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We know the summer time is when our open spaces are enjoyed the most with picnics, sports events, gatherings, exercise and dog walks.
As the saying goes, we are a nation of dog lovers and never more so since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since 2020, dog ownership has increased considerably and whilst owning a dog has been shown to have a positive impact on our physical and mental wellbeing, it does mean our dogs waste bins are being used more often!
Our Contractors empty litter and dog bins on a regular basis and we are adding extra resource to this service to meet demand in high usage areas. However, we still need your help to ensure our open spaces and pavements stay clean and tidy from fly tipping and overflowing bins.
When you are out and about please:
Thank you to everyone who looks after our open spaces by using litter bins and dog waste bins respectfully. Let’s keep West Berkshire beautiful
Wildflower wonders
Have you spotted West Berkshire’s wonderful wildflowers?
Residents and visitors to the district have again been treated to beautiful displays of wildflowers this year. Our wild flower verge project, which is focused on our rural verges and managed by BBOWT (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust) is now well established and thriving and the Council’s ‘man made’ displays at locations such as roundabouts are going from strength to strength.
The wildflower verge project is a long term ‘natural’ project which aims to encourage the wildflowers already present on our rural verges to establish themselves whilst reducing the vigour of grass and weeds. You will have seen wildflower verges on the A4 from Thatcham to Theale and from Newbury to Hungerford. There are other examples on the rural verges around Kintbury and Inkpen, particularly around Coombe Gibbet.
The Council understands the importance of wildflowers for wildlife and particularly for our pollinator species such as bees, butterflies and beetles. We are therefore moving away from traditional displays of shrubs and bedding plants in locations such as roundabouts in favour of wildflower turf or seed which will grow into native annual and perennial plants. One particular success story has been a patch of gravel near the BT building in Newbury – not the most hospitable of planting locations but now home to beautiful wildflowers and a natural habitat!
We have received some fantastic comments from residents and hope to create more wildflower areas ready for next year. We hope this will make West Berkshire a place that we can be proud of!
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Newly-planted trees need to be watered regularly over the summer months if they are going to become established and thrive.
- Consider watering the newly planted trees close to where you live – that could be a street tree, or one on a bit of open space
- Water them during prolonged dry and windy conditions throughout the drier months
- Ideally continue watering trees for the first three years of planting
- Rain, tap and grey water are all acceptable
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 On 10 June, members of our Environment Delivery Team visited Sheepdrove Organic Farm up in Lambourn.
Sheepdrove has made fantastic progress towards taking climate action on the farm, from constructed wetlands and habitat restoration, to ground source heat pumps and wind energy. The farm is home to a wide range of habitats and wildlife, and through many different initiatives and nature schemes on the farm, this is expanding.
We were given a tour of the land and an overview of the history of the farm. Sheepdrove Organic Farm is a great example of how agriculture and nature can flourish.
We are launching an exciting new project to supply schools in the District with trees to plant on their school sites. We hope this will be a fantastic way to encourage the future generation to play their part in tackling climate change and experience the positive impact of nature on both their physical and mental health.
Encouraging children to be closer to nature and tree planting as a carbon sequestration measure are both identified in the Council’s Environment Strategy.
Tree planting also adds to the character and biodiversity of our district. There are also links to the national Eco-Schools programme. You may wish to consider signing up to become an Eco-School with this tree planting initiative being one of the actions towards this scheme.
Contact your school to encourage them to take part!
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 Calling all eco-conscious independent cafes, restaurants and pubs! There’s still time to apply to our Dine Out Sustainably campaign.
We want to showcase our best independent dining places with green agendas to help encourage residents to consider more eco-friendly places to eat and drink. So whether you are a green-certified restaurant, solar-powered pub, or a café sourcing from locally-sourced produce, get in touch!
To find out more, and to apply, visit our webpage here. Deadline for application is 5pm 15 July 2022.
Cllr Steve Ardagh-Walter has been looking into local initiatives to help residents with home energy efficiency:
As we all know, home heating costs have rocketed over the last year, and there is likely to be a further increase this winter. This situation will push many people across West Berkshire into fuel poverty and very real hardship. One of the biggest causes of fuel poverty is draughty and poorly insulated homes: these waste lots of householders' money as well as unnecessarily contributing to global warming.
