Victoria Harbour is a massive project for Hartlepool, if not the entire region and country. The large piece of unused land owned by PD Ports in the centre of Hartlepool can provide a once in a generation opportunity to transform and regenerate this area, using its striking sea views to bring in investment and job opportunities whilst creating a community of homes, businesses, shops and other facilities. There is the possibility of billions of pounds of investment in Victoria Harbour over the next few decades.

Just down Middleton Road from the Victoria Harbour development is the work going on to transform the centre of Hartlepool, in the area off Hart Lane, and Raby Road. We in the town received some of the £1 billion investment in housing market renewal from the Government in the last few years. I now have responsibility for housing market renewal and was able to find £1 billion to fund the programme for a further three years. The Trinity Square development is already a huge success and the additional investment will give another boost to the centre of Hartlepool.

I mention these two things because housing and regeneration are important to Hartlepool. As I was steering the Housing and Regeneration Bill through Parliament, throughout my work in the back of my mind was how the Bill could help Hartlepool with its challenges of increasing the numbers of houses as well as building on the success of regenerating much of the town. I don’t agree with the notion from a Conservative Party think tank a couple of months ago that we should stop regenerating the north and all move down south – it’s vital that continued investment comes to Hartlepool and other northern areas.

A key part of the Bill was the creation of the Homes and Communities Agency, a new body which will be charged with providing financial assistance and other support to local councils, housing associations and others to increase the numbers of housing, as well as regenerating communities in England. The Agency’s financial clout will be massive, with its budget being something like £8.4 billion.

The Agency’s first boss is Sir Bob Kerslake. He was chief executive of Sheffield City Council, and is very well respected throughout government and by a great many people. I invited Sir Bob up to Hartlepool, where he hadn’t been before, and despite his very busy schedule ensuring that the Agency is up and running he was able to spend a couple of hours in the town. I was grateful to the Council, Tees Valley Regeneration, One NorthEast, English Partnerships, Tees Valley Unlimited and Housing Hartlepool for helping with the tour. Tees Valley Regeneration provided a helicopter so Sir Bob could see a bird’s eye view of the town. Flying over Victoria Harbour it was striking how central this area is. Equally, you could see the progress being made off Chester Road and Hart Lane with the new development funded by housing market renewal. As Sir Bob said, the two things need to be linked up as much as possible, so that Victoria Harbour does not turn its back on the rest of the town, but is the catalyst that can help transform the whole of Hartlepool.

I was pleased that Sir Bob was able to visit. I think it is important, given the financial budget that the Homes and Community Agency will have, to ensure that Hartlepool is known by its leaders, because that should help us make the case more convincingly for additional investment. There has been real success in regeneration but more still to do. I am determined to bring relevant people to the town which will help provide the finance to continue the regeneration of Hartlepool.

This year marks the centenary of a number of a number of things. A good many people will know that it is the 100th year of Hartlepool United. Slightly fewer people will know that, had my Nana Bertha, who lived in Rossmere Way, been still alive, she would have been 100 this year. Possibly even fewer people than that will realise that this years marks the 100th anniversary of the passing of the Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908.

This relatively unrecognised piece of legislation has had an important bearing on the culture and society of much of the North East, including Hartlepool, for the past century. It imposes on local councils a duty to provide allotments where they consider that there is a demand. If a council believes that such a demand exists, it is required by law to provide a sufficient number of allotments for letting to those residing in the area who want them. It only takes six people who pay council tax or who are on the electoral register to request allotments for the council to consider whether there are a sufficient number of plots.

I think allotments are a great thing. They provide valuable green spaces, often in areas where there is much built-up housing. In Hartlepool, the Burn Valley allotments are good examples of this, although the area also has its beautifully-restored gardens as well. They also provide opportunities for people to exercise, socialise and – importantly – grow their own produce. This helps the healthy eating agenda, providing fresh, organic vegetables that reduces the carbon footprint of the food we eat by growing our food locally. If I’m also being blunt, it helps combat the rising food prices that we have seen in the past few months.

I would be very keen to get an allotment of my own, although I’m not sure I would be much good at growing anything. I only really have to look at a plant before it dies. However, as a means of growing fresh vegetables, and showing my kids how to grow things, by giving them some seeds and providing healthy exercise outdoors, getting an allotment is something that I am interested in.

I mention allotments not just because of the anniversary, but because I have some degree of Ministerial responsibility for them, although the vast amount of day-to-day administration is provided by local councils.

People often ask me if I would be content, as a Housing Minister with a wish to build more homes, whether I would be content to see the concreting over of allotments and other green spaces. I have to say that I would not. If anything, the provision of allotments and other green spaces are more important than ever in new estates. New homes are built on smaller plots than they were in the past, with the result that often the gardens are quite small. Whereas previously a house with a garden may have had the space for a vegetable patch, that might not be the case today. Allotments and open spaces are therefore essential in new developments, not only for the environment, but also to provide areas for people in the community to relax and to socialise.

In the past year the Government has published a revised guidance note so that allotment holders know their rights. In March we published alongside the Local Government Association the second edition of “Growing in the community”, which contains some excellent examples of good practice.

Interest in allotments is growing faster than the cauliflowers that are being grown in them. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Act, I hope we can all celebrate the importance of the allotment and its renewed life in the 21st century. In that respect, it is very similar to Pools.

I am determined that people who work hard in Hartlepool won’t be left alone to face the high energy bills that are the result of the global rises in energy prices over the past few months.

So I’m writing to let you know about the £1 billion of extra assistance that the Labour Government announced this week to help with fuel bills this winter. I’ll be supporting this package with my vote in Parliament later this year, backing a new obligation on energy companies that will require them to do more to improve people’s insulation and cut bills in Hartlepool, and I want to make sure that you found out about what this means for you.

From Thursday 11 September:

• Every household in Hartlepool is eligible for at least 50% off loft and cavity wall insulation;
• Everyone on certain benefits and all pensioners can get these for free;
• And cold weather payments for the most vulnerable will be increased from £8.50 to £25 a week.

To find out more and get insulated, you just need to call this number: 0800 512 012, and ask what help is available to you.

This is really worth doing: by improving loft insulation you can reduce bills by around £100 a year, and by getting cavity wall insulation put in you can reduce bills by another £150, not just this year but every year. The faster you get it done, the more you’ll save!

I’m supporting this package because I want practical help for families that will cut bills year on year. We’ll introduce it whether the Tories object to it or not – because Labour is committed to giving people practical help that will make a difference, not just relying on soundbites and PR. And it will also mean that we cut carbon emissions too, which is good for climate change and good for the planet.