News

This week, Folkestone and Hythe prospective parliamentary candidate Damian Collins writes about the effect on the countryside of the foot and mouth disease outbreak.

The news last Friday evening of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease at Woolfords Farm in Elstead, Surrey, less than 100 miles from Romney Marsh, was very disturbing.

By the time you read this article we may know more about how the outbreak happened and how widespread it is.

In 2001 foot and mouth disease led to the destruction of 6 million animals, and cost £8 billion. We must hope that the lessons have been learned from that outbreak, that it will be managed by the Government more effectively and that we will not see another tragedy on that scale.

The true awfulness of foot and mouth disease is not just the costs and restrictions that come with it, it is the destruction of the animals and herds that farmers have spent their lives nurturing and with it everything they have worked for. No amount of compensation can ever replace that.

We are fortunate to live in the Garden of England, but this garden has been made fruitful by the hard work and creativity of local people.

The local economy, particularly in rural and coastal areas, is in delicate balance, and problems for a few people or businesses, can soon impact on the lives of many others.

That’s why I believe it is important that Government does all it can to support the rural economy and small community businesses. At the Conservative Party conference last year, I proposed that we should look at how can create small “Acorn Areas” of support for businesses in rural communities and deprived urban areas, to support local producers and crafts, help people start up on their own, and to make it easier for post offices and local stores to keep trading. The rural business centre at Evegate and the Creative Quarter in Folkestone, are examples of how landlords can make a positive contribution. Community businesses can provide an often unique service to local people, as well as a positive contribution to the economy. Yet, sadly, research from the Federation of Small Business shows that they often bear a heavier burden in terms of costs from regulation, than larger businesses do.

The fine weather last weekend though encouraged people to get out and about, and this is good for local businesses.

On Saturday I visited the RNLI Craft Fair and Art Exhibition at Dungeness. It was a pleasure to admire the skills of the people involved and also to support the fundraising for the lifeboat crew.