It’s hard to miss the issues with the Plympton Pong! I have met with South West Water at Marsh Mills Wastewater Treatment Works to gain a full understanding of the root causes. Especially the increased occurrence of smells since building commenced at Sherford.

Smells from Marsh Mills are regularly monitored and efforts are constantly made by the team to contain the smells as much as possible. Several fans have been installed above the machinery to stop the smells from rising and blowing over Plympton.

In 2016/17, South West Water pumped significant investment into Marsh Mills to prepare it for the Sherford development. The smells actually occur because the site is not yet at capacity, the reverse of what you’d think, meaning that sewage flows through the system less quickly. This partial flow increases septicity (when wastewater sits stagnant without oxygen it starts smelling like rotten eggs!) As more residents get their keys, move into Sherford, and flush their loos the smell should go!

Public awareness of sewage discharges has grown since the last Conservative Government increased monitoring from 7% in 2010 to 100% in 2023. We are immensely proud of our coastline in Devon and any instances of sewage discharge should be a cause for concern. It is also worth noting that raw sewage is never discharged from the Marsh Mills site. Storm overflow is permitted to prevent flooding in our homes and 99% is treated and clean. South West Water have committed to almost double its investment in the environment to £2.5bn until 2030 – I will monitor progress closely.

Thank to Helen, Dave, Jess, and Fernley for taking time out of their busy day to give me a really informative tour of the site. It was great to learn about the wastewater process.

Hemerdon Mine north of Plympton is the largest tungsten mine in the UK and boasts the second largest deposit of tungsten in the world. Demand for tungsten is increasing rapidly due to its critical use in new technology, such as semiconductors, X-rays, tank armour plating, and even Formula One cars!

Earlier this month I visited the Tungsten West plc mine to learn more about its planned operations and the role it will play in job creation and local investment. I also took this opportunity to raise constituents’ concerns with mine operators, including road speeds on the B3417 and the future aggregate lorry journeys expected in coming months.

South West Devon has a really diverse economy, ranging from tourism to farming to mining for heavy metals! Local business visits like Hemerdon Mine keep me up to speed so I can fight their corner in Westminster.

I recently met with Vospers for one of my regular business visits in the constituency. The current owner Peter Vosper has run the business for an incredible 55 years!

Huge thanks to Peter, Steve, and Stephen for a really informative visit. The automotive industry is struggling under the weight of the Labour Government’s anti-business policies.

Vospers alone has had to take on £1.4 million in extra costs to pay for Labour’s Employers’ National Insurance hike.

All this while Labour is trying to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Van owners are often on minimum wage, living in rented accommodation with no offroad parking – where are the EV charging points going to be installed??

Family-ran businesses like Vospers are the bedrock of our local economy. I will urge the Government to reverse these disastrous anti-growth policies which go after businesses.

Great to meet with Andrew from Beacon Medical Group in Plympton to share constituents feedback and hear about the challenges the practice faces.

Beacon Medical Group has 43,500 patients across its five GP practices in Ivybridge and Plympton and is one of the largest practices in the constituency!

Whilst demand continues to soar, Beacon Medical, like many practices, are being squeezed by Labour Government’s disastrous Employers’ National Insurance hike. GPs are treated as private businesses and will not benefit from the uplift in NHS funding.

We need more GPs in South West Devon, not less. I am committed to improving health outcomes in South West Devon and will fight for better support from government for our health professionals.

I have written a stern letter to the Managing Director of FirstPort property management company, demanding improvements for long-suffering residents who live on FirstPort managed developments across Plymstock and Plympton.

Following a wave of fresh complaints from residents living in FirstPort managed developments, I felt the moment had come to directly ask the Managing Director, just when will my constituents see an improvement in customer service, billing, complaint handling, and transparency?

Having met with FirstPort regional management before Christmas, and then again with the Managing Director in the New Year, I have showcased a range of constituent complaints and obtained responses, requested explanations on the lack of audited accounts or expenditure reports, and sought assurances of service improvement. Progress and improvement has not yet materialised, and that is why I wrote to the Managing Director. I will share any response and, in the meantime, please do get in touch with any ongoing issues you are burdened with.