Key projects in Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Stanton by Dale/Sandiacre: Adam Thompson MP's monthly update

From asylum seekers' hotels to new development funding, Erewash MP Adam Thompson spoke to Erewash Sound to discuss updates on current issues, campaigns, and key activities in his constituency.

As campaigners were calling for assistance with several abandoned canal boats in the Erewash Canal, “We got these two boats removed in a couple of weeks. It shouldn't be the case that they are hanging around for two years. So, I gave a question to the relevant minister yesterday in Parliament, talking about how we can support the Canal and Rivers Trust to get these boats removed in a more timely manner,” Mr Thompson said.

Mr Thompson reflected on the gathering of protesters outside a Long Eaton hotel being used to house asylum seekers, "I don't want hotels. I don't know of anybody who wants these hotels. I don't think it's an appropriate way to house asylum seekers, but we are in a situation where the previous government opened these hotels up right across the country, and we now have to work towards closing them in an orderly and timely manner.” 

He highlighted this issue to the relevant minister during yesterday’s, 4th September, parliamentary session: “I actually spoke to the minister, Dame Angela Eagle, Minister of State (Minister for Border Security and Asylum), about this issue in Parliament this week, raised the fact that we've had these protests, and kind of kept her informed. She responded that we're doing everything we can to close all of the hotels nationally as soon as possible, and we've committed to closing them by the end of this Parliament, but it's not something we can achieve overnight. We're doing everything we can.”

With exciting news for Cotmanhay, East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward announced that Cotmanhay is one of ten places benefiting from the new £3 million Mayor’s Community Development Fund, and this money will be used right here to boost opportunities for local people.  “I will soon be writing to every resident in Cotmanhay and some of the local stakeholders. This money is for the people of Cotmanhay to do what they feel is right to improve the area. So I'm really looking forward to that kind of engagement process and then seeing what we can do because a few hundred thousand pounds is a massive chunk of cash for us to be,” MP Thompson reflected on how to implement the fund towards locals' needs. 

Three main campaigns are running around Erewash in different areas. 

A lot of residents in Long Eaton are frustrated about the closure of major banks, and only Lloyds is still working, “I got in touch with Link, who decides whether or not we can have a banking hub, and they initially said, no, we've done an assessment, and we don't think you need one yet; you've still got a bank, but my concern is I can see where the trend is going, right? Lloyds have said they've got no intention to close, but who knows how long that might last? What I want to do is get ahead of the curve,” Mr Thompson said. 

“At the end of the day, 80% of people have moved their banking online or over the phone, but those 20-25% of people who still want face-to-face services deserve one.”

With industrial development in Stanton and a massive number of jobs coming to the area, there is a need for infrastructure to support the industrial growth, "There is campaigning for a new junction on the M1, a junction 25A, somewhere probably in between Sandiacre and Ilkeston near the new Stanton site, because I get a huge number of people getting in touch with me all of the time about HGV traffic through Stanton, Sandiacre and Risley, and how it's very noisy, it's damaging the roads, there's an increase of potholes and traffic and safety, and all of this," Mr Thompson added.

The third main campaign around Erewash settles in Ilkeston, where there is a high rate of crime and anti-social behaviour. Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, came to Ilkeston and had a meeting with Adam Thompson discussing the situation. 

"I'm working with the family of Samuel Wilson, who was murdered in the Market Place about 18 months ago over the Christmas period by somebody who ran him over in a van. And what I'm trying to do here is rework the way that the Market Place and Bath Street in Ilkeston are, the way that the traffic is managed, to essentially make that type of attack impossible in the future.” 

Mr Thompson tried to get help from Derbyshire County Council under both the previous and the current administrations, but they couldn’t help, “We are now in the process of collecting up several thousand signatures that we've got for this petition. I'm going to take that down to Parliament and present it to the relevant ministers.”

Also, the Erewash MP has raised more than £1,000 in just over a week as he prepares to walk the length of his constituency to raise money for the installation of emergency bleed control kits in every pub and bar in Ilkeston, “My goal is to get a bleed kit, which is essentially an emergency first aid kit for bleeding-related injuries. So, it's not just violent crime. It could be if somebody is in a car accident. But what I want to do is get a bleed control kit in every pub and bar in Ilkeston. Now there's a little over around 30 of those, and these bleed kits are £85 each with just the kit alone, or if you want a special cabinet to keep it in, they're £475.” 

The walk, starting from the bottom of Sawley to the top of Cotmanhay, will cover 13 miles across the towns and villages of the constituency on 18th September.

If you need to get in touch with the Erewash MP, you can contact him through his Facebook or Instagram. Also, you can email him at adam.thompson.mp@parliament.uk.

Listen Again

Adam Thompson MP speaks of his projects in Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Stanton by Dale 

Adam Thompson, Member of Parliament for Erewash, spoke to Paul Stacey in his monthly slot about public concerns over the use of hotels for asylum seekers, new local funding for Cotmanhay, plus his 3 key projects for Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Stanton by Dale/Sandiacre. Broadcast on Erewash Sound Breakfast Show, Friday 5th September 2025