I was delighted to attend a celebration to mark 25 years of Bluewater.
Since I became MP for Dartford in 2010, Bluewater has always been a central meeting point for the local community. It’s where people get together, shop, eat and spend their leisure time. At its 25th anniversary, it is clear that Bluewater is still vitally important to the local area.
Bluewater has brought huge employment to the area in those 25 years and I think its key success is just how much it has become part of the community it serves.
A fantastic example of this is the hugely successful Learning Shop which is a partnership between Bluewater, North Kent College and the Department for Work and Pensions, which has been operating at Bluewater since 1999. Since then, it has trained over 22,000 people and has helped more than 50,000 people into employment.
To this day, Bluewater continues to support the local community and local people – its Landsec Futures Community Grant Scheme opened applications for grants just last month. The scheme provides grants between £1,000 and £3,000 to support local voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations. Bluewater has already awarded a total of £10,000 in grants to local community groups, including youth groups and disability support charities.
Today, Bluewater remains an icon, not just in Kent, but across the UK retail landscape and we look forward to the next 25 years of Bluewater contributing to the local economy so successfully.