Karen Bradley: In this week's column, the Moorlands MP has explained what she loves about the area's countryside. Read what she had to say below...

I regularly let my colleagues know that the Staffordshire Moorlands is the home of the most spectacular countryside. There are so many special places and on Friday I was delighted to spend time in Dovedale meeting Matt and Ian from the National Trust. We had a lovely walk along the river discussing all the things that make Dovedale such a special place.

Dovedale attracts a million visitors annually and was very popular during lockdown when many people discovered the countryside and this beautiful part of the UK. Visitor numbers are still very high, with people visiting from both nearby towns and cities like Stoke and Derby, and some making day trips from further away including London and Brighton.

Whilst it is great to have more tourism, many local residents have contacted me concerning this surge of visitors and related issues such as the risk of fires from BBQs, traffic problems and litter. I understand that volunteers collected 82 bags of rubbish in just one day this year and over 120 in a single day last year. We discussed practical ways that we can make sure that visitors can have the information they need to be able to make the most of their visits whilst also respecting the countryside and those that live and work in the area.

I was also pleased to finalise the judging panel for the Awards at my Volunteers event so do email me if you would like to nominate any organisations for an award. 

I was very sad to hear over the weekend of the passing of Cllr Ian Lawson. Ian was a stalwart of the District and County Councils and the local Conservative Association. He was always a great support to me and will be missed by us all. My thoughts and prayers are with Kay and his family.