Manuela Perteghella MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  Yes, absolutely. We need to ensure that our new generation of young people are fit and healthy and able to cycle. That would also reduce carbon emissions in our towns. We need high-quality cycling infrastructure to ensure that all this happens.

• 10 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister for his question. Let me take the case of the disused railway in my constituency. It is not in public ownership any more, and it is fragmented. We can fund as many feasibility studies as we want to invest in cycling infrastructure, but an incidental green space is not used by landowners at all. If we compulsorily purchased such land—obviously we would offer compensation—we could have high-quality cycling infrastructure that would link up villages to the major towns, so that people can attend GP appointments, schools and so on. The paths are also off-road—away from our gridlocked roads. Development must come with green and wild spaces, not just tarmac and bricks. That is why I strongly support new clause 114, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos), which would ensure that development corporations include green space provision in all new developments. Green spaces are not a luxury; they are essential for mental health, biodiversity, wildlife, flood prevention and community cohesion. Like green spaces, playing fields and recreational facilities are fundamental for the development of grassroots sports and for youth opportunities, and therefore I support amendments 88 and 89 of my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson). We also need serious, measurable action on climate. Development corporations are being handed significant powers, yet the Bill fails to guarantee that they are delivering in line with the UK’s climate targets. That is why amendment 151 is so important. It would ensure that the Secretary of State publishes a report on whether development corporations are meeting their legal duties on sustainable development and climate change. With so much at stake, we need transparency and accountability built into the system. Finally, we need new homes that are genuinely affordable, warm and built to high standards. In Stratford, many families and young people are priced out of their own community. It is not enough to build houses; we must build the right homes in the right places with the right infrastructure, green spaces and recreational and sports facilities that create communities. I urge the Government to back these amendments and take this opportunity to deliver a planning system that is fair, sustainable and community led.

• 10 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, we have seen the consequences of house building without the infrastructure to match. This Bill is such a missed opportunity: the Government are repeating the same top-down, developer-led approach that has already failed, sidelining communities, undermining local plans and cutting local councillors out of key decisions. That is why I rise today to speak in support of some amendments. The current system often sees vital infrastructure lagging or not being delivered for years after houses have been occupied because the delivery of infrastructure is left to developers that submit viability studies and variations of conditions. We need a planning system that puts people and places first, and that includes high-quality active travel infrastructure. We are lucky in Stratford-on-Avon to have the much cherished Greenway, a traffic-free five-mile cycle path and bridleway, but we also need cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in high-volume streets in our towns so that children and young people can travel to school safely and families can access services, while reducing car journeys and keeping people fit and healthy. In the rural areas of my constituency, the Two Shires Greenway group is campaigning for an ambitious cycling route along a disused railway. These will link villages to the towns of Stratford and Alcester in my constituency and then further afield to Evesham. But beyond the feasibility studies, the fragmentation of land ownership is an issue. That is why I support new clause 22, proposed by my hon. Friend the Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo), which strengthens powers to compulsorily purchase land for active travel routes.

• 2 Jun 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, Reform-led Warwickshire county council has still not appointed a transport portfolio, a month on from the elections. While it dithers and delays, a rural community suffers: bus timetables are being reduced and routes are being cut. Those who rely on public transport most are obviously being punished. Does my hon. Friend agree that bus transport in rural areas deserves urgent and serious attention?

• 7 Apr 2025 · Road Maintenance · Hansard source

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  For residents in Stratford-on-Avon and across the country, road maintenance is one of the most visible signs of how well, or how poorly, their local area is being looked after. The Local Government Association recently pointed out that the funding allocated for road repairs is falling short of what is needed. In fact, councils are now spending twice as much on repairing local roads as they receive in Government funding. That shortfall is felt on every street in my constituency, where dangerous potholes keep reappearing, road surfaces crack again just a few months after being patched up, and pavements are on a waiting list for many years to be repaired, especially in our rural villages. In Stratford-on-Avon, we are also seeing the consequences of poor long-term planning by Conservative-run Warwickshire county council, which is the local highway authority. Take the Birmingham Road in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is one of our major arteries in and out of town. Residents and businesses have faced seemingly endless roadworks which, incidentally, do not improve active travel and safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users. The delays and disruption were exacerbated by emergency and non-emergency road closures by utility companies, resulting in gridlock, children and young people not able to arrive at school on time, teachers having to act as traffic wardens, and residents arriving late for work. Lib-Dem local district councillor, Lorraine Grocott, has sought answers from the county council about why the Birmingham Road works have taken so long, and why they were not co-ordinated more effectively in the first place. I recently hosted meetings with utility companies to address those serious issues, and I was disappointed that the Conservative portfolio holder for transport and planning did not come. This is not just about inconvenience; it is about the impact on small businesses, which lose footfall and money, especially when our town is gridlocked and there are road closures. It is also about the impact on the daily life of residents, on carers trying to get to appointments, and on families getting children to school. Most frustrating is that it is avoidable. Yes, we need local authorities to be properly resourced and funded, but we also need them to plan better, to co-ordinate roadworks more effectively, and to ensure that contractors do the job well and are more responsive to the communities they serve. Let us give our communities the roads but also the local leadership that they deserve.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Local Bus Services · Hansard source

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  Rural communities such as mine rely on bus services as a vital lifeline, but too often these services are limited and infrequent. Private operators dominate the market in my area, yet there is no minimum service requirement to ensure that people can get to work, school or medical appointments. Will the Government guarantee a minimum level of service so that rural communities are not left stranded?

• 3 Dec 2024 · Home-to-School Transport: Children with SEND · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Sir Mark. It is a pleasure to share under your chairship, and I thank the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this important debate. In Stratford-on-Avon, the current system of SEND home-to-school transport is failing families. Many children were left without home-to-school transport at the beginning of the academic year, meaning that children’s educational needs were not met at a crucial time. Many children are placed in schools outside the county because there simply is not enough suitable provision locally. That has created a complex network of transport issues. We need to ensure and resource sufficient local SEND provision within mainstream education. That must be a priority if we are to create a fairer, more efficient and sustainable system that supports every child’s right to education.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Special Educational Needs and Disabilities · Hansard source

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  The previous Conservative Government left SEND families in Stratford-on-Avon to fend for themselves. I want not just additional SEND places, but continued support for children already attending specialist provision. Further, we need proper investment in home-to-school transport. Children were left without transport at the beginning of the academic year, depriving them of access to their education. What are the Government doing to ensure not just that budgets reflect need, but that they do so to address the problem immediately?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The town of Stratford-upon-Avon is one of the most visited locations in the UK, yet for many years we have not had a direct train to the capital. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to fix the lack of capacity in Chiltern Railways so that my constituents and visitors can travel directly and sustainably to and from London?