Last chance to apply for energy efficiency grant!
DEADLINE 31 DECEMBER 2022
 DEADLINE 31 DECEMBER 2022
Could a Sustainable Warmth Grant transform your home and support you in managing your energy bills?
Sustainable Warmth is a new Government grant scheme designed to fund energy-efficiency upgrades for residents who are most likely to be impacted by the high cost of rising bills.
The Sustainable Warmth scheme incorporates two areas of funding, targeting households with a combined gross household income of less than £30,000 living in energy inefficient homes. The energy efficiency criteria is determined by the EPC rating of the property. These improvements will help residents to use less energy and spend less on their energy bills.
We are encouraging eligible residents to apply. To see if you're eligible, check the criteria through the online application.
If you require any further information, visit our website.
Deadline to apply is 31 December 2022.
 We've put together a short guide with lots of different tips to help you take steps to improve your home's energy efficiency. Click on the banner above to see what you can do.
You can also find advice for energy bill support within the banner link.
We asked our staff eco-champions to tell us their sustainable New Years resolutions for 2023 - take a look below for inspiration!
- Use the car less and choose walking/cycling/public transport more instead
- Fix up my bike (or buy second-hand) and make more journeys by bike
- Make more effort to dissemble boxes/packets into respective recyclable parts
- Always reuse bags when shopping
- Have at least 2 meat-free meals each week
- Line dry my washing whenever I can
- Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables only
- Choose plastic-free food packaging where possible
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 We are pleased to report that our Community Repaint scheme is now full operational from both of our household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) at Newbury and Padworth.
Community repaint allows residents to drop off paint at either of our HWRCs in the usual way. Householders visiting the HWRCs will also have the opportunity to take away paint free of charge for DIY jobs or local community projects.
This is a great way to pick up some free paint. In addition this has benefits for the environment as the paint will be put to good use rather than being sent for recycling.
To drop off or pick up leftover paint please make sure you have registered for a digital permit to visit the site and have an appointment booked before you visit. This scheme is only open to householders - we cannot work with traders, retailers or manufacturers.
West Berkshire Council, in partnership with their waste contractor Veolia, have opened another new mini recycling centre in the district. The new site is located in Tilehurst at Cotswold Sports Centre, Downs Way, RG31 6SL.
The mini recycling centre has banks for:
- plastic pots, tubs, trays and cans
- small electricals
- paper and cardboard
- food and drink cartons (including paper tubes with metal ends)
- textiles
This new facility will bring the total number of our mini recycling centres to nine and will complement the services available at our two large household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) located at Padworth and Newtown Road in Newbury. This mini facility has arrived just in time for the busy Christmas period when we know a lot more recyclable waste is generated by residents.
Residents are reminded to only place the correct items in the banks for recycling and not to leave bags of recycling/rubbish next to the banks.
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 Batteries placed into bins can be a fire hazard. Please make sure batteries are recycled in the correct place. Why not switch to re-chargeable batteries where you can to help reduce waste!
For information on waste services, as well as useful tips for recycling and reducing waste, subscribe to the Waste Newsletter here.
The Council is committed to improving public bus services and from the 3 January 2023 the hourly route 9 between Newbury and Newbury Racecourse will be extended to the racecourse estate serving Fetlock Drive and Home Straight on Mondays to Saturdays.
The improvements for passengers do not stop there. In partnership with our local bus operators an ‘early bird’ concessionary fare ticket will be available on most rural bus services from the 1 January 2023 for anyone boarding within West Berkshire with a valid concessionary bus pass before 9.30 am. It will cost £1.50 within the Newbury/Thatcham urban area and £2.00 for longer distance journeys (but only within West Berkshire). Further information including terms and conditions will shortly be available on the Council’s Transport Tickets and Fares page.
Finally, it was announced earlier this year that West Berkshire was one of thirty-one local authority areas chosen for funding to improve bus travel from the Government's bus transformation programme. We expect to receive the first part of the £2.6 million allocated to us by the Department for Transport before Christmas, so watch out for further exciting news. The funding, together with the other initiatives described here, are the result of our Bus Service Improvement Plan and our Enhanced Partnership between the Council and local bus operators to oversee the implementation of bus service improvements. Information can be found here Enhanced Partnership (for local bus services) - West Berkshire Council.
 West Berkshire residents can access a wealth of information to help them stay safe.
Published by Good Egg Safety, the Good Egg Guides can be found here. On this page you’ll find several booklets which give lots of useful help and advice for:
So whether you’re the parent of a newly qualified driver or want to know how to keep your car and yourself in tip top condition, there’s a guide for you.
If you require any further information or want to speak to us about any of the subjects mentioned above then please email the Road Safety Team at: ActiveTravel@westberks.gov.uk
 Christmas shopping may be over for this year, but it's important to think about our shopping habits all year-round. We have been encouraging residents to shop less but shop better - this means carefully choosing what you buy and considering buying longer-lasting more sustainable options rather than fast-fashion or cheap wasteful products. It's important to think about this while the Christmas/New Year sales are on too!
Our Shop Local, Shop Green magazine showcases some fantastic local businesses to help you choose greener shops near you.
 Back in the summer, our Countryside and Environment teams launched an exciting new project to supply all West Berkshire maintained and academy schools with up to five trees to plant on their school sites.
This was 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 is identified in the Council’s Environment Strategy. Tree planting also adds to the character and biodiversity of our district as well as links to the national Eco-Schools programme.
The participating schools chose from species such as Silver Birch, Cherry, Field Maple and Rowan. Over 120 trees were delivered to the 26 schools by our Ground Maintenance contractor, Continental Landscapes Ltd, who we’d like to hugely thank for their time and adding a touch of seasonal fun by donning their reindeer antlers!
Whilst we are now in the middle of winter and the trees are in their dormant state, we look forward to seeing them come to life in the spring and flourish in the years to come.
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