Jodie Gosling

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Derby South (Baggy Shanker) for securing this debate. Nuneaton town centre, like many of our town centres, used to be a source of pride. Our vibrant markets stretched all the way through town, down Queens Road, through market square and back down Abbey Street. Every shop was full, bustling with shoppers. Over the past decade, like many of our town centres, it has taken a hammering and has suffered significant decline. Shops have been boarded up, and the market has been reduced to an echo of its former self. Crime—shoplifting, serious organised crime, drugs and antisocial behaviour—has become commonplace. A few years ago, my teenager—like many parents’ teenagers—was in town on a Saturday, and a Facebook post popped up showing police cordons around the town centre, with a flippant comment, “Nunny got a bit stabby”. It culminated in the tragic and fatal stabbing of one of our local lads, a gentle giant, Tom Ellis, in June 2024. Since my election, I have been driven to change the future of Nuneaton town centre, alongside the ambitious Labour council, and we are progressing rapidly with transformation work. The market is growing back, and in March our transformation project, Grayson Place, will be completed. We await the opening of food halls, college campuses, event spaces and the first championship padel centre. I have made it my priority to meet senior officers from our local safer neighbourhoods team, walk the town, and talk to businesses, market stall traders and shoppers. I welcome the return of our designated town centre officer. I also welcome the investment of £1.5 million from the Government’s Pride in Place impact fund for our town centre, alongside £1.4 million in neighbourhood funding. We are working together with organisations such as the police, the business improvement district, our town centre wardens and our brilliant councillors, such as Councillor Nicky King, to co-ordinate the approach and rescue our town centre.