1 week Ago By [email protected] (Lewis Clarke)
Tiverton’s MP Rachel Gilmour has used her maiden speech to call for a new Tiverton High School, better rail links and to distance herself from any likeness to Margaret Thatcher. Speaking during a debate on a Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, Ms Gilmour paid tribute to predecessors Ian-Liddell-Grainger, Richard Foord and Rebecca Pow. On the state of Tiverton High School she said: “The first letter I wrote, within days of getting elected on 5 July, was to our new Secretary of State for Education, asking for a meeting to discuss the dire state of Tiverton High School.
“Nearly 25 years ago - I repeat, 25 years ago - Tiverton High School was promised a new build. The previous Labour Government put it on their priority list. The last Conservative Government sat on their hands and did nothing.
The school is deemed by the Environment Agency to be a “danger of death” from flooding. There is asbestos in the sports hall, and children are being taught in dining and communal areas. It has capacity for 1,300 pupils but needs capacity for 1,800.
“Given the pledges made by our new Prime Minister and his commitment to schools, I know that I will get a fair hearing from the Secretary of State for Education. I hope that she will agree to meet a delegation of staff, parents and children from Tiverton High School in the near future.” She also called for better rail links, particularly in Minehead saying: “I have convened a meeting with Peninsula Transport, the body that oversees all public transport in Devon and Somerset.
Along with my transport adviser, David Northey, who has a deep history in this area as a former head of strategic planning at Great Western Railway, I have been hard at work for my constituents, putting together a transport plan and highlighting the challenges and solutions for rail and bus services across Tiverton and Minehead. “Minehead train station desperately needs linking to the main line at Taunton. We need also to secure the number 25 and 28 bus services in the north of the constituency and look carefully at rural bus routes to service the villages of Exmoor , such as Exford, Withypool and Winsford, along with local towns, particularly Wiveliscombe.
Those will be key parts of that new plan for the local area. “Poor public transport provision creates a particular barrier to schoolchildren and students in Tiverton and Minehead. Some have no bus to take them to school, no way to walk to school or no way to cycle to get there.
Other than the small A-level provision at West Somerset college, there is no—I repeat, no—sixth-form provision in my constituency. Students have to travel to Exeter , Taunton or Bridgwater if they wish to pursue their studies. That limits their aspirations and ability to succeed.
Shockingly, West Somerset ranks 324th out of 324 on the social mobility index, and such transport problems explain some of why that is.”.
