Events & Meetings

Transcoco holds regular events for members and the general public to share
information about our activities and increase awareness of sustainability issues.
You can find out about forthcoming events here.

Newsletter No. 33 (March 2012)

Friday 6th April 2012

24 March 2012
TranscocoCommunication

Transcoco aims to develop local solutions to local sustainability issues, helping to address the global challenges of climate change, depleting fossil fuel resources and other environmental challenges. By finding sustainable local solutions, we will help make the area a more positive and rewarding place to live, work and visit, and contribute to creating a more sustainable future for everyone.

Our website: http://transcoco.org.uk to keep up-to-date with info and dates. Thanks to funding from Wiltshire Council.

NEXT TRANSCOCO OPEN MEETING –
TUESDAY 27 MARCH, 7.30pm at The Pound

A really good turn-out for our AGM in February, including a number of new faces, made for a very vibrant and positive meeting with lots of ideas bouncing around. We had a look back at all Transcoco’s achievements of the past year and felt suitably proud of all that the group has achieved in that period of time and how well-established the group has become in the community.

All Open Meetings on the FOURTH TUESDAY of each month, 7.30pm The Pound, Pound Pill, Corsham

Steering Group Meeting at 6.45pm before the Open Meeting.

If you haven’t already had an opportunity to renew your membership, do please consider renewing. Transcoco functions on very minimal funds, so every penny helps! Email triciamcleod@phonecoop.coop for bank transfer details

TWO NEW FIRSTS FOR TRANSCOCO!

WE'RE ON FACEBOOK!
Many thanks to Julia Densham for all the hard work she has put in to launching Transcoco’s new FACEBOOK page. You can keep up-to-date with all our latest doings and information about up-coming events. And when you visit, we hope you'll 'like' us!

Just search for 'Transcoco' or, if you don't already have a Facebook page to access ours, please click on the link below to see how it looks:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transcoco/201810009926428

If you have anything new you want added to the Facebook page - upcoming events or any info that you think would be of interest to our members, send to juliadensham@yahoo.co.uk

ANOTHER FIRST FOR TRANSCOCO!
The first Corsham Saturday Seed Swap -
Sue Dowle and Lu Overy from the Food Group ran the first Transcoco SEED SWAP on 17 March, timed to coincide with the monthly Farmers Market and it turned out to be a very successful morning. Sara Cundy of WWT had kindly supplied some seeds and boxes to get us started, and we added in our own spares. Several people brought seeds for us at the stall, and many more took them away. We had lots of interesting conversations and were pleased to hear how many people are already saving their own seed – and now will be doing so for our second Seed Swap next year! We would like all Transcoco members to think about saving seed, both flowers and vegetables, for an earlier, bigger and better Seed Swap in February next year (March is really a bit late for keen growers). We will add information about saving seed to the Food Group web pages to provide an easy guide and tips for doing this. There is also an excellent website – www.realseeds.co.uk - with lots of information about saving seed etc. Any queries or suggestions, please contact Lu or Sue via the website.

TRANSPORT GROUP
Volunteers Wanted for South Place Traffic Survey, April 2012

The Transport Action Group (a Transcoco and CCAN-sponsored group) is making the following appeal for community support. The only skill required is an ability to count. It might even be fun to do! We’re looking for volunteers to take part in a traffic survey to assess the impact of a trial in South Place, Corsham in late April. South Place is a key section of the proposed Corsham Cycle Network, and traffic calming measures (such as introducing a one way priority system) would be needed to make this narrow section of the road safe for cyclists following the North-South link in the cycle network.

For a trial period between 16-30 April, a temporary priority system (and a video camera) will be installed, but at certain times the effect on traffic needs to be monitored manually by volunteers from the community. Without this input the trial results would not be valid. The trial has been designed by Wiltshire Council, and is backed by Corsham Town Council.

The task is to count of the number of cars queuing during set time slots on five days. These times have been identified as the likely ‘peak periods’. A minimum of two people will be needed on each ‘shift’, one covering the queue north of the priority system, and the other counting the queue to the south. The manual vehicle count needs to be repeated at intervals of approximately five minutes, and recorded on a form to be provided. A Briefing Note with all you need to know will be sent to each volunteer.

Please get in touch if you are willing to help the local community and the cycle network by taking part in this Traffic Survey. You can volunteer to cover one or more of the time slots shown below by contacting

Kevin Gaskin, CCAN Co-ordinator, 07954 159995 or kevingaskinccan@hotmail.co.uk

Thursday 19 April 7.30–9.00am 3.00–4.15pm 4.15–5.30pm

Friday 20 April 7.30–9.00am 3.00–4.15pm 4.15–5.30pm

Saturday 21 April 8.30–10.30am 10.30–12.30am

Monday 23 April 7.30–9.00am 3.00–4.15pm 4.15–5.30pm

Tuesday 24 April 7.30–9.00am 3.00–4.15pm 4.15–5.30pm

CORSHAM COMMUNITY CAMPUS UPDATE
The planning application for the new Springfield Campus has been submitted and the consultation period runs to 12 April 2012. The application number is 12/007/FUL, registered on 14 March, and the documents are available via Wiltshire Council’s planning portal.

http://northplanning.wiltshire.gov.uk/DCOnline/AcolNetCGI.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=78966

There is a long list of documents – the best place to start for an overview of the proposal is the Design and Access Statement. Use the link above, and click on Documents.

Notes on meetings of the Shadow COB are available via this link.

