I hope that all of my constituents had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying a restful festive period with friends and family.

Last week, in my Christmas column, I made some reflections on the last 12 months but I thought that for this, my first Forester column of the year, I would talk about some of the other things I have been doing in 2022, in Parliament and at home, to support the Forest of Dean.

As ever, I’ve enjoyed visiting and supporting a number of our fantastic small and medium sized businesses this year such as Chronos Technology in Lydbrook, the Roost Luxury Glamping in Mitchedean and the newly reopened Rising Sun at Woodcroft which benefited from a share of the Government’s £150 million Community Ownership Fund.

It’s also been my pleasure to meet the community at all manner of wonderful events such as the Tibberton Show, the Bathurst Park Family Fun Day, Aylburton Carnival and various Platinum Jubilee celebrations. After two years of pandemic related disruption, it was a joy to see these events back in full force.

I’ve devoted time to visiting and listening to the concerns of our local farmers, including the local Young Farmers’ clubs, and our emergency services through regular meetings with senior police officers and the local NHS leadership.

One local issue I’ve been particularly vocal about in Parliament is support with energy bills for off grid homes as I know how many of my constituents this affects. I am glad the Chancellor listened to my concerns – doubling the support available.

Looking forward, 2023 is set to be a promising year for the Forest of Dean. I’ve been attending quarterly meetings to receive updates on the progress of our successful £20 million Levelling Up bid. I was pleased to attend the breaking ground ceremony for the bid’s Hartpury University Learning Hub and view progress on the Cinderford Town Regeneration Project. I was also pleased to see the building of our new multi-million-pound community hospital coming along well.

I would like to send my constituents my best wishes for a happy, prosperous New Year.

Contact me: [email protected] | www.markharper.org | House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA | @Mark_J_Harper | facebook.com/mark.harper.fod