|
Plastic Free July is a worldwide initiative that empowers millions of people to be part of the solution to plastic pollution. This year’s focus is on small changes each of us can make to reduce plastic waste and you can find some inspiration and ideas here: Get Involved - Plastic Free July
In addition to changes that we can make as individuals, on the 01 October 2023 the government introduced new rules in relation to single use plastics. These new rules will help to tackle problems such as the use of around 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery and 721 million single-use plates per year in England. Only 10% are recycled. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued guidance for businesses on these regulations which can be accessed at Gov.uk.
The new rules meant businesses across England were no longer able to buy or sell certain single-use plastic items including:
- polystyrene cups and food containers
- single-use plastic cutlery
- single-use balloon sticks
The DEFRA rules make it an offence to supply certain single-use plastic items in England, except for a few exemptions. The rules apply to online and over the counter sales and apply to all business, including retailers, takeaways, food vendors and the hospitality industry, although they do not apply to shelf-ready pre-packaged food items.
Locally, the Trading Standards Team is responsible for enforcing these regulations. A range of enforcement options have been provided, including compliance notices, non-compliance penalties, stop notices and fixed penalty notices.
If you have any queries or would like to report any concerns please contact 01635 519930 or email tsadvice@westberks.gov.uk
|
Your views about local bus services are important to us. We would like to find out how satisfied you are with local public bus services, your opinions on ticketing improvements, £2 National Single Fare Cap, changes to public bus services, suggestions for improvements to passenger waiting areas and your views of long-distance coach services.
To take part, please complete the online survey by midnight on Sunday 8 September 2024.
Paper copies of the survey are also available on request by contacting 01635 519394 or emailing transport@westberks.gov.uk
|
Using grant funding from Active Travel England, West Berkshire Council has introduced new active travel counters.
The two portable devices use radar to differentiate between and anonymously count, pedestrians and cyclists.
The anonymous count data is transmitted to a system that allows reports to be easily produced. The data will be used to inform proposals for additional or adapted active travel routes.
Encouraging and enabling active travel fits with the Council Strategy Priority of tackling the climate and ecological emergency, by offering many residents an alternative for some or all of their local, shorter-distance journeys.
 |
As the summer holidays begin why not use local buses to get out and about with family and friends. You may be pleasantly surprised by where you can go, and also how much it costs.
The Connect ticket range offers great value for money on day, weekly, monthly and group tickets. Over the summer holiday period (29 July to 1 September 2024) we will be offering reduced fares on the day and group tickets, further information can be found on the Council’s website.
The National Single £2 Fare Cap, the Early Bird Concessionary Fare Ticket and other ticket improvements are also available on local buses.
The reduced fares summer offer for the Connect ticket range has been made possible by funding from HM Government, given to West Berkshire Council after submission of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) in October 2021.
|
You can help Thames Water find leaks, especially in dry weather. If you spot a leak, please let them know through view and report a problem page on their website.
|
The Town and Manor team are happy to answer any questions regarding this project and arrange site visits. They have a number of displays regarding the plans for this amazing reserve and restoring its ancient water meadows, for the benefit of all.
To get in touch submit your query at the bottom of the Wetland Reserve web page via website www.townandmanor.co.uk/wetland-reserve
Alternatively write to:
Town and Manor of Hungerford Town Hall, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0NF
|
In 2022-23, 49.8% of all the waste we collected from households in West Berkshire was recycled. Have you ever wondered what happens to your recycling once it’s been collected from your home?
Once collected, all the recycling is brought to our facility at Padworth, West Berkshire, managed and operated in partnership with our contractors, Veolia.
Here’s a breakdown of what happens next, depending on the type of waste:
-
Garden and Food Waste: This is taken to our in-vessel composting facility at Padworth, where it’s transformed into PAS 100 certified soil conditioner, used by local farmers and landscapers. Watch a video on the process by clicking here: Your Garden Waste Collection Service (youtube.com)
-
Plastic Bottles, Cans and Aerosols: These go to our Material Recovery Facility at Padworth, where they are separated into different grades and baled for transport to reprocessors. They are then turned into new products like milk bottles and drink cans.
