CAROLINE ANSELL MP: We’re winning on coronavirus, but it’s not over

There is much to do to safely bring our hospitality industry back to life and, as the Leicester lockdown has shown, we must be vigilant too if this is going to happen and stay in place.

Nevertheless, there is an air of optimism around and I make no apologies for being positive about the prospects for the summer because infection rates have reduced dramatically and jobs and businesses depend on visitors safely coming to our town.

And not just visitors, we all need the confidence to step out; that’s why the work on the safety Covid mark by the Eastbourne Hospitality Association has been so important.

In tandem, NHS services are coming back on stream and I am delighted that our highly valued midwife-led unit is coming back to the DGH next week.

These last three months the unit’s work has been suspended and all expectant mums have travelled to Conquest.

In related news, we have also had our first home birth in Eastbourne since lockdown!

So there’s much activity and it was good to see so many restaurants, pubs and attractions getting ready to open on July 4.

My plea is to everyone - local or visitor - please stay alert, our new freedoms are all conditional and we have a responsibility to each other.

We are winning against the virus but it’s not over.

Last Friday, I met Eastbourne Pier owner Abid Gulzar to see the investment he has made and the progress of the new buildings now taking shape.

It will be an important day when he can throw wide the gates and open the pier once again because this feat of Victorian engineering truly puts Eastbourne on the map.

On Saturday morning I was introduced to Tony and Grant, our new Business Improvement District (BID) Ambassadors in the town centre to hear about their work, and I got to speak to business owners and see people out and about.

Also on my agenda last weekend, was spending time with the team at The Matthew 25 Mission at Brodie Hall in Seaside and to say thank you for all they do.

They have met local needs in these lockdown months in a way unimaginable before, providing 1,400+ meals each week thanks to the dedication of their volunteers and the generosity of local donors and partners.

Even as we move out of lockdown, there will be things we don’t want to leave behind, one being the enormous outpouring of community love in action.

We’ve built new ways to reach people and to connect.

Let’s hold fast to that.