MP Newsletter #16: Summer Tour, Bath & Wiltshire Metro, and the last year

Dear reader,

A warm welcome to this latest edition of my newsletter.

I do hope that many of you have had the opportunity to take some time off over the summer. I have been enjoying my first real break since being elected last July, enjoying the beautiful south coast with friends and family. 

Of course, the work doesn’t stop and I have been in contact with my team throughout as we continue to handle casework and represent all of you. 

Later this month, I will be embarking on a bit of a summer tour of our constituency (more details further on), and it would be lovely to see many of you while out on the road. The highlight of this role is meeting and chatting with constituents, and I hope to do that in abundance before heading back to Westminster in early September.

As ever, I welcome all feedback and comments about this newsletter, and I want to make sure that it is as useful as it can be for my constituents. If you have any suggestions, comments or feedback please do feel free to email me at brian.mathew.mp@parliament.uk. A reminder that you can also contact my office on 01225 434216, and please do get in touch via phone or email to book a surgery appointment. These take place at regular intervals at different villages and towns across the constituency and we will do our very best to fit you in at the one which suits you best.       

If you missed my previous newsletter, you can catch up here. 

Remember you can follow me on Facebook here and I’m also on X (formerly Twitter) here. And BlueSky here.      

Please do also forward this newsletter along to friends, family, neighbours etc if you feel it would be useful for them too.   

Summer Tour

As I mentioned, the second half of this month will see my embark on a summer tour around some of the more rural parts of our constituency. I’m already booked in to visit 20 different locations between August 18 and August 28 and I’ll be finishing it all off with the Melksham River Festival on the 29th and 30th. 

I cannot wait to get going. Stops already booked include Winsley, Westwood, Monkton Farleigh, Broughton Gifford, Monkton Farleigh, Calne, Holt, Atworth, Urchfont, Market Lavington, Seend, Semington, Box, Colerne, Erlestoke and many more! 

This is your chance to ask me anything you like whether there is an issue I can take up on your behalf, a problem you’re facing, or simply want to have a chat and a cup of tea – I would be very happy to see you all there. 

Do keep an eye out in local community Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, Parish newsletters and in notice boards for the exact details of when I’ll be in each location. 

Bath & Wiltshire Metro

Recently, I’ve been involved in some promising discussions about the future of transport in our part of Wiltshire and I wanted to take a moment to share what’s happening, and how it could benefit all of us.

You may have heard about the proposal for a Bath & Wiltshire Metro - a regional rail improvement plan that’s starting to attract interest from local stakeholders and the rail industry. The idea is to make better use of existing lines, with some modest upgrades, to allow for more regular services through towns like Melksham, and potentially new stations at Corsham and Devizes.

Nothing is set in stone yet, and there’s still a lot of work to do. But at a recent meeting I organised in Melksham, we looked at how small but targeted changes, such as platform reinstatements at Westbury and Chippenham, a passing loop at Melksham, and some remodelling at Thingley Junction – could make a ‘Metro-style’ rail service possible.

The aim would be to improve frequency to two trains per hour through Melksham, which would be a step forward for both residents and businesses. Rail experts involved in the conversation made clear that, while it won’t happen overnight, these changes could be delivered in stages and without huge new infrastructure, which makes it far more realistic.

Alongside this, we discussed how transport links could support gentle, well-planned housing development - the kind that fits in with existing communities and reduces reliance on cars by focusing growth near train stations.

Of course, improvements like these will need funding, planning, and broad community support. One option on the table is using developer contributions via land value capture. A similar model was used on the Northumberland Line, where a freight-only line has been repurposed for passenger traffic, and there’s also potential for backing from the National Wealth Fund. But again, we’re at the exploratory stage.

One positive step is that a new train operator Go-op has received regulatory approval to run a new service between Taunton and Swindon, including stops in Melksham. Subject to Go-op securing investment in level crossing upgrades, this could happen as early as next year, which would give our area a useful boost in connectivity.

I’ll continue following this closely and working to make the case for practical, deliverable improvements to our public transport. Not grand schemes, but the kind of changes that can make a real difference to people’s daily lives.
 

The last year

Finally, I wanted to just explain a little bit of what my team and I have been up to over the last year. Of course, much of the role of an MP is in the public sphere – giving speeches, meeting residents, engaging in parliament. But an ever great deal of the work takes place behind the scenes and with the help of my fantastic team in both the constituency and in Westminster.

Over the last year we have handled almost 10,000 individual cases (that’s about 27 a day!) from constituents on all manner of issues both large and small. The key thing that I, and my team, always remember is that if you’re contacting us – it matters. We endeavour to do everything we can in our power to help out all those who contact us. 

We’ve sent almost 20,000 emails in that time too, and continue to work closely with constituents, local businesses and organisation to connect them with those who can help them in central government or beyond. 

It’s also been a privilege to visit dozens of local businesses and to see the incredible level of industry and entrepreneurship we have going on in our part of Wiltshire. It never ceases to amaze me what incredible products are being built or designed, what systems are being developed, or what is being researched behind seemingly innocuous doors in every corner of this constituency.

If you own or work at a business you would like me to visit, I would be happy to do so, and please do get in touch with my office via the contact details at the top of this newsletter. This is an area I am looking to work more closely in during the coming months, and do keep an eye out for my soon to be launched ‘Melksham & Devizes Business Network’ in the coming weeks and months. 

For now, I hope you have an enjoyable remainder of the summer whatever you have planned, and I can’t wait to meet many of you soon.

See you on the road!

Best wishes,   

Brian Mathew  MP

P.S: I always welcome feedback. If you have any suggestions or comments please do get in touch via email.