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- We cover the flood grants, new Household Waste opening times, the Local Nature Recovery Workshops, HEAT's Film Night, Bus changes, Plastic Pollution, a Clean Air initiative and BBOWT's latest news on our verges and nature reserves.
Read about many more environmental projects happening across West Berkshire in this month's newsletter.
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 © Image courtesy of Dave Smith (resident) of flooding at Linear Park, Calcot
Many households and businesses were impacted by Storm Henk between 2 to 12 January 2024. We understand the challenges you're facing, and we're here to offer support through various flood recovery grants.
Here's a summary of the assistance available but please note each grant has a different deadline date:
- Flooded households in eligible affected areas, who can apply for up to £500 cash to help with immediate costs.
- Households and businesses significantly affected, who will be eligible for 100% council tax and business rates relief for at least 3 months.
- Small-to-medium sized businesses in eligible affected areas, who can apply for up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant to help them return quickly to business as usual.
- Eligible flood-hit property owners, who can apply for up to £5,000 to help make their homes and businesses more resilient to future flooding via the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme.
- Farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage to their land will be able to apply for grants of up to £25,000 through the Farming Recovery Fund towards repair and reinstatement costs for farmers adversely affected by exceptional flooding.
If you're a resident or business in West Berkshire and believe you qualify, please visit our website for further information and to complete the necessary forms: Flood Grants - West Berkshire Council. We're here to support you through this challenging time.
 Following our recent consultation, we're updating the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) hours. Starting from 1 April 2024, weekday (Monday-Friday, excluding bank holidays) operating hours will be adjusted to 11am-6pm. Rest assured, weekend and bank holiday hours will continue as usual from 9am-6pm (including Easter Monday).
We are making these changes to increase efficiency as both sites are not being fully utilised, meaning we have several appointments not used every day. This will also see us save approximately £59,000 annually.
Don't forget to book your appointment and ensure your household is registered for a permit. For further details, please visit our website: https://www.westberks.gov.uk/recyclingcentres
Buses are a relatively cheap and environmentally friendly way to travel around. If you want to find out about where and when local buses go, why not check out our district wide travel guide and West Berkshire Bus Route Map? These are updated on regular basis.
There have been a series of improvements made to local buses recently, including the following service enhancements:
- A new late evening service, operated by Newbury & District, between Newbury and Thatcham on Fridays and Saturdays called the 1e.
- Reading Buses Lime 2a has been extended to serve Mortimer every 2 hours on Sundays.
- Thames Travel’s X34 service now operates between Newbury and Harwell Campus/Didcot providing a link to employment and retail opportunities.
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West Berkshire Community Connect on-demand bus service connecting Northwest Downlands with Newbury, providing links to jobs, retail and opportunities.
These service enhancements have been made possible by funding from HM Government, given to us after submission of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) in October 2021.
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In addition to these improvements, the following has also been introduced:
Wiltshire Connect is an on-demand and timetabled bus network operating between Marlborough and Hungerford.
An early bird concessionary fare ticket has been introduced, allowing those with a valid concessionary bus pass to travel for discounted rates before 9:30am Monday to Friday.
A Connect Group Day ticket is available allowing unlimited use for up to 4 people on valid routes.
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 West Berkshire Council contributed £3,000 to a volunteer-led initiative (co-ordinated through Cold Ash Parish Council) to install a cycle shelter with covered space to park up to ten bikes, at Cold Ash Recreation Ground, next to the Acland Hall.
The new cycle parking facilities gives people the option of cycling to activities held at the recreation ground or the Acland Hall.
West Berkshire Council is working with stakeholders to provide cycle parking at other destinations, following on from our Active Travel ‘Heat Map’ consultation. The Council remains open to considering proposals for similar sites. Other locations where we have recently installed cycle parking include Yattendon Square and The Croft in Hungerford.
Encouraging and enabling active travel (offering many residents an alternative for some or all of their local, shorter-distance journeys) is in line with the Council Strategy Priority of tackling the climate and ecological emergency.
You may have seen some of these signs near schools or in your local neighbourhood.
Idling often occurs outside schools at drop off and pick up times. Avoiding idling outside schools is especially important as it can damage children’s health.
Running your engine unnecessarily while your vehicle is stationary pollutes the environment and is against the law on a public highway. Avoiding idling can save fuel, reduce maintenance costs and extend the life of your vehicle.
