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This month marks three years since we published our Environment Strategy which outlines the steps we intend to take with our partners to address the climate change emergency and reach carbon neutrality. As always, we've been very busy delivering projects across the district over the last year and have created the roadmap above showing our key achievements.
Our Environment Strategy highlights our 5 key strategic objectives:
- Carbon Neutral by 2030
- Responsible Economic Growth
- Healthy Communities
- Resilient to Climate Change
- Working with our Communities and Partners
Read our Environment Strategy and previous roadmaps (in our annual reports) on our webpage here.
Recycling Centre summer opening hours
 Our Household Waste Recycling Centre at Newtown Road Newbury is open until 8pm every Thursday until September.
We've also increased the number of booking slots at our busiest times, to make it easier for you to visit when it’s most convenient for you.
Don't forget to have your e-permit and book a slot before you visit us on our website here.
 We have appointed ubitricity, one of the UK's leading charge point operators, to supply, install and manage up to 250 electric vehicle (EV) charge points across West Berkshire.
This will expand our existing charging infrastructure network to bring more publicly available EV charge points for residents who don’t have private off-street parking.
ubitricity will be deploying up to 250 charge points across West Berkshire using their bollard solutions, which draws power from existing streetlamps and is ideal for rapid residential rollouts, provide a low power, low cost and near-home charging option.
The rollout in West Berkshire is planned to be installed in key residential and commercial locations, allowing residents to easily charge hybrid and electric vehicles on the street where they live.
Read more about it here.
 Since 24 July 2023, an exciting new bus service from Newbury Wharf Bus Station to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus and Didcot has begun running. The service is called X34 and will run hourly between Newbury and Harwell Campus Monday to Saturday. Operated by Thames Travel, who are part of Oxford Bus Company, it will provide a vital link between Newbury and Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, as well as providing a link to Didcot where there is onward bus travel to Abingdon, Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Wallingford and Wantage. Why not use the bus to go to work at the Harwell Campus, to go on a day trip with family and friends or take advantage of shopping opportunities in Didcot or Oxford. This service has been made possible by funding from HM Government given to West Berkshire Council and Oxfordshire County Council after submission of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) in October 2021.
Other initiatives which may encourage you to consider travelling by bus:
- The national £2 Single Fare Cap scheme has been extended until 31 October 2023, after which the cap will raise to £2.50 until 30 November 2024. A list of participating operators in West Berkshire can be found here.
- The Government has recently launched the Take the Bus campaign encouraging older and disabled people to use their free concessionary pass to travel by bus. So why not take advantage of your bus pass to use the new bus service to Harwell/Didcot, to go shopping or meet friends in town or to visit family and friends.
- If you would like travel before 09:30am Monday to Friday then you could take advantage of the 'early bird' concessionary fare ticket which can be purchased for a discounted rate when boarding with a valid bus pass.
There will be further improvements to your bus services announced in the coming months so please do look out for them.
Our annual bus survey is now open until Sunday 10 September 2023, we are asking for views on how satisfied you are with bus services, £2 National Single Fare Cap Scheme, ticketing improvements, changes to existing bus services and views on new services we expect to introduce shortly. Paper copies of the survey can be requested by contacting 01635 519394 or transport@westberks.gov.uk.
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At the start of the month we hosted a Sustainable Business Breakfast event in Newbury for local businesses. This session focused on how to improve energy efficiency and how the Council can support businesses to become more sustainable. We received fantastic feedback from the attendees and look forward to working more with our businesses on our journey to carbon neutrality.
Find out more from our sustainable business website here.
 West Berkshire environmental groups can join our aDoddle Community map aimed at providing a free platform for groups to make them more accessible for residents to find and join. By creating a profile, you can add your details, events and links to any webpages or social media pages.
Residents looking to volunteer and attend local events can use aDoddle to search for groups.
Fancy a new piece of clothing for a holiday? Doing a wardrobe clear out?
Head over to the Corn Exchange in Newbury for their upcoming swap shops to take advantage of second hand clothing without the price tag.
Bring a bag of clothes you no longer wear and leave with a bag of different clothes for you and/or your family. All you need to do is donate a minimum of one item of clothing as an entry fee.
Head upstairs to the Corn Exchange Balcony Bar between 12pm and 4pm on the dates below:
- Sunday 13 August
- Sunday 24 September
- Sunday 29 October
- Sunday 19 November
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In June, Englefield Estate held its 26th annual ‘Schools Days’. The grounds were transformed into an impressive outdoor classroom welcoming over 1,500 Key Stage 2 Children for hands-on experience of farming and the rural environment. Along with 200 school staff and helpers, they all learned about the work carried out on the Berkshire Estate including forestry, farming, horticulture, construction and wildlife conservation.
Staff from departments across the Estate were joined by experts from many other organisations including the Museum of English Rural Life, Reading and District Beekeeping Association, Butterfly Conservation, Action for the River Kennet (ARK), the archaeology department at Reading University, Hampshire Countryside Service, Thames Water, Berkshire Bat Rescue and the Angling Trust.
Englefield’s Education and Environment Officer Dr Liz Mattison said the two days had been a huge success. “Our staff have a great time introducing children to their work, from looking after woodland to maintaining Victorian houses and we have a wonderful range of organisations and volunteers who help us to give children a unique day of hands-on learning about sustainability and reflecting real world situations and decisions.”
The event has strengthened links with the national curriculum over the years and become an important occasion for children to gain knowledge about the countryside as well as enjoy a day out with their school friends and teachers.
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We’re very lucky to be surrounded by beautiful countryside in West Berkshire and there’s nothing like being outdoors in summer. But do keep safe and ‘Lyme Aware’ by following the advice around protecting yourself against ticks. NHS advice can be found here.
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