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Volunteers at a community garden project have produced a calendar to help fund their efforts – and two other town causes.
Wimborne Community Garden, in School Lane, has been running for 15 months growing fruit, vegetables and flowers through the efforts of residents. A share of produce grown at the site is handed to Wimborne Foodbank and Community Kitchen. Among them is Sarah Pizzey, who has put her photography skills to good use for the cause. Sarah has put together photographs taken at the garden over the last 15 months to form a 2024 calendar, which is now being sold to raise money for the initiative. People can buy the calendar, for £8, at the garden during opening hours – Wednesday 9am to noon, Friday 1pm to 4pm and Sunday 2.30pm to 4pm. For more information on the Wimborne Community Garden project, log on to www.beaucroft.dorset.sch.uk/community/wimborne-community-garden.
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Peddle power is now available to rent in Corfe Mullen and Upton to help residents and visitors get around.
People can now rent one of 80 Beryl bikes – both pedal and electric – which can be picked up from bays in the towns. The bays, marked with green Beryl signage, are located at sites around the towns, with riders needing to download the Beryl app to book their bike and hit the road. Having already proven a success in Wimborne, Ferndown, Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Wool, and Studland, the bike share scheme is now expanding its reach so more people can explore the area. Dorset’s bike rental scheme launched in August last year and, so far, has generated more than 5,500 journeys covering nearly 20,000km. Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has launched a public consultation on its draft Urban Forest Strategy, created to maximise and enhance all the benefits trees and woodlands provide to our environment and communities.
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has launched a public consultation on its draft Urban Forest Strategy, created to maximise and enhance all the benefits trees and woodlands provide to our environment and communities. This innovative evidence-based strategy proposes an exciting vision for the future of trees in the BCP area until 2050. This strategy identifies opportunities to manage the challenges and impacts of urban development and climate change for current and future generations in both the public and private realms. The council’s first Urban Forest Strategy was developed using the feedback and comments received in a tree and woodland public survey carried out in autumn 2022. Alongside this feedback, the council facilitated two stakeholder workshops, which included representatives from council departments, local businesses, charities and tree specialists. Our draft Urban Forest Strategy has been shaped by engagement with residents and key stakeholders and developed by a working group involving key council services and partners. It provides a vision, key guiding principles and priorities for action to ensure that the decisions we make allow for all residents, visitors, and businesses in our conurbation to get the most from trees both now and in the future. The draft strategy underpins the need to care, support and invest in our trees. This is needed throughout our diverse network of streets, parks, and council-owned green spaces. It is also important to recognise the impact we can all make as individuals, by planting, nurturing, and protecting trees. It also acknowledges the significant role BCP Council, and its partners, will play over the coming years, and proposes the creation of the BCP Tree Charter, where everyone can play a key role. Closed 17th Dec 2023 Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has launched a public consultation on its draft Urban Forest Strategy, created to maximise and enhance all the benefits trees and woodlands provide to our environment and communities.
This innovative evidence-based strategy proposes an exciting vision for the future of trees in the BCP area until 2050. This strategy identifies opportunities to manage the challenges and impacts of urban development and climate change for current and future generations in both the public and private realms. Several companies across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have benefited from a share of a £55,000 funding pot aimed at supporting them to improve sustainable and active travel facilities for their employees.
Funded through the governments Transforming Cities Fund, these ‘Trip End Facilities’ grants have enabled local businesses to install everything from bike racks, shelters and showers to lockers and security lighting on their respective sites. Firms across the region were invited to apply for the grants, with £500 to £20,000 available to spend on the active travel facilities they think their employees would benefit most from. A total of five local companies were successful with their grant application to provide facilities which will not only encourage their employees to explore more environmentally friendly, active ways to travel into work but make it much easier and safer for them to do so. The Hamworthy-based Adam Practice, one of the largest GP surgeries on the south coast, now boasts a brand-new cycle shelter with CCTV equipment, as well as D-locks for added security. Technology and mobility specialists, April Six, located in Christchurch, also has a new shelter, as well as a facility where staff can dry wet clothes should they encounter wet weather on their way to work and a bike maintenance stand equipped with tools and pumps. Staff working at Beryl Bikes in Boscombe can now utilise lockers and a drying room, with plumbing and electrics installed so they can shower. Bournemouth University has installed new modern cycle racks which also cater for those with cargo and adapted bikes, equipped with electric charging points too. While the Pause Cat Café in Bournemouth is also providing its workforce and volunteers with shelters, lockers and drying facilities so they can store their bikes safely and get ready for shifts on site. There has also been wider recognition for three of the businesses taking part in the scheme, with The Adam Practice, Beryl, and April Six awarded ‘Gold Cycle-Friendly Employer’ by charity Cycling UK. The accolade is given based on employers’ cycle-friendly culture, infrastructure and policies, with a priority on putting staff and the environment first. The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area is set to be one of the regions benefitting from a multi-million pound government cash injection to boost marine and maritime sectors.
