Returning from a very pleasant break in North Norfolk, one of the most striking features of the constituency in-tray that awaits is a tale of two contrasting pieces of economic news. On the one hand, the very disappointing announcement concerning Delphi’s planned closure of its Sudbury factory; on the other, the more welcome news (economically speaking) that Konings is to create over 100 jobs by expanding its Boxford drinks plant.
Now, I should add that in welcoming the latter development from the point of view of the local economy – to which the expansion could potentially add an estimated £3.7m annual income – I am keenly aware of very strong concern from residents in Leavenheath, Stone Street and surrounding villages who are extremely worried by the potential negative impact of Konings’ plans on their quality of life. Understandably, affected residents point to a significant forecast rise in HGV movements associated with expansion of the plant.
Thus, you could say that there are two particular strands to the correspondence I have received in recent weeks: those wanting me to intervene to prevent the closure of the Delphi plant; those wanting me to intervene to prevent the expansion of the Boxford site. Neither lever is directly within my gift to pull, but there are sensible steps that can be taken in both cases.
As regards Delphi, there has never been the realistic option of an explicit ‘bail-out’ of the plant by Government. Those days are gone, and on a broader scale we have become more prosperous as a result of moving to a less interventionist economy, but the personal damage to local people will be real and we must do everything we can to support the workforce.
My priority has therefore been to focus on lobbying Ministers and officials in central Government, and liaising with the LEP and other local stakeholders, to ensure that we are exploring every possible avenue to attract new inward investment and deliver a strong local offer to business. In fact, whilst on holiday I continued to exchange emails with relevant departments about Delphi and hope to have an update on some of the steps we will be taking in response, by the end of August.
On the wider political issue of Brexit, although we should be clear that Delphi’s decision is not directly related to our departure from the EU, it seems sensible to me that the greater the certainty we can provide about our future trading arrangements with our European partners, the more likely we are to attract new investment. For this reason, I used a Commons debate in July on EU trade to raise the matter of Delphi and argue for a robust transitional deal – something strongly supported by the automotive sector’s trade body – that would help us to attract new replacement inward investment.
A further point on Brexit is that in any other circumstance, given the push for positive trade news, we would surely all welcome a major business like Konings moving its manufacturing from the continent to the UK. However, the problem is when that apparently positive story involves impact on our local neighbourhood, as is the case with Boxford, and all that might entail for homes nearby.
The best way forward is to have a transparent and meaningful engagement process between the firm and local communities, culminating in the local planning authority coming to a decision after objectively weighing up the economic gains versus the local environmental impact. I hope that reflects the way matters are being conducted, but if residents feel they are being ignored I am always happy to raise their concerns with Babergh’s planning department.
Published by Suffolk Free Press