|
Cycling, walking and wheeling in West Berkshire is set to be boosted thanks to a £328,000 grant from Active Travel England.
The funding will be put towards West Berkshire Council’s design and delivery of new active travel initiatives. Initiatives which have been delivered using previous funding include the:
- introduction of an additional School Street scheme at Francis Baily School in Thatcham,
- development of proposals to improve the pedestrian and cycle connection between Theale and Calcot; and,
- development of plans for Stage 2 of the Stockcross Linkway, intended to connect into the wider Newbury area network via Speen Lane.
|
West Berkshire Council is already planning to spend more than £1.2m next year on active travel initiatives – which with the grant would bring the total spend on active travel to over £1.5m. It will contribute towards the priorities set out in the Council Strategy to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies and to build thriving communities.
Nature for Health is a project aimed at getting people outside to help improve all aspects of their health including physical health and mental health & wellbeing. The project also aims to support in reducing isolation and loneliness.
At Shaw House there is a Community Kitchen Garden and Tudor Garden where anyone is welcome to come along - There is no need to be an expert in the garden. It is a great opportunity to share knowledge, learn new things and make friends all whilst enjoying the benefits of being outside.
There are a variety of tasks that are carried out including seed sowing, planting, watering, weeding and woodwork. There is a polytunnel which allows participants to access the garden all year round.
Weekly drop-in session takes place on a Thursday 10am - 12.30pm.
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Amy on amy.bosley1@westberks.gov.uk or call: 07553 810133.
 West Berkshire Community Connect on-demand bus service has been running for just over 12 months. It started in January 2024 with the Northwest Downlands service which connects with Newbury Town Centre and West Berkshire Community Hospital, and following this successful launch the Thatcham Connect service began in November 2024.
More flexible than a timetabled bus service you can choose where you'd like to go and when, and we'll plan a journey to suit you!
Trips need to be pre-booked via the passenger App, by telephone, or by email. To compliment the on-demand services, we have made some timetabled journeys available, known as CCA, CCB and CCC.
Why not use Community Connect to get out and about across the district, visit family and friends, get to work, or perhaps catch onward connection by train or bus. You may find some ideas by looking at our Bus Services for Days Out in West Berkshire pages.
West Berkshire Community Connect 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.
We're pleased to announce the launch of electric vehicle (EV) charge points at the historic Shaw House car park in Newbury!
The charge points allow visitors with electric vehicles to now recharge at two dedicated public charging bays. These bays feature 7kW charging points, catering to the growing demand for sustainable travel options.
Councillor Stuart Gourley, Executive Member for Environment and Highways at West Berkshire Council, shared his enthusiasm: "These new chargers are a major step in promoting low-carbon travel within our community."
Nik Stewart, Shaw House Manager, added: "We’re delighted to offer this service to our visitors with electric vehicles, whether they’re here for weddings, meetings, or other events. Providing these facilities aligns perfectly with our goal of enhancing the visitor experience while supporting sustainability."
Further EV Information can be found on our website
|
Would you prefer to read a shortened, simplified version of the Berkshire strategy? Check out our easy read versions:
- Description of Berkshire here. List of Priorities and Measures here. Species Priorities List here.
- Easy read is a way of making written information easier to understand for people with learning disabilities. Lots of other people find easy read useful too, particularly anyone who finds it hard to read standard written English.
The Project Groundwater Innovation Fund is dedicated to empowering and engaging local communities across the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs to address groundwater flooding issues to help them become more resilient to groundwater flooding. This grant will enable local community organisations and individuals to access funding for projects that will encourage using grassroots knowledge to drive solutions for managing groundwater flooding, ensuring the outcomes align with the needs of the community.
What CAN be recycled:
- ✅Plate Scrapings
- ✅Meat, fish and bones
- ✅Bread and pastries
- ✅Fruit and vegetables (including potato peelings and fruit skins)
- ✅Tea bags and coffee grounds
- ✅Egg shells
What CANNOT be recycled:
- ❌General household waste
- ❌No large red meat bones
- ❌Coal and ash
- ❌Oil, liquids and fats
- ❌Packaging of any sort
- ❌Animal bedding and waste (e.g. dog poo)
Residential Properties: Please leave your green food caddy at the kerbside by 6am on the day of your collection. Using a compostable liner will help to keep it clean and reduce smells.
Communal properties: If you have a bin store, please place all food waste in your purple bins provided ensuring only compostable liners are used.
More information can be found here: www.westberks.gov.uk/foodwaste
 West Berkshire Countryside Society (WBCS) - Caring for our Notable Trees
Usually somewhere between 200 and 400 years old, notable trees have local historical significance or are important to a particular environment or landscape. Some may have been numbered and mapped as ‘veterans’. These wonderful trees are long-term survivors. As they gradually age and decay, they provide a vital habitat for hundreds of species, so a way of caring for them to give them the best chance possible of surviving and thriving is important. This ongoing management is known as ‘haloing’ or ‘halo thinning’.
Haloing involves clearing the vegetation from around a tree to maximise the light its trunk and lower branches receive, and to reduce competition for space and nutrition from other shrubs and smaller trees. The aim is to clear under the tree to beyond the tree’s drip line, the outer edge of its canopy where the water drips onto the ground.