-
Glass Bottles and Jars: These are delivered to the Transfer Station at Padworth before being transported to reprocessors. They are melted and used to make new bottles, jars, or aggregate.
-
Paper and Card: These materials are also dropped off at the Transfer Station at Padworth and then transported to paper mills to be turned into more paper and card.
Thank you for your efforts, let’s continue together to improve our recycling habits and contribute to a greener future on our journey to net zero.
You can find more information here: Where does your waste and recycling go? - West Berkshire Council
One of the tasks carried out by the West Berkshire Countryside Society’s volunteers on several sites across the District is bracken control. The ability of bracken to spread quickly, growing up to 2m high and 1m wide in dense stands, can create a habitat management problem in woodland, heathland and semi-natural grassland by shading out other plants and taking over large tracts of land.
However, as it provides good cover for nesting birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, bracken has value as a wildlife habitat. It is also the food plant of the caterpillars of Garden Tiger and Small Angle Shades moths, amongst others. So, what’s the problem? Bracken is clearly a valuable component of habitats, but not in such a way that it prevents other plants from providing the diversity necessary for many more organisms to thrive. Active management is needed.
Our volunteers have spent several days cutting down stands of bracken to restore grazing land and to create glades in woodland where wildflowers and insects can thrive - an example of the Society’s work to improve the ecology and diversity of habitats throughout West Berkshire. Our hard work is already paying dividends in the wonderful sight of carpets of primroses and bluebells replacing the uniform strangle of dense stands of bracken in a glade now visited by many butterflies and frequented by slow worms and small mammals.
|
Check if you’re eligible for energy and money saving home upgrades!
As part of the Home Upgrade Grant, eligible properties could receive free improvements to become more energy efficient, lowering their carbon footprint and energy bills.
Find out more and check if you meet the criteria 👉🏼 www.hugapply.co.uk
#EnergySaving #HomeUpgrade #HomeImprovement #MoneySaving #Free
|
|
-
Sunday 28 July, 10:00am to 12:30pm. Frank Hutchings Community Hall, Thatcham (RG18 4QH)
-
Sunday 18 August, 2:00 to 4:30pm. Newbury Methodist Church Hall (RG14 1AN)
The first five Newbury and Thatcham Repair Café events rescued a whopping 600 kg of waste from landfill !
Bring your electrical and electronic items, clothing, textiles, jewellery, and other household objects to our skilled repairers.
We also offer tool sharpening (1 large or 2 small items) and help with IT/mobile phones.
At Thatcham only, we are trialling simple bike repairs – pre-registration by e-mail is essential.
Repairs are free, but donations fund future events. Have a cuppa and a chat while you wait. (One item per person. Please ensure it is clean and small/light enough to carry. Sorry, no microwaves, petrol-driven items, or gas appliances. For electrical/electronic items, please bring batteries, chargers, leads, power supplies, etc. so we can test fully.)
|
Friday 16 August & Saturday 17th August 10am - 12:30pm Free
Come along to the Shaw House Community Garden (RG14 2DR) and enjoy a morning of exploring nature!
The morning will involve making bird feeders to take home with you, a mini wellbeing walk around the Shaw House grounds looking at the nature that surrounds us, bug hunting and storytelling in the amphitheatre. Booking is essential due to limited spaces.
To book please email amy.bosley1@westberks.gov.uk
|
Shaw House Beekeeping Workshop
Do you want to learn more about the world of bees and Bee keeping?
Nature for Health in partnership with Ben’s Berkshire Bees will be hosting a FREE to attend bee keeping Workshop.
There will be the opportunity to purchase some of Ben’s produce including his Award Winning West Berkshire Honey!
