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We’ve got the perfect way to keep the kids occupied this coming half-term.
Bikeability will give your child the skills and confidence to fully enjoy cycling. From Level 1, which teaches children the basics, right through to Level 3, which gives them the tools for cycling on the road. Your child must have completed Levels 1 and 2 to take part in a Level 3 course.
Each course costs £20 per child.
All our half-term holiday Bikeability courses can be found online here.
If you can’t find a course to suit you this time, please keep checking back. Our website is updated regularly and more will be added for future school breaks.
Alternatively you can email us at: activetravel@westberks.gov.uk
The Government has launched the ‘It All Adds Up’ energy-saving campaign to raise public awareness of actions that people can take to cut their energy bills. The campaign promotes steps to help households save money on their energy bills with top tips including:
- Reducing the temperature a boiler heats water to before it is sent to radiators (known as the boiler flow temperature) from 75⁰C to 60⁰C, which will not reduce the temperature of your home but could save around £100 annually
- Turning appliances off at the plug, which could save approximately £70 per year
- Reducing heating loss from the property by putting draught excluders around doors or by adding clear film across windows, which could save around £60 a year
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Why not refresh your wardrobe and do your bit for reducing waste by heading along to the regular swap shops at the Corn Exchange, Newbury.
Your old clothes can go home with someone new and avoid ending up in the bin.
Click the button below to read more about how to get involved and when the swap shop is running.
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If you fancy doing something else with your clothes, you can donate them to The Cowshed. They are a new charity which provides support to people of all backgrounds in a time of personal crisis. The Cowshed have strong environmental values and are aiming to help change behaviours. Did you know three in five garments end up in landfill or incinerators within a year in the UK?
All the clothes that are donated will be used; the good quality clothes will be washed and ironed ready for clients, the slightly damaged clothes/bedding will be repurposed by their community arts and crafts group to make items to sell. Anything left after this will be sold to a recycling organisation to raise further funds to help sustain the charity.
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We are pleased to announce that bus journeys across West Berkshire are capped at £2 for a single journey and £4 for a return journey until 31 March 2023.
You may have heard the Government's announcement that a three month fare cap has been introduced across most bus services in England where you can get around for £2. The intention of the fare cap is to provide affordable bus travel for passengers travelling any time of the day. The scheme forms part of the Government’s Help for Households campaign, as the new cap can deliver real savings for those most affected by the rising cost of living.
So why not use the bus to get to work, go shopping, attend an appointment, go for a bite to eat in the local eateries, take in some of the outstanding scenery, or meet friends and family. The full list of those taking part in West Berkshire can be found here.
The fare cap scheme follows on from the successful free bus travel offered on bus services in the district in the run up to Christmas. There will be more announcements about fares on your local buses in the coming months.
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In the first six weeks of the new weekly food waste collection service starting (31 October 2022), we have collected nearly 480 tonnes of food waste from households; that's the same weight as three adult blue whales.
You can read more about this here!
Remember there is no amount too small, start by recycling your tea bags, egg shells and peelings. Collecting food waste separately can make it easier to identify what types of food waste you are regularly wasting so you can look at tips on how to reduce food waste and save money. Love Food Hate Waste can offer lots of useful hints and tips.
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Do you have questions about waste and recycling? A member of our waste team will be at Thatcham Library on Monday 13 February 2023 from 10-11:30am to answer any queries and offer waste reduction advice.
Award from Capability & Ambition Fund
 West Berkshire Council is delighted to have been awarded over £57,000 from the Capability & Ambition Fund, administered by Active Travel England, the Government’s new executive agency responsible for boosting cycling and walking.
The funding will enable:
- Bespoke training for staff on latest guidance and standards;
- Data and evidence collection at two sites, to inform business case development for potential future improvements between Calcot and Theale, and in Old Bath Road in Newbury;
- Evolution of a design for and consultation on, possible Phase 2 footway and cycleway improvements on A4 Western Avenue, eastwards from the Oxford Road/Waitrose roundabout towards Chestnut Crescent and Winchcombe School as part of an emerging wider network; and
- An initiative to increase awareness of the School Streets scheme already running in Calcot, with the emphasis on driver education.
The award from Active Travel England will assist the Council in evolving its ambitious programme of schemes to encourage and enable more cycling and walking in the District, in particular in towns and urban areas. This programme is in line with the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan adopted by the Council in June 2021.
 Want to hear what's been going on in the River Pang catchment over the past year? Action for River Kennet (ARK) are the catchment host and have put together a newsletter detailing all their fantastic work in the area.
Coming up next month...
Keep an eye out for our Local Transport Plan consultation coming up next month. We want your help to identify and prioritise the transport needs of the district.
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