they are benefitting from the investment in these new technologies as well as how positive their experience of the apprenticeship programme has been to date.
On Monday I was at Bartle Hall to help open the new Preston West Distributor Road, now renamed Edith Rigby Way. It was brilliant to join the Roads Minister, Richard Holden MP, and the Conservative Leader of Lancashire County Council, Phillippa Williamson, in seeing the first public traffic on the road.
The project will bring enormous benefits to Fylde, reducing pressure on rural roads around Wrea Green, with better travel links encouraging the development of the Warton Enterprise Zone, as well as improved access to villages like Newton, Clifton and Freckleton. As we prepare for the opening of two further projects, the M55 Link Road and A585 Singleton Bypass, with the cost of all three totalling nearly £400 million, I am confident that this will act as a catalyst for investment in jobs, housing and wider opportunities for Fylde.