Public transport - supporting sustainable communities
Since being elected as a parish councillor I've been aware that public transport across Penistone and Stocksbridge is simply not good enough. Bus and train services are patchy, our buses and our rolling stock are old, and even our big towns feel cut off.
It's just too hard to get around if you don't have a car - and many people don't.
Transport really does matter - it connects our young people with education and training, our workers with well paid jobs, it helps bring people together and it gets people to their hospital appointments on time.
Over the past months I've been working with a number of excellent local transport groups such as Thurgoland Parish Council Public Transport Working Group and the Don Valley Railway Campaign Group and I'm confident that by working together we can bring about change.
As the candidate for Penistone and Stocksbridge one of my key priorities will be to make sure we get a better deal - a deal that supports us as we rebuild our infrastructure and invest in our local transport services.
It shouldn't be the case that it takes a day to get to and from a 20 minute hospital appointment, or that you have to own a car to get to work or get your children to school, but this is a fact of life for many of us in rural and semi-rural areas.
