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A road resurfacing scheme has improved the local roads whilst remaining carbon neutral in one of the first projects of its kind in the district.
Working with our contractor, Vollker Highways and Miles Macadam, the project used an innovative new surface which has a lower-carbon footprint than others. The overall carbon footprint of the project was reduced by 38% which, along with the planting of 152 trees to offset the remainder, has been delivered in a carbon-neutral way.
The roads resurfaced as part of the scheme were in Beedon Hill and Old Oxford Road in Beedon, Hose Hill in Burghfield, Reading Road in Burghfield, and Floral Way in Thatcham.
Councillor Richard Somner, our Executive Member for Transport, said: “It’s fantastic to see that our contractor has been able to deliver this road improvement for us whilst remaining carbon neutral. It supports our climate emergency declaration and our goal for the district to become carbon neutral by 2030. It’s an excellent collaboration between the Council and our partners to deliver improvements to our infrastructure in a more sustainable way.”
We are carrying out work to construct a cycleway and make improvements to footways and shared paths, along the A4 Western Avenue, between the Waitrose roundabout and the junctions with Brummell Road and Old Bath Road.
The works follow on from the Active Travel consultation carried out in 2021.
The scheme is intended to improve facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, helping to make it easier to cycle or walk locally to shops, schools, workplaces and other amenities, while not affecting traffic capacity on the A4.
The works involve:
- Improvements to existing walking and cycling paths, as well as crossings and pedestrian refuge islands
- Construction of new cycle tracks and footways
- Safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
Phase 1 and 2 of the project are underway which include works on the north side of A4 Western Avenue (east of Old Bath Road) and the widening of Brummell Road and A4 refuge islands. Further work is expected to continue until the end of April.
We are looking for up to seven local people to join a 'Co-production Steering Group'. The group will be shaping a new approach to providing public services in West Berkshire called Co-production, which is about local people and professionals working together in equal partnerships.
The initial focus of the group will be the Council’s Environment Strategy, which includes supporting green growth and businesses, energy efficiency, protecting and enhancing biodiversity, and sustainable transport.
Steering Group members might be from local organisations, businesses, green groups or local people with an interest in environmental issues.
We hope the first meeting will be face to face in Newbury on 29 March from 1pm-4pm. From then on the group will meet on Zoom once per month for six months.
All reasonable expenses will be covered.
How to apply:
The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 18 March.
To find out how to apply please email: Environment@westberks.gov.uk and we will send you further details. If you have any questions, please contact pete@coproductionworks.co.uk.
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The stormy weather in West Berkshire caused lots of problems. But we wanted to say a big thank you to our teams and to everyone who helped to keep their communities safe.
According to Volker Highways, roughly 120 trees (and counting) were safely removed, 6 road closures were put in place, with approximately 150 emergency calls to the highways team received.
Our Veolia waste crews were still able to reach 99% of households, with road access issues causing 1% of households to be blocked.
Town Centre and street cleaning services were suspended for staff safety so please bear with us as we continue to clean up litter after the storm.
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Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) Challenge Fund
Applications for the ARG Challenge Fund closed on the 13 February, and we want to say a massive thank you to everyone who applied.
There was a huge amount of interest with over 130 applications from businesses across the entire district, with a large focus on digital assets and equipment. We will be assessing applications over the next 2 weeks and, given the number of applications, it will be a very competitive process.
We are aiming to respond to every applicant within the first 2 weeks of March.
 Did you know that approximately 25% of black bin waste in West Berkshire is food waste? In the UK, 70% of food wasted is by citizens which equates to about £720 worth of food each year being thrown away by the average household. Overall, this contributes to 8-10% of our greenhouse gases on a global scale.
This Food Waste Action Week, join the nation in reducing your household food waste. For useful tips, recipes and more check out these helpful websites:
If you don’t already recycle food waste in your green bin (no subscription required), find out more about our food waste collections here. You can also learn more about composting at home.
 We are backing Keep Britian Tidy’s #bigbagchallenge to help ‘Spring Clean’ Britain.
This year’s mass campaign, from 25 March to 10 April, calls on families, neighbours, friends and colleagues to join forces and pledge to pick a bag of litter from local areas in order to protect our communities and precious wildlife habitats.
If you are organising a community clean-up event for The Great British Spring Clean, we can provide litter-picking equipment to help you carry out your event. You can find information on how to do this on the article below under 'organise a litter pick'.
Pledge to get involved today and support the campaign on social media with the hashtag #GBSpringClean and #BigBagChallenge
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