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Donations: Thank you for your generosity

Thanks to the generosity of local residents we've now reached our target for community goods donations in support of families affected by the Afghanistan conflict. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has dropped off items, made financial donations or offered help over the past few days.

A call for donations was made last Wednesdy (8 September) with requests for specific essential items to help them during their stay in the district and after just four days, all of the items requested have been gifted by local residents and businesses.

The Good Exchange page, which may be used for those who wish to make financial donations, remains live and has already raised almost £10,000 as of yesterday, and will include match funding up to a value of £25,000 by Greenham Trust.

Rise in Covid cases in West Berkshire

The average number of daily confirmed cases of Covid-19 has been rising again recently across the UK, due to the highly transmissible Delta variant. This has been reflected locally with an increase in cases across West Berkshire.

There is still a lot that people can do to minimise the spread of Covid-19. If you have symptoms, please still isolate and get a PCR test as soon as possible. Any contact of someone who tests positive needs to get a PCR test and isolate if positive.

Please continue to follow the hands, face, space and fresh air guidelines and wear a mask in crowded places and on public transport. Being fully vaccinated is the best way of being protected against the most serious effects of the virus. Anyone aged over 18 years can book their covid vaccine here or find your nearest walk in vaccine clinic here. 

Yesterday the Government published its Covid-19 autumn and winter plan. It includes the plan for steering the country through autumn and winter 2021/22 - as well as a secondary plan which would only be enacted if the data suggests further measures are necessary to protect the NHS. Read the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021.

Get involved in the Great Big Green Week!

Great Big Green Week is a national week of events celebrating action on climate change. 

This month, communities across the country will join together for the Great Big Green Week. It will be the biggest event for climate and nature ever in the UK, and everyone’s invited!

There are several events taking place across West Berkshire, run by our fantastic local green groups as well as Parish and Town Councils. In addition, West Berkshire Council will be launching new exciting projects during this week so keep an eye out on our Facebook page for more information.

Foster caring with West Berkshire Council

Did you spot us on ITV Meridian earlier this week?

West Berkshire Council foster carers do much more than just provide a home or act as substitute parents - they provide a much needed and highly valued service to vulnerable children and young people. 

ITV Meridian visited us to hear about the work of our foster team - and the positive impact foster parents have on those they care for. Carl went into foster care as a child - he's now a fitness coach in Newbury. You can hear his story on the importance of keeping siblings together and how being fostered with his older brother made a big difference. You can watch the ITV Meridian feature here.

Help tackle air pollution

Now the autumn term has started, we're asking motorists to help us protect air quality around our schools.  Some people just pull up outside the school gates or park down residential streets and leave their engines on. Idling vehicles pollute the air which in turn we all breathe in as we walk past, Kids get a greater impact of this, as the shorter you are the nearer to the exhaust fumes you are. You can find out more about improving air quality by visiting the Public Protection Partnership website. A well as reducing the time spent idling, electric and other ultra-low carbon vehicles are also helping to protect air quality in West Berkshire. Read on for more about a zero-carbon bus visit to the district as well as World Car Free Day, which takes place next week.

Zero-carbon bus visits district

L-R: Andrew Griffiths (PlanetMark), Iain Wolloff (CEO & Principal, Newbury College), Bob Beveridge (Chair, Thames Valley Berkshire LEP), Cllr Lynne Doherty (Leader of West Berkshire Council) and Alison Webster (Chief Executive, Thames Valley Berkshire LEP)

We were delighted to join the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP and other partner organisations at Newbury College last week for the Zero Carbon Tour.

A 100% electric coach made a stop in Newbury on its Zero Carbon Tour journey through the UK to COP26 (the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference). The Zero Carbon Tour is illustrating the phenomenal array of actions the business community is taking to address the climate crisis. Digital and physical events will take the net zero carbon message throughout towns and cities to demonstrate the “carbon stories” of actions and initiatives being taken by organisations, community groups, services and individuals to play a part in creating a sustainable future for the United Kingdom and beyond.

The Tour is accelerating the UN-backed Race to Zero as part of the UK's #TogetherForOurPlanet campaign, and provided the ideal opportunity to showcase how Berkshire is leading the global green agenda on a local level with attendees hearing from a host of speakers as well as a panel discussion on Berkshire’s green agenda.

Working with partners and Berkshire Local Authorities is essential with Cllr Lynne Doherty, Leader of West Berkshire Council, adding:

“We are really pleased that the Zero Carbon Tour visited Newbury to highlight the great work we are all doing.

“Working in partnership to raise awareness on tackling the climate crisis is vital. Our Council Environment Strategy has already played a key part in some of the projects across West Berkshire, helping to put us on the pathway towards achieving carbon neutrality.  The more we work together, the better the outcome for us all and I look forward to COP26 where we can highlight our achievements so far.”

World Car-Free Day: 22nd September

Let your car have the day off next Wednesday (22 September) and get involved in celebrating World Car-Free Day!

• Enjoy the last of the summer weather by walking or cycling instead of driving where you can. Find our cycle paths here.
• For longer journeys, use our planner to find available trains and buses near you.
• Not practical for your commute? Swap out a different journey or make the most of your local public transport for meeting up with friends in the evening
• Take advantage of our pay-as-you-go car club in Newbury and hire an electric vehicle for your journey