When: Thursday 22 August 6.30pm – 8pm
Where: Shaw House Community Kitchen Garden
This is an outdoor event so please bring a chair if you are unable to sit on the grass.
Although this is a free event booking is essential due to limited spaces. To book please email amy.bosley1@westberks.gov.uk
|
PAWS is a group endeavour aimed at nurturing a green ethos and encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices within our local community.
We have a number of very different events planned and everyone is welcome:
Enjoy an evening learning about Living Wild at Home, a talk by a local sculptor; come along to the Whitchurch Maze with your family and any spare apples you have to join in Apple Pressing on Sunday 22 Sept; take part in an evening with local experts to discuss flooding in the Pang Valley; join us for coffee and a chat at the Art Café in Whitchurch on Saturday 7 September.
|
Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) are thrilled to announce that the Autumn Recorders' Conference is back and set to take place on Saturday, 19 October 2024, at Oracle, Thames Valley Park, Reading.
A must-attend event for nature enthusiasts and conservationists alike!
Join us for a day of amazing talks, interactive workshops, and engaging discussions from different recording and conservation groups and projects across Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The conference aims to foster knowledge sharing, inspire action, and promote collaboration among like-minded individuals. We hope to see you there!
Get your discounted early bird tickets now!
|
|
|
|
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.
The ground-nesting birds of Greenham have been very busy tending to their fledglings and preparing for their second broods. Over the past three months, our surveyors have also been hard at work gathering information on their numbers and territories.
Despite the weather, our ground-nester’s numbers have remained stable thanks to the work of BBOWT and its volunteers keeping the heathlands healthy and the visitors of Greenham and Snelsmore sticking to the main paths, protecting these precious habitats.
This year's Nightjar surveys have been very positive with activity being recorded at every survey location across Greenham, Crookham, and Snelsmore areas.
Nightjars were previously far more frequent and widespread than they are today. Because of the loss of open woodland and heathlands over the past 50 years, their populations have decreased by more than 50%. However, their numbers have started to rise again in recent times. Partly thanks to the successful conservation efforts to restore lowland heaths.
|
The Nature Discovery Centre in Thatcham runs many educational events for adults and children. Recently they held a pond dipping session as part of their lifelong learning program for adults which was a great success. Participants learnt a lot about the aquatic invertebrates in the pond, discovering how great diving beetles use bubbles to breath while observing various creatures including a newt larva, frogs and froglets, pea mussels and even a young carp. The session was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
If you would like to develop your wildlife knowledge why not join them at one of their future events - www.bbowt.org.uk/events
click on the button below and add Newbury into the search locator
Future adult session :
Discovery Centre bird walk - 14 August
Birds & a Brew - 30 August
Talk on Weird & Wacky birds - 5 September
Bat Walk and Talk - 14 September
Children sessions:
|
|
|
-
The Freshwater Habitats Trust need our help to find & map Priority Ponds across England (not garden ponds!) so they can then continue to protect many more of the best habitats for freshwater wildlife 🌿🐸💦
Fewer than 2% of UK ponds have been identified as priority habitats but the total is likely to exceed 20%.
The Trust are working with @NaturalEngland to map England’s priority ponds. You can help by carrying out their new priority pond survey.
|
My work experience week with West Berkshire Council’s Environment Delivery Team was incredible, fully planned out and organised to ensure I gained as much knowledge as I could. I even had my own email, ID card, and laptop! I ranged between looking at the solar panels on the roof of their Market Street offices, visiting a habitat restoration and biodiversity site at Sulham Estate, and looking at waste management in our local area.
I also looked at evolving methods of transport in Newbury, which included a fun discussion with the train station Manager. I have expanded my knowledge on topics that are valuable for my future career aspirations in Geography, and had an interesting time looking into the ongoing sewage scandal in our waters, as well as public rights of way in West Berkshire. I was fortunate to visit a polling station on election day to learn how my local council plays a vital role in elections. I very much enjoyed my time there and would welcome the opportunity to return!
|
|
|
|
|
|
