Newsletter - Winter 2006-7
Bryn y Cwm Forum adopts Transport Proposals
With help from Rural Community Action, the Bryn y Cwm Area Forum has set up a number of subgroups to generate realistic projects for consideration as the Community Strategy rolls forward into its next phase. Environmental subgroups so far cover transport, waste management and biodiversity. An aim of the subgroups is to widen involvement in the work of the Forum, and anyone interested in contributing should contact Tom James at the Abergavenny One Stop Shop (01873 735800 or tomjames@monmouthshire.gov.uk).
The transport subgroup has been the first to complete its task and the Forum has adopted its recommendations. They will now be presented to the County Council and other interested bodies, seeking support.
The Forum sees the local and global impact of traffic growth as the greatest concern, and wants to see much more done to encourage the use of alternatives to the car. Its first priority is the implementation of an existing scheme that will enable bus services to reach Abergavenny rail station, and also provide more parking there to encourage rail travel. ‘We feel that not enough is being done to resolve difficulties with landowners here.’ said a subgroup spokesman. Acknowledging that Grass Routes services (01633 644745 or email) have recently improved local public transport, the Forum would like to see increased effort to make bus services much more appealing to car users, and also favours a pilot scheme using volunteers’ cars and/or taxis to provide dial-a-ride transport for those whose needs are not met by bus services.
The domination of streets by vehicles must be challenged; walking and cycling need encouragement, starting with school travel plans, and then the provision of direct well-signed safe routes, much wider use of 20mph zones, and some ‘shared space’ streets. ‘Local people must be involved in detailing all these proposals,’ said the spokesman, ‘as they usually know the problems, opportunities and priorities best.’
Noting that provision for the disabled is usually beneficial for the rest of us, the Forum wants to see it made easier to cross the tracks at the rail station, more low-entry buses and taxis introduced, enforcement of car parking rules, and the removal of pavement clutter.
The local Forum also suggests a countywide Transport Forum where representatives of all the interested parties can meet to deal with the issues arising from the need to create a more sustainable integrated transport system.
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Monmouthshire tops the Welsh recycling league!
Monmouthshire has come top of the list of Welsh Counties for recycling, due to the dedication of local people, and the Black Box scheme run by Monmouthshire Community Recycling (MCR). MCR has seen some changes over recent months, and has formed a partnership with Ealing Community Transport (ECT Group), the largest social enterprise in the UK, with long experience of running local recycling schemes. Users of the Black Box scheme will not notice any differences in the services that MCR provides, but it will provide MCR with financial stability and access to expert advice.
MCR has recently appointed a Zero Waste Coordinator Simon Anthony, who is working with St Arvans near Chepstow and parts of Abergavenny. The ambitious idea behind the project is that the only acceptable long-term target is for 100% of what we call waste to be re-used, recycled or composted. Simon will be working with the pilot communities to make this happen in Monmouthshire. The project has been funded by Environment Wales.
You may have recently received your new edition of Yellow Pages. Don’t throw the old one away, MCR has received a grant from Yellow Pages to collect and recycle them. During December and January schools in Monmouthshire will act as collection sites, with the best performing (per pupil) school winning up to £300! To find your local participating school, ring MCR on 01291 430550. Yellow Pages can also be left in your Black Box.
Monmouth – walk it, bike it, map it!
This is your chance to influence future walking and cycling links around Monmouth – come to the Mapping Day between 10.00 til 3.30pm on Saturday 20th January 2007 , in the Community Room at Shire Hall, Monmouth.
Hosted by consultants Community Design, in association with the Walking and Cycling sub group of the Monmouth Partnership Forum, the residents of Monmouth will be asked about where they would like to walk and cycle around the Monmouth area and what, if anything prevents them from doing so. Please bring along any photos or literature you may have about special places in Monmouth and tell us about your favourite routes.
WE would like to find out YOUR views on potential new routes to:
The people of Monmouth are invaluable in deciding exactly where these links should be and what sort of priority should be given to each.
Encouraging cyclists and walkers to use Monmouth as a tourist base is also a vital element of the overall strategy. Visitors have been asked how they perceive what is currently on offer in the Monmouth area and about improving existing routes and establishment of additional ones.
Focus groups from all sections of the community, from Mother and Toddler Groups to U3A, are currently being consulted and local schools encouraged to develop their own School Travel Plans so that funding can be made available to implement Safe Routes to Schools initiatives.
After collating all the information gathered, a masterplan will be developed to illustrate these and other potential connections having consideration for all the issues identified by the Monmouth Partnership Forum, other partners, and taking into account the views and needs of the town and local townspeople.
If you currently like to walk or cycle in the Monmouth area or would like to be able to more easily please join us at the Shire Hall anytime between 10am and 3.30pm on SATURDAY 20th JANUARY and give us YOUR views.
RSPB big garden birdwatch
RSPB is organising its annual garden birdwatch on the weekend of 27th and 28th January. It’s easy to take part, and the more people who participate, the more useful the results. All you need is an hour to spare, a window to look out of and a pen and piece of paper to note down what you see. RSPB is interested in finding out how many of each species of bird you see at any one time in your garden on that day. Once you’ve done your hour, log on to the RSPB garden birdwatch web site and fill in the on-line form.
Many of the birds you will see are common and easy to recognise, such as robins, wrens and blackbirds, so you don’t have to be an expert bird watcher. The garden birdwatch web site is very useful with a list of the top 20 birds from last year, with their songs and some have a short video of their behaviour.
To get ready for the big day, you could start feeding the birds now; regularly filled feeders are a real attraction to garden birds. Last year 470,000 people took part in the Great Garden Birdwatch in the UK, 25,000 in Wales. The most common bird seen in Monmouthshire gardens by Big Garden Birdwatchers last year was the house sparrow, with just over 5 sparrows seen at any one time in each garden. The survey is scientifically important, and through it the dramatic decline of common birds such as starlings and house sparrows from our gardens have been brought to notice. In 1979 the UK average number of house sparrows per garden was 10.
It’s easy to take part, and can provide a quiet bit of fun for all the family.
Monmouthshire GreenWeb Green Directory
Work on Monmouthshire GreenWeb’s Green Directory is gathering pace, with many entries for the Directory now having been received. It has been fantastic to see the number of green businesses in the County, across a wide range of sectors. The Directory will be live on the site in the next couple of months, together with green tips to help local people reduce their footprint on the planet. We are also developing extensive links to other organisations who can provide more information and advice. If you want us to let you know when the Directory is live, please email us admin@monmouthshiregreenweb.co.uk.
Chepstow is latest Fairtrade Town
News in Brief
Abergavenny Fairtrade Forum
Abergavenny Fairtrade Forum has signed up three more cafes who are serving Fairtrade products and eight more local organisations who use Fairtrade products.
The Forum has now applied to the Fairtrade Foundation for Fairtrade Town status. Plans for Fairtrade Fortnight activities in March are already under discussion.
Last year saw the launch of the first GAVO volunteer achievement award. We ourselves were nominated as best Environmental Group, and our Chairman, Dick Cole was nominated as Environmental Volunteer of the year. It was encouraging to be nominated for the awards, and they will be running again in 2007. There are a number of categories in which to nominate volunteers who you feel deserve to be considered for an Award in 2007. Nomination forms will be available from mid-January, from Kim Boucher at GAVO kim.boucher@gavowales.org.uk, or phone 01291 672352.
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