Fortunately, both draughts and poor insulation can be fixed quite easily. To make this happen locally I would like to form a voluntary group, provisionally named West Berkshire Draughtbusters. The aims of this group would be to find and fix draughts in homes occupied by elderly and vulnerable residents, and also to raise awareness so that many more people are equipped to improve their own houses.
Are you interested in energy saving and the environment, and would you be keen to make a difference across the community? We need both a core team who can set up the organisation, arrange training, publicity and work with other bodies; and also practical people who are willing to give some time to find and fix problems in homes. If you are able to help, please contact me, Cllr Steve Ardagh-Walter, via email steve.ardagh-walter@westberks.gov.uk and indicate whether you would like to be involved in the core group, as an individual problem fixer, or both.
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Buses are an important part of the public transport network in this country, they allow students to get to school or college, enable those who don’t have a car to get out and about, and can connect people to work opportunities. In 2021 the government launched a National Bus Strategy to provide funding to local councils to build bus services for the future. Following submission of our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) we have been awarded some of this money.
The Council has suggested to the DfT (Department for Transport) how the funding could be used and are awaiting a response. However we are asking you to have your say via our Bus Survey about how we can continue to ensure that your local bus services continue to meet your needs.
The survey is open until midnight on Sunday 31 July 2022, please do have your say.
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Planning approval was recently granted for two more flood alleviation schemes in North Thatcham off Bowling Green Road and Heath Lane, and East Thatcham off the junction of A4 and Floral Way.
The schemes form part of the Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) for Thatcham completed in 2010 following the widespread surface water flooding in 2007. The flood defences in the SWMP form a strategic network of basins and reservoirs around the northern perimeter of Thatcham that will prevent surface water from the fields above Thatcham causing floods in the future. The schemes can therefore be regarded as a future climate resilience for Thatcham.
Next week marks National Co-Production Week, an event to celebrate the benefits of co-production and sharing good practice for developing better public services.
Co-production is a process that involves residents as equal partners with council officers in the design, delivery and evaluation of services. We are currently working with a group of residents to create a framework for us to adopt going forward. Our pilot project will focus on Community Energy so watch this space for an update later this year!
'The process of co-production puts people at the centre of service delivery. The notion of 'people matter' is the prevailing ethos of the inclusive process. Highly recommended.’ – Anne Budd, Hamstead Marshall Resident
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The Sustainability Fund will provide cash sponsorship, in-kind resources or staff volunteers to support not-for-profit organisations and community groups to transform their local community or environment.
Any not-for-profit organisation, community group or individuals can apply to the Sustainability Fund. Projects can apply until 4 November 2022
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We are in the process of getting in touch with all residents who currently pay for our garden waste service for 2021/22.
If you currently pay for your garden waste subscription by Direct Debit you should have received a letter or email (please check junk mail) to make sure your payment and contact details are correct for the 2022/2023 renewal.
If your details are still the same and you wish to renew your subscription you don't need to do anything.
If you wish to make changes or cancel your subscription for garden waste, please follow the instructions in the email or letter.
If you normally pay by card or cheque you will be contacted in July with details of how to subscribe to the 2022/23 subscription period.
New subscribers can sign up for the garden waste collection service from July 2022. Keep an eye on our website for when the subscription period opens.
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The results of the weekly food waste survey are now available to view online here.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey!
We have taken what we learnt from your responses and, where possible, will use the relevant feedback to improve how the new service can be delivered when we launch it in Autumn 2022.
We are delighted at the success of our first ever soil conditioner give-away at our Integrated Waste Management Facility at Padworth, which saw 25 tonnes of soil conditioner collected by West Berkshire Council residents on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 May 2022.
We'd like to thank residents for patiently waiting for their turn as we saw long queues on Saturday due to high demand for the material, which is a fine grade, peat free soil conditioner, made from garden and food waste collected from households across West Berkshire.
We are also grateful to our partners Veolia UK for working with us to make this happen.
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