THE parliamentary by-election taking place at the moment in Copeland has seen an unprecedented amount of ministers, shadow ministers and MPs from across the political spectrum visiting our beautiful corner of the UK.

I hope that they have all seen the benefits of living here in Copeland but also appreciate the many challenges that we have.

At the moment I am working to meet one of my manifesto commitments to improve the high streets across the borough and that means all of our town centres not just one.

The scheme we have in mind is currently going through the budget process and it will be considered at the full council meeting at the end of the month.

If approved, businesses in Millom and surrounding villages will be able to bid for a grant to improve their shop fronts.

This improvement scheme will be rolled out across the borough and will help make Copeland a better place to live, work and visit.

It is very important to me that the residents of Millom have as many opportunities as possible to benefit from the future growth that the arrival of the Moorside Nuclear power plant and also the new National Grid power installation will bring.

As many residents are aware as elected mayor I have brought Tom Samson, the chief executive of NuGen, and Robert Powell, the chief executive of National Grid, to Millom to see for themselves the opportunities that Millom and the south of the borough can bring to their respective companies.

Since those visits took place in 2016 I continue to meet with these and other business leaders to ensure that Millom’s voice is clearly heard and the opportunities explained in a series of face to face meetings.

I want to see real industrial investment in Millom and the south of the borough and I and my team will continue that mission until we see positive results.

Domestic violence continues to be a problem which devastates lives across Copeland and it is an issue that we are tackling head on with our limited resources.

We are working with the police and crime commissioner to try to find solutions to a problem which is a blight on lives mainly affecting women and children.

Our social inclusion work continues with Age UK delivering a project which has become a national issue which is social isolation.

It is awful to think about people living a lonely life who are disengaged from the rest of society.

The Social Isolation project seeks to help people who are lonely and we can also play our part by volunteering to be a befriender or to support and encourage older people to engage in social activities.

If you are interested in volunteering please ring the Bradbury Centre in Millom on 01229 774573.

Thank you.

Mike Starkie, elected mayor of Copeland