We have now had a full week of the emergency restriction measures and it is good to see the vast majority of Crawley residents playing their part and ultimately helping to save lives. Such measures are unprecedented but sadly necessary. We are seeing the same across Europe and in much of the world.

Our everyday lives have changed amid the Covid19 public health emergency that is happening across the world. We’ve seen harrowing and heart-breaking scenes from hospitals in northern Italy, with a grim milestone having passed of more reported Covid19 deaths than in China. Heroic Italian doctors have given us a very stark warning and we ignore their advice at our peril.

It may only be March but we already know what 2020 will be remembered for. We also know that the following two months are going to see our everyday lives change, not just here but across the world. The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest public health emergency in Europe for a generation and is likely to see measures, introduced at the right time, not normally seen in peacetime.

It I s apparent as March progresses that everyday lives are going to affected over the next few weeks, as we adapt to the impact of the Coronavirus and measures to address it. There is no need for panic but following good advice from known trusted sources will help. Unfortunately, fake news and misinformation spreads easily on social media so one simple thing we can all do is not share anything that is not easily cross-referenced from a credible source.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that we have just had our wettest February on record. This follows four previous months of very high rainfall, making it an exceptionally wet five-month period with a whole year’s average rainfall falling.

One of many things I like about our town is that we have people from many parts of the UK, Europe, the Commonwealth and the wider world living here. This helps make Crawley more interesting and global in our outlook, especially with having Gatwick Airport here and we are of course a very welcoming place.

Last Friday was the Full Council meeting at West Sussex County Council that determined the budget for the year ahead. It is well-known that ‘upper tier’ authorities in areas of two-tier local authorities such as West Sussex, have much greater financial challenges than ‘lower tier’ authorities such as Crawley Borough Council, that gains significant income from its huge level of reserves that it has from the sale of council houses.

Henry Smith MP attended Battersea’s reception in Parliament to reiterate his support for changing the law to increase the maximum sentences for animal cruelty.

The December general election saw a tectonic shift in our country’s politics. Across the nation including here in Crawley, we saw thousands of people vote Conservative for the first time, many of whom had previously always voted Labour.

It’s a good thing that planning rules have been relaxed for housing. Our Conservative Government direction is full steam ahead. This not only helps those who want to extend their homes but is also a great boost for new housing and for the economy. However, nationally since 2017, nearly 40,000 retrospective planning applications have been made with one in eight being rejected by local authorities.