CONSTITUENTS regularly write to me to express frustration with the frequent delays on Southampton Road.

This is an issue which I have been monitoring closely for some time and one in which the local authority is also taking a keen interest.

Highways England have completed a study of the road and its issues and I am pleased that, like me, Wiltshire Council are committed to seeking bold and long-term solutions, rather than another set of tweaks to an unsatisfactory status quo.

I welcome HE’s engagement on the issue and eagerly await proposals for strategic improvements that will not just mitigate congestion at peak times but improve north-south connectivity and reduce traffic pollution on Salisbury’s ring road as a matter of priority.

I look forward to doing everything I can to keep this important work firmly on the radar of ministers and decision-makers.

Salisbury has been back in the national headlines this week with the welcome news of the reopening of Zizzi’s restaurant.

I still receive occasional correspondence from around the world expressing concern about the city’s recovery and from businesses affected by the dip in trade, but I see each new step towards normality as another opportunity to tell a positive story - that Salisbury is upbeat and open for business.

At the time of writing, I am undertaking some ministerial travel but I will be back as normal at the end of the week for a day of meetings with individual constituents who have asked to see me.

So far, the varied topics on my agenda include elderly care funding, cold calling, residents parking and assisting constituents with benefit claims.

I am looking forward to dropping in at the grand opening of Downton’s new and improved Memorial Hall. On Saturday, I will be joining in the local Diwali celebrations and on Sunday, I will attend the Act of Remembrance in the Guildhall Square.