My View, Ros Jones: Town is attractive place for investment

Robert Goodwill, Minister of State for Transport, breaks ground at the National College for High Speed Rail. He is pictured with l-r Terry Morgan, College Chairman, Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, Rosie Winterton and Caroline Flint, Doncaster MP's. Picture: Marie Caley

I was delighted to attend the Aurora Fashion Show last month on what once again proved to be an inspirational night in the fight against cancer.

Like many other people across Doncaster I have seen at first hand the devastating impact that this cruel disease can have.

It was both heart-warming and uplifting to see so many people getting involved, to celebrate life and raise money for valuable help and assistance.

My thanks and congratulations go to everyone involved in this great cause.

Last month was also the ground-breaking ceremony and official start of construction at the site of the new National College for High Speed Rail at Lakeside.

The new high-tech facility will deliver the specialist training, skills and qualifications needed to build HS2 and future rail infrastructure projects, with the Doncaster campus focusing on technical engineering.

With more than 25,000 jobs and 2,000 apprentices expected to be created during construction of HS2, the college is an excellent addition to our borough and is set to open in September 2017 .

It will strengthen our rail and engineering businesses, bring a new high-level skills provider to the borough and offer great opportunities to local people.

I was also pleased to receive an update last week on our new enhanced enforcement activity, which aims to tackle issues like littering and dog fouling. It is part of a wider project to improve Council services, encourage people to keep Doncaster clean and clamp down on those who do not respect our environment.

Since being introduced earlier this year, more than 2800 fines have been issued to litter louts across the borough and last week we had 17 prosecutions through the court. The message is simple – save your money and don’t drop litter!

Next week my cabinet and I will consider a proposal to develop a new hotel and residential apartments at the racecourse.

If approved, the development would be subject to finalisation of the project details and also require planning permission, but it is pleasing to see the project being brought forward.

The proposal involves development of a 150-bedroom three-star-plus hotel, under the Hilton Garden Inn brand, and 57 residential apartments.

Once again it demonstrates that Doncaster is an attractive destination for investment.

The scheme is expected to create 600 temporary jobs and up to 140 permanent jobs, generating more than £3 million annually in the local economy.