Working to promote local investment that creates good paying jobs for local people has been my number one priority since first being elected in 2015.

As part of this, each year I host a Jobs Fair to help bring job providers and local people who are on the hunt for a new career face-to-face.

After having to do last year’s event virtually via an app due to the pandemic, I am so pleased that, thanks to the kind sponsorship of Merry Hill, this year’s fair will once again be in person.

I have also decided to do this year’s event as a joint Jobs and Skills Fair to give local people of all ages a chance to discuss upskilling and retraining opportunities with local training providers. Dudley, Halesowen, City of Wolverhampton and Walsall Colleges will all be there on the day, and other training providers such as The Apprenticeship Works, Black Country Skills Shop and National Infrastructure Solutions will also be on hand to discuss different routes to gaining new qualifications.

The event will be held tomorrow (Friday September 24) at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the Amphitheatre space just outside Marks and Spencer on the Lower Mall.

Exhibitors will be there from 11am till 3pm and a whole range of jobs and training opportunities will be on offer.

Another of my ongoing priorities is to support local people, particularly in the Wordsley and Kingswinford parts of Dudley South, in continuing to make the case against building on precious green belt sites on both sides of the Dudley and South Staffordshire border.

Just this week we have received the great news that South Staffordshire seem to have heard our voice and decided to not move forward with proposals which could have seen huge new developments on green belt land bordering Wordsley.

However, local people are still deeply worried about other proposals, contained in the Black Country Plan, which proposes to build 863 new homes on the Kingswinford Triangle and the land between Holbeache Lane and the Charterfields estate.

The arguments against these proposals are clear – not only would this irreversibly destroy green belt land, but it would also add unacceptable pressure to our local amenities, such as schools, roads and GPs.

The eight-week-long official consultation which gives local people the chance to add their comments and make objections against unacceptable elements of the Black Country Plan is open until October 11.

As many who are reading this will already be aware, last month I launched a campaign website (savourgreenbelt.uk) which directs people to the consultation and gives the chance to sign a petition against these proposals.

Last week I attended a public meeting at Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Club which had been organised by the campaign group Wall Heath As One. This was a great opportunity for local people to raise their concerns, ask questions about the plans, and challenge their elected representatives on what they are doing to stop these plans progressing. I would like to thank Steve Cutler and others from Wall Heath As One for going to the efforts they did in organising the meeting.

Next week I am hosting two further public meetings to discuss the Black Country Plan proposals. These will be at Summerhill School and St Mark’s Church of England Primary School in Pensnett. As these are indoor venues, we are having to ticket these meetings to ensure against overcrowding.

Further details can be found at saveourgreenbelt.uk