An idling engine can produce up to twice as many exhaust emissions as an engine in motion. Exhaust emissions contain a range of air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. These can affect the air quality of the surrounding environment and the air we breathe.
How can you help?
Turn off your engine whilst waiting outside a school, supermarket, rail crossing, canal crossing. Any crossing or anywhere when you know you will be waiting for more than 30 seconds.
Click on the button below to read more about the campaign activity which has been funded through a successful bid to DEFRA:
 Newbury Town Council announced Action River Kennet (ARK) as their worthy winner of the Environmental Contribution Civic Award.
The award was in recognition of their outstanding contribution to Newbury including:
- ARK's 'Love the Lambourn' river habitat improvements project in the town, working with and training volunteers to carry out conservation work to improve habitat diversity.
- 'The River School' project getting local children outdoors and in their river, learning about how fragile and special chalk streams are.
- Riverfly Monitoring citizen science initiatives, and checking for serious pollution incidents through training local volunteers to monitor fixed sites along the river on a monthly basis.
ARK's Senior Project Officer, Anna, and Newbury based volunteer, Glyn (who volunteers with all 3 of the above activities), were presented with a shield and certificate by the Mayor.
 As the name suggests these large insects originate in Southeast Asia but were accidentally introduced into France in 2004. Since then they have spread across France and other European countries. They are voracious insect predators with a particular liking for our honey bees, so much so that in some parts of France honey bee populations have been decimated. If no honey bees are available then any type of insect (including pollinators), spiders and even small mammals cease to exist. They have no natural predators in Europe so their movement across vast areas has been largely uninhibited. Since 2016 there have been a total of 101 confirmed sightings of Asian Hornets in the UK including 85 nests all of which were destroyed. The majority of these sightings were in the South of England. Worryingly 78 of these were in 2023.
The UK Government (Animal and Plant Health Agency) and the National Bee Unit are monitoring the situation carefully in an attempt to stop the spread of these destructive creatures. The only way that this will be possible is to identify nests or individuals. Once nests have been found these will be destroyed and the area monitored to check for further nests.
 What we can do:
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Find out what an Asian Hornet looks like. Make sure you know the difference between the invasive Asian Hornet and a European Hornet. The main difference is that the Asian Hornet is smaller and has yellow legs. The larger European Hornet is a useful pollinator and an endangered species. A good website for identification is Asian Hornet Action Team at ahat.org.uk
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Be vigilant! Keep an eye open for large insects while outdoors. If you see an insect you think might be a hornet check for those yellow legs.
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Report it. The easiest and quickest way is to download the Asian Hornet App onto your phone. This will enable you to quickly send a photo along with location to the relevant authority. Photos and videos can also be sent by email to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk Further information: Asian Hornet Sightings and Incursion Map | British Beekeepers Association (bbka.org.uk)
Purley Sustainability Group (PSG) is a community sustainability group for Purley on Thames and passionate about improving our local environment and encourage sustainable living.
For more information: www.purleysustainability.co.uk info@purleysustainability.co.uk
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Berkshire’s six councils, led by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, are keen to involve you in shaping the LNRS through workshops and a county-wide survey.
Join us at the Corn Exchange, Hungerford Town Hall in West Berkshire on 23 April from 12-3pm, where you'll have the opportunity to delve deeper into the project, learn how to support local nature initiatives, and share your valuable insights.
Register your interest on EventBrite - spaces are limited.
You can also:
- Complete the survey online.
- Share your thoughts, ideas, and priorities until Tuesday 7 May.
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After a very successful first event in Newbury in February, the Newbury and Thatcham Repair Cafe is returning to Newbury Methodist Church RG14 1AN on Sunday 28 April from 2pm to 4.30pm.
Its skilled volunteers will be ready and waiting for items needing repair. Repairs are free, but donations are very welcome to help fund future events. Coffee and tea are also available.
Volunteers have a wide range of repair skills and are keen to help as many people as possible during the afternoon’s event. Visitors are asked to bring only one item each for repair. Items can be checked in for repair until 30 minutes before the end of the event.
The team of volunteers can repair electrical items, such as toasters and kettles; electronic gadgets; garden and household tools; costume jewellery, clothing, textiles and soft toys, and other general repairs such as wooden items, toys and ceramics. Secateurs, scissors and other blades can be sharpened and advice given on IT issues. Items brought in should be portable by one person. The Repair Cafe can’t repair microwaves, petrol-driven items and gas appliances for safety reasons.
