We meet regularly to discuss and review our ongoing environmental projects. To help projects move from concept to completion we are always keen to welcome new members. The current projects we are working on are quite varied and cover a range of environmental issues.
Footpaths/Bridleways
Footpath Warden
The role of a Footpath Warden is voluntary and open to anyone who enjoys the countryside, whether it is to walk the dog, take a stroll after Sunday lunch, or to keep fit! You can run the footpath if you’d like! The footpath map is available on the Hampstead Norreys website (click for map). If we get enough volunteers, we’d hope that each volunteer could “adopt” one particular footpath as “theirs”! If you’re new to the district or if you’re not sure which routes are out there, we’ll walk you through them (physically!) to get your bearings and see which one suites you best! You can even buddy up with other volunteers and make a circular route!
Description of Role
Identify the footpath, make a note of its condition, walk this at least once every
two months, and identify any work that may be required, i.e. it is overgrown through lack of use or if the route is blocked by a fallen tree.
Objective
The objective is to ensure that the footpaths are kept clear and are accessible to everyone. We would hope to make notes on what footpaths are accessible to pushchair or wheelchair users and, if possible, update the footpath map.
Commitment
The only commitment would be to walk (or run!) the agreed footpath every two months-but you can walk the route more often! – and report back on its condition.
Action and Contacts
If there are any problems regarding any footpaths, such as obstacles, footpath ploughed up, route not clear or blocked etc please contact: West Berks Council Miss Elaine Cox, Snr Rights of Way Officer
Email: elcox@westberks.gov.uk
Address: Council Offices, Faraday Road, Newbury, Berks. RG14 2AF
Telephone: 01635 42400
If there is no response please contact the Hampstead Norreys Parish Council clerk via email (Parish Clerk). If we can, the group will clear the path ourselves.
Interested?
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or would like more information, please contact
Ingrid on 01635 202925 or Alison on 01635 201330
Village Litter Pick 2009
It was great to see that the majority of our areas within the village are litter free; considerably less litter was picked in 2009, compared to the last village litter pick in 2006. The majority of the litter we picked seemed to have been dropped from passing cars with the worst offending areas being roads:
Newbury Lanefrom the railway bridge to the Eling turn off
Compton Roadfrom the railway bridge to Fiveways
Yattendon Road to St Abbs
One footpath, from Yattendon Road to Upper Beechcroft, yielded a large amount of litter.
Although we know some of you already keep areas around your homes and the village hall litter free, if there are any volunteers interested in adopting an area to litter pick, please contact Ingrid on 202925 or email the Environment Group
If we get a number of volunteers, these areas will be identified on the website. However, no need to restrict yourself to one area! If you're out on a walk, pop a rubbish sack in your pocket and keep an eagle eye out for rubbish as you enjoy the wander!
Restoration of the Well Garden
The last major effort in the Well Garden saw around 600 daffodil bulbs being planted to give it a bright look in the Spring of 2010. It is anticipated that most of the area will now be covered as the existing plants grow and spread, restricting the potential for weeds and the consequent maintenance. A narrow path has also been implemented to provide access for any such maintenance without trampling the dug soil. Use the “Well Garden” button on the left hand side of this page to see a seperate report complete with many pictures.
Dog Litter Bins
One more bin for dog waste has recently been fitted on the identified site in Church Street and will be regularly emptied by WBC under a contract with the Parish Council (making a total of 4 bins in the village: 1 in the Church Street site, 2 in the Dene Meadow and 1 on the footpath from the Hall to the Close). All we need now is to try to ensure that they are properly used! Any ideas that you may have to help reduce pollution would be very welcome, especially from dog owners!
Recycling
The latest addition to the range of services is the provision of facilities to recycle batteries from the 1st February 2010. Such services are mandatory for those supplying more than 32kg of batteries a year but a number of local retailers, such as Sainsburys, have already implemented receptacles for their return.
Sadly, we see from the Xmas recycling newsletter, WBC are now Charging for collection of Bulky Waste from households. This, they say is in line with other councils who already charge for this service, The standard service is £25 for up to five items to be collected within seven days from outside of your property. Collection must be pre-booked by phoning the Customer Services (Streetcare) team on 01635 519080.
If the items are in good condition and can be reused, the Community Furniture Project may be able to collect them free of charge (a voluntary donation of £15 towards the cost of collection will be requested). For enquiries about this service phone the Community Furniture Project on 01635 43933.
Bulky household items can also be taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre at Newtown Road, Newbury.
It is hoped that this charge will not see an increase in fly tipping – as WBC are only responsible for removing fly tipped material on public land. If land owners or land managers are noticing an increase in fly tipping following WBC new charge, we’d be interested in hearing about this.
Note shredded paper can’t be recycled in your green bins (it clogs the machines!) - but you can compost this, in fact it’s a very useful addition in your compost bins (along with cardboard).
Fly Tipping
There are dedicated Response Crews on call to remove fly tipping or carry out litter picking work in Hot Spot areas. The council have removed fly-tipping items from one of our footpaths in Feb 2010, when it was reported to them. Contact Streetcare on (01635) 519080 or send an email to streetcare@westberks.gov.uk
See the links below for reduce/reuse/recycle/compost info on composting, nappies, plastics, farm recycling, trade waste, white goods etc!
Hedge planting
From grant money received from West Berkshire Council, we’ve planted approx 200 hedge plants around the Dene Meadow.
This photo shows saplings after planting (almost) 2 years ago.
Reduce heating bills
If you already heat your home using oil and would like to save on fuel bills, see the information on the Oil Co-operative on the Village Amenities page. And if your existing boiler has been in place for many years, the boiler scrappage scheme run by the Energy Saving Trust aims to replace the least efficient central-heating boilers (G-rated) by A-rated boilers or renewable heating such as biomass boilers or heat pumps. See the link below to their website for more details.
We’re also looking for interested people to compile information on House insulation, Wind turbines and Solar panels for future village “drop in days” – if you’ve any information, or would like to get involved, please get in touch!
Feedback Needed
We are always keen to know what villagers think of the group and in particular we are interested in your thoughts on the topics below. If you would like to send us any feedback, please email The Environment Group
Anyone interested in a local tree survey? Find out what our local trees are giving the planet!
Aircraft noise/ noise pollution do you feel strongly about these? Let us know your opinions.
If you want to attend any of our meetings or even better join our group to express your opinions, please let us know.
Help us to help you
During the work on our various projects we come across numerous organisations and individuals who are always willing to pass on their skills and expertise.
Below is a list of useful links we are compiling during our work and we will add to it as projects develop and we come across more useful web sites. If you have a site you can recommend, please email it to us to help us with our projects. We will also add it to the website for the rest of the village to use too.
Please Note: the Hampstead Norreys Web Site Team and Parish Council take no responsibility for the content of external websites. All links are provided in good faith.
www.recyclingconsortium.org.uk
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dio11/DoItOnLine/
