Old Homes made new

At an event in Burnley, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg set out a series of manifesto commitments designed to revitalise industry, create new jobs and training opportunities, improve public transport and employ more police.

Nick Clegg said: "Britain's industrial heartlands have been neglected for too long. Declining industry, fewer jobs, worsening standards of health and education, inadequate public transport, streets blighted by anti-social behaviour and empty homes: it has to change.

"Thirty years of neglect has come at a price. The Liberal Democrats are offering a helping hand to turn communities around so that everyone has the chance to prosper, rebuilding communities and making our industrial heartlands great again."

While neither Rother nor Wealden can be described as the industrial heartlands there is still a need for new jobs, better public transport and more housing here.

The latest statistics on empty homes listed over 1000 homes as being empty in both Authorities. Refurbishing these homes would go a substantial way towards satisfying both the local housing requirement and the figures demanded by the South East Plan.

While Gordon Brown announced a fall in the national unemployment figure this week, the numbers here in the South East continued to rise. The cost of putting empty houses back into a habitable condition would be a fraction of the cost of building new ones. The work would also bring much needed jobs to the construction industry.

Renovating old homes has an added environmental benefit being much greener than building new.

This constituency would benefit all round from this type of economic package and help it on its way to a fair, sustainable economy.