The Society’s volunteers carry out haloing on several sites across West Berkshire on behalf of landowners and parish councils. After a few years of haloing, it is possible to see new growth on the lower branches of the trees and a much richer ground flora - maybe a sheet of snowdrops or bluebells in the spring accompanied by the buzz of newly emerged bumble bees.
WBCS volunteer work parties operate on Tuesdays throughout the year. The tasks include woodland and common management, coppicing, hedge-laying and hedge/tree planting. Do get in touch if you would like to join us or wish to find out more about getting involved with the barn owl group: enquiries@westberkscountryside.org.uk Website: www.westberkscountryside.org.uk
It's back! GreenFest 2025 returns.
Venue: St Bartholomew’s School, Newbury, RG14 6JP, bringing an unmissable day of FREE inspiration, education, and action for a greener future!
🌱 Explore 6 Interactive Zones:
- 🏡 Home – Energy-saving tips, heat pumps, solar panels & more!
- 🚗 Travel – Reduce your carbon footprint & explore EVs.
- 🍽️ Food & Farming – Sustainable eating & reducing food waste.
- ♻️ Stuff – Repair, repurpose & rethink consumption.
- 🦋 Nature – Help wildlife thrive & boost your well-being.
- 🤝 Community – Connect, volunteer & spark change.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – and refill!
We are all aware of the amount of packaging (most of it plastic) that is produced each year to make our shopping easier and more convenient as well as making certain brands more attractive and keeping some items fresh for longer. These are all advantageous to some degree but at what cost? Despite our best efforts to recycle plastic packaging it appears that there is so much of it that inevitably some ends up in our landfill and oceans. One way of reducing the amount of packaging coming into our homes is to get into the habit of refilling.
This could mean taking your own containers to a refill shop to be filled with dried goods such as rice, pasta or cereals or perhaps buying a bottle of washing up liquid or shampoo and taking it back to the shop to be refilled as needed.
We are very fortunate to have several excellent local businesses offering the option of refills. Below is an overview of what is available. Why not give it a try?
|
 |
Cobbs at Englefield – Wickcroft Farm, Theale, RG7 5EA
- Website: cobbsfarmshops.co.uk
- Dried goods, such as rice, cereals, nuts, seeds and grains
- Paper bags supplied to take your dry produce home
- Some cleaning and laundry products in cardboard packaging
- Fruit and vegetables sold loose i.e. no packaging
Garlands Organic – 6 Reading Road, Pangbourne, RG8 7LY
- Website: garlandsorganic.co.uk
- “Faith in Nature” products, e.g. shower gel, shampoo, soap (take a bottle to be refilled)
- “Ecover” products, e.g. washing up liquid, laundry liquids (take a bottle to be refilled)
- Organic fruit and vegetables sold loose i.e. no packaging
The Loose Larder – 15 Reading Road, Pangbourne, RG8 7LR
- Website: thelooselarder.co.uk
- Dried goods such as pasta, rice, grains, cereals and nuts
- Herbs and spices – you can buy a teaspoonful if you need some for a recipe but don’t want to buy a whole jar!
- Loose teas and coffee ground while you wait
- Household cleaning liquids including laundry products
- Bring your own refill containers or they supply paper bags
- Shop on-line with free delivery (terms and conditions apply)
Thatcham Refillables – mobile shop comes to Purley on the second Thursday of each month 10am to 12 noon at Altered State, 32 White Lodge Close, Purley on Thames, RG31 6YT (just off Long Lane) and collection points in Thatcham, Newbury, Hungerford, Purley on Thames and Bradfield Southend.
- Website: thatchamrefillable.co.uk
- Products are safe for the planet and are sustainable and ethical
- Cleaning and household products e.g. laundry liquids and powders, multi surface cleaners
- Kitchen & bathroom products e.g. washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, shampoo and conditioner
- Multi use cleaning products e.g. spirit vinegar, bicarbonate of soda
- Dried food items in bulk e.g. crisps, cereals, nuts, rice, pasta
- Delivery service
For more information about Purley Sustainable Group (PSG) and tips to try please visit www.purleysustainability.co.uk.
If you have ideas and tips to be sustainable, please share them on info@purleysustainability.co.uk or if you wish to volunteer, please do get in touch.
Thank you from Thatcham Refillable to all those who dropped off their sweet tubs across West Berkshire!
Thatcham Refillable have now finished their Christmas sweet tub collection and taken 618 sweet tubs to manager Andreas at the Berkshire Arms.
Tubs were dropped off from both wash common WI and Thatcham WI, Silchester Village Hall, Tadley recycling group, Bradfield Village store, plus others. Paula also collected a massive 60 Tubs in Kintbury which were taken to the Bear In Hungerford.
Over the past five years, Tub2Pub has collected & recycled 26,253 kg of plastic!
|
In 2024 Greene King's 'Tub2Pub' initiative saw over 150,000 tubs collected and recycled raising £12,600 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The containers are shredded before being sold to manufacturers where they are made into recycled products. In 2025 the financial value of the shredded plastic will be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support by Greene King.
|
|
