AS SOMEONE who has lived and worked in our area for most of my life, I am proud and honoured to be the Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.

Stretching from the Palace Pier to Peacehaven and from the Marina to Moulsecoomb, it is a very diverse but special place to represent and I would like to thank all those people who voted for me and gave me the opportunity to represent this great constituency for another five years.

Since being re-elected in May I have been working hard both up in parliament and locally with a busy constituency office in Telscombe Cliffs to represent the many people who contact me on a variety of different issues.

I would like to start by writing about just some of the great local places in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven that I have been involved with.

The Saltdean Lido, which is the UK’s only Grade 2* listed Lido, was recently named in Historic England’s top seven coastal landmarks.

I have always been a loud supporter of the Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company and their campaign to re-open the Lido, and have been openly supportive of their applications for funding from various sources.

Work to the external grounds is under way with foundations in for the new plant room and the mast to the main swimming pool has been removed.

The CIC is now working towards securing the final £2 million which they require for the project.

A thriving Lido will be a fabulous thing for both local people and visitors to the area creating a unique tourist and leisure destination and community hub as well as creating local jobs.

I am looking forward to seeing this great icon fully restored to its former glory.

Another local initiative I would like to mention is the Big Park in Peacehaven.

This is a great place for local residents to walk, cycle and meet their friends with a fantastic Playsafe Children’s Playground, skate park and Gateway Café which are all incredibly popular.

The park is of significant archaeological interest and phase two of the Big Parks project includes implementing a programme of interactive archaeology.

I was pleased to be able to officially open the park in March this year. It was a great day, the sun was shining and there were more than 5,000 visitors.

One of the great things about being an MP is being able to work with and support some of the many local voluntary organisations and charities. Here in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven we have so many inspiring people who work tirelessly to help others.

I would like to mention just a couple of the many local organisations that I have the pleasure to be involved with.

The Sussex Beacon does great work assisting people living with HIV, helping meet the physical, social and psychological needs of people affected by HIV and AIDS.

The Beacon has inpatient facilities as well as day services and also runs many courses to help with activities such as confidence building courses and anxiety management.

I have long been a supporter of this fantastic local charity which relies on fundraising and I brought the health minister, Jeremy Hunt MP here to see for himself what great work they do.

I have always taken an close interest in issues surrounding elderly people, and am a strong supporter of local events like the Deans Senior Tea Clubs.

I have attended Tea Clubs in Saltdean, Telscombe Cliffs and Moulsecoomb and was delighted to see the amount of people attending them, enjoying the tea, cakes, and friendly conversation.

These events provide many older people with the opportunity to get together and find companionship, helping to combat loneliness.

I also met with the founder of the Deans Senior Tea Club, Maria Davey, to discuss her plans for expanding the very successful club to other areas across Brighton.

These are just two of the many local organisations and charities. There are many more and I am always happy to be a loud voice for them and help them highlight their cause.

There are also many inspiring individuals who work tirelessly, often without recognition. Only the other day I learnt of a fabulous lady who has won a Points of Light award which recognises outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. Each day a new Point of Light is announced by David Cameron.

This is just one of the many great examples of what a special place our constituency is and how many special people we have in it, working together to make it a better place to work and live.

We have received criticism in the past for being a different kind of constituency but I say, as I did then, the sun will always shine in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.

  • Simon Kirby is the Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown