Here’s why we should be hopeful as Portsmouth moves into 2021

As we enter 2021 in a state of near-lockdown, we are certainly not near the end - but here are some causes for optimism for the new year.

Ross McNally, Hampshire Chamber chief executive and executive chairman

‘The Chamber of Commerce and the whole business community of Hampshire will be delighted, and no doubt somewhat relieved, that the Brexit deal has got over the line.

‘The vast majority of views indicate that this is a good deal for the UK and the EU and so the negotiators must be recognised for their efforts in getting the deal done.

‘The Chamber looks forward to working with businesses to help shape government plans to build our new economic landscape.

‘In the immediate future this must recognise the ongoing damage caused by the pandemic. Innovative thinking is needed to build our new economy.’

Stef Nienaltowski, chief executive officer at Shaping Portsmouth

Stef Nienaltowski, chief executive officer at the group that was set up to promote the city, said there are a number of initiatives running throughout 2021 that will help further boost the city’s already reputable standing for a place to start up and prosper.

He said: ‘Since 2011 Portsmouth has outperformed the region and country with its net growth in the number of businesses registered here.

‘The vision we have for 2021 and beyond starts with collaboration by all the providers of any form of business support.

‘We will be hosting a summit whereby every organisation that offers any form of business support comes together to build a roadmap to show those who need it what is on offer.’

Cllr Mark Hook, leader of Gosport Borough Council

‘The thing with Gosport is that although there’s 80,000 of us living here, it sometimes feels like a small village because of the sheer strength of our community spirit.

‘Everyone has wanted to muck in and help one another this year, and that has really been the driving force behind getting through 2020.

‘We can be proud of ourselves for that, and I hope the bond we have all formed this year is here to stay.’

Fred Jones, general manager of TIER

Portsmouth City Council is due to bring in a fleet of e-scooters, following other successful schemes in other cities such as Northampton and Milton Keynes.

The council is currently considering which company should run the year-long trial, which would see docking stations created across the city.

Fred Jones, general manager of TIER, one of the companies in the running, said the scheme would bring great prospects to Portsmouth.

He said: ‘E-scooters are a fantastic, safe and sustainable way of getting people to the high-street.

‘If implemented in Portsmouth, not only would this provide up to £300,000 free travel a year for locals but it also has the opportunity to stimulate the economy by driving footfall to local establishments, potentially adding up to a quarter of a million in revenue for the local economy each year.’

Cllr Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council

‘I believe that 2021 will be the year of the independent trader and we have many dozens of these in the western end of West Street including shops and cafes.

‘People seem prepared to go for good service more than cheap goods and as the large chain stores fail the independents will become staple as they were generations ago.

‘I strongly encourage everyone to shop local and eat local during 2021 and see the difference it makes to the vibrancy of our town and village centres.’

Suella Braverman, MP for Fareham

Suella Braverman, who has represented the area since 2015, said the recently approved Oxford University, developed alongside company AstraZeneca, is a reason to be hopeful when looking ahead to 2021.

The MP said: ‘While the festive period may have felt very different this year, it has provided an important opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices we have all made to keep our friends, families and loved ones safe during these difficult times.

‘I know everyone in Fareham will be excited by the approval of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, and I am optimistic that 2021 will see the return of bustling pubs, heaving high-streets shops and families reunited at last.’

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council

‘The vaccine is the great ray of hope,’ he said. ‘The more people who are vaccinated the more power we can take away from this virus.

‘If you are vaccinated, then people who are still vulnerable will be protected – even if the virus is still active in the city, it won’t be killing people.

‘That’s the great, great hope for the future because we may have to live with this virus.’

SEE ALSO: Black Lives Matter movement promises to keep up fight for equality

The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, Christopher Foster

One thing doesn’t change for New Year 2021. We begin the new year with Hope.

Most obviously we are hopeful that the brilliant development of Covid vaccines will enable a mass vaccination programme here and throughout the world that will free us from the fear and limitations that dominated last year. We are hopeful of an easing of the restrictions we have been required to follow or needed to take for our own health and the wellbeing of our communities.

There are other hopeful signs too. We are inspired by the commitment of so many who have worked so devotedly and skilfully in our community. Among them are those in the NHS, parcel van drivers, shopworkers and teachers, and those administering vaccines and tests. Volunteers and neighbours as well have shown care and kindness, including those who have staffed foodbanks and cared for the most vulnerable. So also those who have continued to make church and religious worship possible and available online, by phone, and through the letterbox, as well as in church, temple, mosque and synagogue. Those of us most comfortable and least threatened by fear, uncertainty and anxiety owe so much to them. They give us hope.

The Dean of Portsmouth, Dr Anthony Cane

‘The pandemic continues to bring out the best in people, as celebrated in our Pompey Heroes carol service: qualities such as compassion and kindness, adaptability and imagination.

‘If we can use these qualities to tackle issues such as social division and poverty, then with the vaccines giving us back our freedom, we can have great hope not only for a happier 2021, but for a better world.’

Michael Lane, Police and Crime Commissioner

If 2020 showed nothing else, it showed the extraordinary breadth and depth of energy, love and goodness in our communities.

It demonstrated what and where key workers and an extraordinary army of community volunteers were.

They were everywhere in our lives, often previously taken too much for granted but evidently essential in these exceptional times. That wellspring of goodness, energy and talent is not exhausted because kindness and care recharges batteries and motivates.

I spend so much of my time working to mitigate risks that I know it can feel very dark for so many who have been touched by challenges that have made their lives harder.

But each act of support, each practical effort we each can make at home, at work, in our communities – Together they will make a positive difference to show a brighter and hopeful journey ahead. I promise to continue to play my part, encouraged and inspired by the examples I see daily around me.

Rebecca Lodge, from Startup Disruptors

Rebecca Lodge runs Startup Disruptors, a support group that looks after hundreds of businesses in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.

Her optimism comes after Portsmouth was named one of the best cities in the UK to start a business.

‘In 2021, I would urge people that are in an uncertain situation to focus as fully as they can on themselves. Worry and anxiety don’t solve anything, but positive action will. Pandemics are emotionally tough and everyone’s personal situation is different. What I would say is this.

‘If you have been long wishing for or wanting a change in your personal circumstances, 2021 may be the year to explore this further.

‘In my opinion, there has never been a better time to turn a hobby into a side hustle and then turn this into your full-time career.’

Kerry Snuggs, from Acts of Kindness in Gosport and Fareham

'The community coming together is the most positive thing to come out of the pandemic.

‘We’ve got really strong people coming forward to run their own projects as co-ordinators so the New Year will be an exciting time for us all here.

‘Using the strong community support that we’ve got with AOK, we can reach out more to those facing loneliness.’

Michelle Smith, from PO9 Free Bank

Residents across Leigh Park could have a bumper years of events and projects to look forward to in 2021, thanks to the can-do attitude of volunteers across the area.

Michelle Smith, who runs the PO9 Free Bank and helps to organise the annual Big Wrap Christmas gift giveaway, is hoping to put on a range of events once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Her ideas include a Mad Hatters Tea Party and an Easter Egg hunt in the spring, as well as a talent show later in the year.

She said: ‘We want these events to be open to everyone – young and old, because a lot of people couldn’t do anything over the last year.

‘It’s so important to get the whole community together after 2020.’

READ ALSO: 11 new summer destinations you can fly to from Southampton Airport in 2021

Clare Martin, chief executive of Pompey in the Community

‘We are trying to be positive but sometimes it feels as though things have gone backwards. It has been a horrendous year but we have things to look forward to in the New Year such as our new facility in Moneyfields, which we are getting there with.

‘Despite the difficult year the way my staff have come together has been the most rewarding thing. All of them signed up within two days to help out with food deliveries with 400-500 parcels delivered.

‘I’m very proud of how my staff have pulled together. We can get through anything.’

Ruby Worrall, from RubyEats

Home cooked takeaway service RubyEats was one shining example of small businesses across the country backing Marcus Rashford’s free meals initiative.

23-year-old owner Ruby Worrall helped deliver meals with her mum across Portsmouth and surrounding areas over the October half-term and Christmas holidays, and hopes to continue her efforts in tackling food poverty.

‘Food is a basic human need; it’s not fair that it should be a struggle for any family to feed their children.

‘I hadn’t realised how hard it is for people to get access to foodbanks until I saw the amount of messages so raising more awareness on what help is out there next year is important.

‘I’d love to continue but it’s hard to keep up by myself so next year, I would love to raise funds and work alongside other local businesses to turn it into a larger project to tackle food poverty.’

Jo Eamey, from Stop Domestic Abuse

‘2020 has been a difficult year with domestic abuse and the increase in the number of incidents.

‘But during the year we have seen extra funding and now have a new refuge. We have seen unprecedented levels of support with people donating and over Christmas so many people have donated presents for our clients.

‘The community has really come together during a difficult year and we hope 2021 will see a return to normality where everyone is safe.’

Helen Gibbs, chair of Groundlings Theatre Trust

‘Everything is still so uncertain but with the new vaccines we are very hopeful will be able to mix again and live normal lives and enjoy socialising and going to the arts once more in 2021.

‘We are planning a program for the New Year and will continue with our drama classes. We still plan to improve the building and remain hopeful for the New Year, which we are looking forward to with the new opportunities it will bring.

‘I am so proud of how we have all got through this together and have not given up. We will not give in now.

‘We look forward to the new year and are confident over the future of the theatre.’

Reverend Jack Williams

Reverend Jack Williams arrived a few months ago at as the new curate of All Saints Church in Denmead in his first major role with the church since giving up his job as a police officer.

‘It would be so exciting to get people together and get to meet more people in the parish,’ he said. ‘I’m getting forward to know those who have been shielding so I can fully embed in the community of Denmead – I’m excited to experience the true Denmead way of life.’

‘It will be my priesting in July, which will be the climax of everything I have been training for – it’s the moment everything I have been working towards is blessed,’ he said.

Lewis Hine, founder of A World With Friends

The inspirational 19-year-old is the founder A World With Friends, which connects youngsters who are bed-bound, seriously disabled or simply in need of new friends.

But brave Lewis has been forced to spend much of the year cooped behind closed doors, shielding for his own safety from the coronavirus.

The Havant teen has experienced a number of health complications in his life, having had 13 brain surgeries and facing a constant battle with seizures.

‘My hope for 2021 is that we all remember how much we missed and needed each other and we keep that contact going to always reduce loneliness and isolation. In 2021 let’s make sure no-one is ever alone again and that everyone has a friend.’

Sheikh Fazle Abbas Datoo, Imam at Wessex Jamaat

I consider 2020 a wake-up call not to take things for granted; don’t take the blessings of life for granted; don’t take the opportunities for granted, don’t take our home- the earth- for granted.

Embarking into the new year 2021 I earnestly look ahead to Almighty God’s Divine grace of blessings, peace and relief.

I hope that in 2021 when we return to normality, it will be a life with a renewed and refreshed normality, less burdensome, with real compassion for neighbours and strangers; creating more space for faith and charity.

Black Lives Matter organiser Midia Medina

‘Sadly, racism will always be present but the way the city came together at a moment of darkness was incredible.’

‘Even if we don’t know how the pandemic will play out into 2021, we’ve seen this year how our community has still been learning about the history of institutional racism through social media.’

‘Portsmouth has shown how we can still stand up against injustice – even if we’re not there physically.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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