SHARON HODGSON MP: Lights! Camera! Tory inaction!

When the Chancellor said last year that "all I will say is, this year's California blockbuster Barbie was shot in Hertfordshire. Next time, let's have a Sunderland Barbie”, I imagine he didn’t foresee his Conservative Party colleagues on Sunderland City Council denouncing Government investment in the Crown Works Project as ‘unreasonable’ and ‘not a priority’.

It is a shame that local Conservatives don’t want what is best for Sunderland. The Crown Works Studios development would build a world-class, high-end film and TV production facility on an 80-acre brownfield site on the south bank of the River Wear. This is an opportunity to deliver a groundbreaking level of investment to our region, and one that we urge the Tories not to throw away.

The studio is set to create over 8,400 well paid jobs for local people and bring a boost of £334 million annually for the local economy. This project has the potential to be one of the largest investments in the North East since the creation of the Nissan Site in the 1980s.

If this Government is serious about ‘levelling up’ then they must back this project and commit to the required £20 million each year for 10 years. The North East has been ignored for too long – as demonstrated by the so-called ‘Network North’ plan that has more projects listed for the South East than it does for the North East and North West combined. With a track record this poor, can the people of the North East trust that this Government will ever invest in our future?

In advance of the next budget in March, I urge the Chancellor to back this project that will benefit the region for generations. If you believe in a brighter future for Sunderland, you can sign the petition on change.org. Let’s get this development off the ground!