Mohammad Yasin

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for securing the debate, and the East of England all-party parliamentary group for its report “Opportunity East: One Year On”, which rightly highlights our region’s huge potential. The Oxford-Cambridge arc is already an innovation engine, home to world-class universities, leading research institutions and a dynamic private sector. Universal Studios’ proposed multibillion-pound investment in Bedfordshire offers a once-in-a-generation boost to jobs, tourism and long-term growth. East West Rail will better connect our research, technology and business clusters, thereby spreading opportunities far beyond the line itself. Yet alongside the potential, I must again record my opposition to the demolition of homes in my constituency for the East West Rail project. Residents’ concerns must be heard and decisions made with transparency and fairness. The report is right to note deep-rooted challenges such as housing shortages, but I want to focus on one issue that particularly concerns me: water. The east of England is the UK’s driest region, receiving barely two thirds of average rainfall, and Water Resources East warns of a shortfall of 800 million litres a day by 2050. Housing targets matter, but water and sewage capacity must be central to planning from day one. Water pollution, mentioned only once in the report, is a major concern to my constituents. I welcome the Government’s action to hold polluters, including Anglian Water, to account and to modernise infrastructure, but we need stronger protections against over-abstraction. I oppose building on the flood plain in Kempston, and I believe we must invest in rivers and waterways across Bedford, Milton Keynes and the arc so that they become the natural and economic assets they should be. The Opportunity East report makes it clear that our region is ready to deliver green energy, growth, research, skills and new homes for the whole UK, but only if our basic infrastructure is secured, with water treated as a strategic priority. The water industry needs root-and-branch reform, and I hope the forthcoming White Paper and water reform Bill set out a credible path to deliver the improvements our region urgently needs.