The emphasis is on repairing (if feasible) and prolonging the life of an item to reduce waste and save money too, but please don’t expect the team to upcycle a piece of furniture or alter a complete dress!
If in doubt as to whether the item is suitable to bring for repair, please email: NewburyThatchamRepairCafe@gmail.com
 The Penny Post Eco Podcast spotlights local green initiatives and local views on global issues, showcasing the brilliant work that so many people are doing, in their own words. You can Sign up here to the 30 minute fortnightly podcast and listen where and when suits you.
The 15 March Show covered: wildlife trust campaign against the use of neonic pesticides by British Sugar farmers • hedgerows, lambing, soil condition and bee walks at Sheepdrove Organic Farm • the Heat Pump Federation's campaign for decarbonisation via electrification • the capacity of the national grid • and more...
If you would like Penny to cover the activities of your environmental organisation please contact her on penny@pennypost.org.uk 07768 981658.
HEAT (Hungerford Environmental Action Team) Film Night.
On Saturday 20 April, 5.45 - 8.45pm, tickets £5.
Cobbs Farm Shop, Hungerford is showing a documentary feature film about the inspiring story of British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, benefit our health and provide for local communities.
There will be a Q&A afterwards with Imogen Stanley from Rectory Farm and Andrew Davis, local farmer, journalist and lecturer.
A delicious food menu is available to pre-order online. Refreshments are available on the night.
www.hungerfordenvironmentalactionteam.com
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The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) manages West Berkshire Council's commons, country parks and nature reserves. You can read all their latest news online.
This month is our final farewell! After three years of surveying, analysing results and meeting with local people, our project is coming to an end. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone that got involved. West Berkshire Council are taking our advice onboard and, in the short-term, will start to manage verges high in biodiversity more sensitively.
A large team of volunteers surveyed the rural verges of West Berkshire. These verges were then graded on, amongst other things, the diversity of wildflowers growing on them. There is a direct relationship between soil fertility and plant diversity: that being the lower the soil fertility, the higher the diversity of flowering plants.
Our advice is for West Berkshire Council to reduce cutting on those low-fertility verges – those that have naturally short grass and lots of flowers – verges that were highlighted by our surveys. As for those other verges, cutting as they have been previously, or amending the cutting process so as to collect cut material and so reduce fertility. Reducing fertility will, in the long-term, reduce the amount of cutting required, reduce maintenance costs, and increase biodiversity. The council are currently exploring all options for the better management of rural verges for wildflowers.
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Keep an eye out for the bees, butterflies and spring flowers on verges near you. As the summer comes around, we should see the fruits of the reduced cutting on those special verges. More flowers, bees, butterflies, and everything else.
Further press releases will follow. Check out the BBOWT website for further details of the project and any future collaborative projects between West Berkshire Council and BBOWT.
Simon, and the West Berkshire Wild Verges Project, thank you and goodbye for now.
The Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trust's (BBOWT) have recruited three seasonal wardens, Zoe, Martha, and Patrick, to help safeguard the ground-nesting birds on Greenham and Snelsmore Common, through the breeding season.
Despite the wet weather, Dartford Warblers and Woodlarks have already been spotted around Greenham, mapping out their territories and finding mates, soon to be joined by the elusive Nightjar, Lapwing and more.
Our wardens are here to provide a friendly face, engaging with the public and sharing the importance of preserving these vulnerable species, as well as surveying and gathering data to help BBOWT provide ground nesters the best chance to breed successfully each year. If you’re visiting either of the Commons, please stick to paths and look out for signage for more information.
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Watch out for the guided Nightjar walks and other events the Wardens will be hosting in the coming months, providing a rare insight into the wild residents of these special sites.
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There's a great citizen science project called PoMS (Pollinator Monitoring Scheme) that absolutely anyone can get involved in! Loads of info about pollinators, too:https://ukpoms.org.uk/ |
Watch the extraordinary In No Plastic film which was launched on 27th February.
https://youtu.be/Lm1kEM7WOXk?si=K5hOUYGATKUaeeHB
In a world where plastic pollution has become an undeniable crisis, innovative solutions are the beacon of hope towards a cleaner, healthier planet. This easy to understand 3D video, has been developed by the 'In No Plastic' project with the goal to develop and demonstrate nano-, micro-, and macro-plastic clean-up technologies in the aquatic ecosystems. Funded by the EU for 3 years, the In No Plastic Project is also Supported by Thames 21.
Watch the video and see the amazing solutions available.
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