February 2013 Newsletter

A round up of news and views

Seed swapping at this Sunday's Community Market (3rd March) - We're giving away last year's vegetable seeds! Please come along and help yourself. You can also bring your spare seeds and exchange them for others. And you can sign up for the last few places on the Practical Permaculture for Transition Course.

Rapid progress with the Community Energy company development - following the formation of Kennet Community Energy Limited in January, the first solar PV project is now well underway. Anyone looking to become a Member and invest in the development of local renewable energy should quickly contact the company since the initial fund raising round is set to complete by the end of March. By becoming a Member you can become directly involved in reducing our local carbon emissions whilst gaining an attractive return on your investment - and now HMRC have given written advance assurance that the KCEL shares will be eligible for tax benefits under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme - for more information see www.kennetenergy.org.uk/Become+a+Member

Climate Week - Britain's Biggest Climate Change Campaign – 4-10 March 2013. Thousands of events and activities are being planned by organisations from every part of society for Climate Week. Showcasing real, practical ways to combat climate change, the week aims to renew our ambition to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future. The campaign is supported by a Headline Partner Andrex Eco, and Supporting Partners: Crown Paints, Ecotricity and Shields Environmental. To find out how you and your friends can join in download this information... , email info@climateweek.com  or telephone 020 3397 2601.

Line Electrification - Transport Group member, John Yates, has calculated that electrifying the train line between Newbury and Westbury could save 46 tonnes of CO2 per week (2,392 tonnes per year) rising to 67 tonnes per week by 2022. You can down-load John's technical report (which is being presented to the Department for Transport) from the bottom of the Transport Page (click on the blue '.. files attached' button).

Bedwyn bus - Wiltshire Council has decided to minimise their proposed cuts to this service, as a result of pressure from the Bedwyn Trains Passenger Group and TM's Transport Group. We are all meeting in Marlborough's council offices on 1st March to discuss ways of improving integration with the trains at Bedwyn and making fares more user-friendly. 

Did your potatoes get eaten by slugs last year? Or were they attacked by Late Blight? Read Sam's blog post on the benefits of growing 'Orla' here...

Re-skilling Marlborough - Do you fancy learning a new skill this year? Would you be willing to share this new skill with others, once you have been trained? Thanks to a grant from the Area Board we are able to subsidise several people who are keen to help with this re-skilling process. Check out these exciting Centre for Alternative Technology short courses and also these Low-Impact Living short courses then get in touch with Sam: sampage_zim@yahoo.co.uk if you're interested in taking part.

The Transition Marlborough team