ZERO WASTE GROUP
Consultation on Local Recycling Centres
As a result of changes in kerbside recycling arrangements, Wiltshire Council are conducting a survey into use of their Recycling Centres. It is a reasonably simple survey which can be found on the Wiltshire Council website. Please follow the attached link http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbishrecycling/localrecyclingcentresconsultation.htm

Our next Give and Take (G&T) Day is on Saturday 19 May at Selwyn Hall, Box, from 11am - 2pm. Put the date in your diary, and support us with your lovely cast-offs and your presence! More details nearer the time.

We are going to be working with Emma Croft of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and jointly with the Food Group to promote WWT's local Love Food Hate Waste campaign - the Food and Drink Festival is the ideal opportunity for this and Emma will be having a stall there to demonstrate how to cut down on food waste.

FOOD GROUP

PUTTING THE CORE BACK INTO CORSHAM .... A SECOND ORCHARD!
While the first community orchard planted by Transcoco at Corsham Primary Pound Pill site last year continues to flourish, there is now a second orchard all set up and ready to grow. On Saturday 17 March Transcoco members, along with families from the school, in true community spirit, planted a second orchard of c. 30 trees at the Broadwood site of Corsham Primary. The trees are a mixed bunch including varieties of apple, pear, plum and quince.

The day was a great success - Transcoco members met with Anthony Welch (the head teacher) and laid out the stakes in the available area - a good location at the far end of the of the playground, separated from the sports area by willows and which already has other young trees and a cherry. Approx 10 families plus staff came along to help and such was the enthusiasm, it was all planted, staked, guarded and tied within an hour! Anthony was amazed at the enthusiasm and the prospect of a pupil in the reception year being able to pick an apple from 'their' tree before they start secondary school. We are now looking into the possibility of getting a bee hive installed at the site, as at the Pound Pill site.

Many thanks are due to Pip Padden for front-running this project - it will leave a particularly poignant mark of his contribution to Transcoco as Pip has, unfortunately, had to step down from Transcoco commitments. Pip has also been a key player in setting up Corsham Community Bees along with Pete Douglas, so when all those bees get busy pollinating the trees, Pip can be doubly proud. So, a very big THANK YOU to Pip for the lasting contribution he has made to Transcoco and the Corsham community.

FOOD BANK
At our last meeting, Diana Lumb came along to tell us about the CORSHAM CHURCHES FOOD BANK. Set up in May 2011, the Food Bank is run by the group of Corsham churches. Its purpose is to help people in times of urgent need with a three-day supply of food and they have given out at least a box of food a week since they began. The Food Bank is open at St Aldhelm’s Church on Pickwick Road on Tuesdays 10.00-11.30 and Saturdays 10.30-12.30. Collection points for food donations are at strategic points throughout the area, most centrally the Co-op. Given the nature of the project, food needs to be ‘long-life’. If you would like to know more about this very worthy project, you can phone the Food Bank mobile on 07788 115095 or come along to the Food Festival on Saturday 16 June where they will have a stall to tell you more about it.

FOOD FESTIVAL
The Food Festival, planned for SATURDAY 16 JUNE, is shaping up to be a great day. We have had responses from some wonderful local traders from a wide variety of produce groups and with the added input of the Farmer’s Market, and street entertainment courtesy of the Corsham (Arts) Festival, it is certainly going to be a day not to miss. Put the date in your diaries!

ENERGY GROUP
This photo shows the Bath & West Community Energy solar installation at The Mead School in Hilperton which was taken from a gilder by a member of the Bradford on Avon Climate-Friendly Group. An impressive sight.

Things are ticking away in the background with the Energy Group and we hope to have more to report later on in the year.

OTHER NEWS

Public Exhibition Announced for Proposed Sands Quarry Development

Proposals to transform the Sands Quarry site, which has lain derelict for more than 50 years, will be shown at a two-day public exhibition at the end of this month. The revised plans for the area include provision for a large expanse of green space.

Local architecture firm CMS Bath, who has prepared the plans for the site, will host a public event at Neston Memorial Hall, Pool Green between 6pm and 8pm on Friday 30th March and between 10am and 12pm on Saturday 31st March.

CMS withdrew an earlier planning application for the site after listening to concerns about the importance of retaining green space in this area. Therefore, in response to this feedback, the plans being presented now propose the retention of more than 70% of the existing green space including enhanced access to public rights of way. The proposals also include the creation of offices and light industrial units to provide improved accommodation for emerging SMEs and to help stimulate economic regeneration within Wiltshire.

For those who are unable to attend the exhibition information will be made available on CMS Baths own website in early April http://www.cmsbath.co.uk/ It is intended that the planning application will be submitted to Wiltshire Council for consideration in late Spring.

OTHER LOCAL GROUPS

CLIMATE FRIENDLY BRADFORD ON AVON
Eating Sustainably - Bradford on Avon and Beyond.
Monday 16 April, 7.30pm; Trinity Hall, St Laurence School, Ashley Road, BA15 1DZ
Speakers: Helen Browning, Director of the Soil Association and Toby Quantrill, Head of Public Policy, Fairtrade Foundation.

CALNE ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK meet at the Community Hub, Calne
Contact: Sue & Peter 01249 823287
stoneseeker@waitrose.com
Next meeting: Wed 18 April 7pm: ‘How Can we Help the Honey Bee?’ by Terry Cooke and Fee Robinson of Kennet Beekeepers. £1 entry donation. Teas/chat from 7.00pm. Talk: 7.30pm. The Community Hub, High St, Calne.

SUSTAINABLE DEVIZES
30 May, 7.30pm, at the Quaker Meeting House at Sussex Wharf on Bath Road
Sustainable Devizes AGM and talk by members of Bradford on Avon Climate Friendly Group. Bradford on Avon was one of the first towns in Wiltshire to set up a group to promote local sustainability and the visitors will talk about how they started and some of the things they have done since.