The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area is set to be one of the regions benefitting from a multi-million pound government cash injection to boost marine and maritime sectors. The Great South West, a coalition made up of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, has been named as the country’s ‘Marine and Maritime Launchpad,’ recognising its ongoing leadership in the field. As a part of the programme, £7.5m in funding has been allocated to help bolster further growth and innovation in marine and maritime sectors across the South West. This funding aims to support The Great South West in unlocking the potential of the region’s sustainable green and blue economies, boosting the economy by up to £45 billion and creating 190,000 new jobs by 2035. UK-registered small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can now apply for between £25,000 and £1m in funding to help deliver outstanding nautical projects and innovations in the region, supporting the government’s Levelling-Up objectives. The competition opened on 23 October and applications can be submitted until 11am on 6 December 2023. Successful projects should last between six and 18 months, start no earlier than 1 April 2024 and complete by 30 March 2026. Projects will also help ‘contribute to the South West’s net zero targets’ and ‘support key regional strategic marine and maritime markets.’ Successful applicants will also benefit from access to specialist support, as well as opportunities to network and collaborate with other businesses. Dorset Council and Help and Kindness jointly hosted Feeding Dorset 2, the second event of its kind celebrating the outstanding food projects that have made a significant impact on communities across Dorset. The event was held at The Old Power House in Blandford Forum and was attended by over 75 people from various organisations.
Feeding Dorset 2 brought together a wide range of initiatives, from community gardens and food banks to educational programmes and sustainable horticulture projects. The event showcased the tremendous efforts undertaken by individuals, groups, and organisations to support people in need to access affordable and emergency food, and to build Dorset’s local food resilience. Representatives from local councils, charitable organisations, community groups, and dedicated volunteers attended the event to share their experiences, exchange ideas, and highlight the innovative approaches adopted in addressing food-related challenges faced by residents of Dorset. The event featured informative presentations, interactive workshops, and networking sessions, allowing participants to gain knowledge and establish valuable connections. Attendees also had the chance to discover new resources, share success stories, and explore collaborative opportunities for future endeavours. We are delighted to announce that a second litter of beaver kits have been born at Dorset Wildlife Trust's enclosed beaver site in West Dorset. Eagle-eyed Conservation Officers have captured these special images and videos of the two kits after closely monitoring the site throughout spring and summer. Two new kits have been recorded so far, bringing the family total to seven animals (two adults and five kits) which is an extremely positive sign that the beavers are continuing to thrive. During the project animal welfare is an absolute priority, so we have ensured that the 4-hectare enclosed site offers enough complex habitat to support the newly expanded beaver family.
The newly born kits, born in springtime, spent their first month within the safety of the lodge, an underground chamber and burrow system, before emerging between dusk and dawn in early summer to explore the wetland surroundings with the rest of their family. The biggest piece of energy legislation in the UK’s history has become law today (Thursday 26 October), laying the foundations for an energy system fit for the future.
The Energy Act 2023 has received Royal Assent and will transform the UK’s energy system by strengthening energy security, supporting the delivery of net zero and ensuring household bills are affordable in the long-term. The Act will deliver a more efficient energy system in the long-term, helping to keep energy costs low. It will do this by increasing competition in Great Britain’s onshore electricity networks, through a new tender process – reducing costs for network operation and development. This new model is expected to save consumers up to £1 billion off their energy bills by 2050. A specific merger regime for energy networks will also be created under the Competition and Markets Authority. This will minimise the risk of mergers between energy network companies having detrimental effects on consumers and is estimated to save households up to £420 million over the next decade. There are also new measures for Energy Smart Appliances to prioritise safety and give consumers the confidence to transition to smart products, helping them to manage their energy consumption and reduce their bills. A smart electricity system could reduce system costs by up to £10 billion a year by 2050. The government is expanding Ofgem’s remit to heat networks, allowing the regulator to set rules on excessive pricing and improve the quality of service for the half a million heat network consumers across the country. The Act includes new consumer protections and frameworks, incentivising the heating industry to invest in low-carbon heat pumps, and including powers to deliver the smart meter rollout by 2028 – which could generate total bill savings to households of £5.6 billion. The Act will help the government deliver net zero by 2050 in a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic way. It updates Ofgem’s remit so that it considers net zero targets as part of its everyday decisions and facilitates the first large village hydrogen heating trial – providing crucial evidence on the technology’s role in decarbonising heat. The government is also introducing a licensing framework for CO2 transport and storage to help deliver the UK’s first carbon capture sites – supporting up to 50,000 jobs by 2030. These new laws also make the UK the first country to legislate for fusion regulation, enabling developers to plan with confidence and encourage investment into this flourishing technology, and driving the UK’s ambition for a prototype fusion power plant by 2040. Establishing a new independent body – the Future System Operator – will ensure consumers can access a secure and decarbonised energy supply, key to enhancing the country’s energy security. The FSO will be responsible for systems in the gas and electricity network developing efficiently and keeping consumer bills low. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has recently completed the development of 11 brand new affordable properties on land between Cheshire Drive and Wilkinson Drive in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has recently completed the development of 11 brand new affordable properties on land between Cheshire Drive and Wilkinson Drive in Bournemouth. The development will provide homes for local families and consists of a block of nine two-bedroom flats and two three-bedroom houses. The properties themselves are built to the highest eco-standards using fabric first principles, which prioritise the energy efficiency of a property from its conception, to create an airtight, insulated building that reduces the amount of energy required to heat the home. The buildings are all fitted with triple glazing and solar panels, and the energy for each property is provided from a renewable source by ground source heat pumps. This means greater energy efficiency and lower bills for the tenants. The development also boasts ample parking on site and a communal garden for the flats. Families in the houses will also enjoy their own private garden. Tenants will begin to move in and make these new properties their homes early in November. |
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