Transition Shipston

June 2012 Newsletter

Can Shipston feed itself in the future?

Daniel Murray an MSc student from Warwick University is making a special study of the potential for Shipston to produce more of its own food and has asked if Transition Shipston supporters can help in his research. Daniel has written this outline for us....

In the face of global challenges the need for change is apparent. People around the world are realising this which is why small scale, community-led initiatives, like the transition movement, are becoming more prevalent. Highly diverse groups around the globe are initiating local responses in areas such as food production, energy provision and waste management in an attempt to reduce environmental impacts and improve local resilience through building networks that develop support systems and encourage creative responses to the issues faced.

Therefore, as part of my MSc in ‘Environmental Bioscience and Climate Change’ at the University of Warwick, I will be producing an academic study on the potential that Shipston-on-Stour has to supplement food supplies with local production. The project will have three main focuses:

Establish how residents currently source food

Establish the potential for increased local food production through community gardens, allotments, use of surrounding underutilised green spaces, farmland and so on

Compare the environmental and economic advantages and disadvantages associated with the intensification of local food production through ‘traditional’ farming methods and more environmentally friendly methods such as organic

The aim of this project is to explore the idea that local communities can reduce their environmental footprint whilst also making themselves more resilient to global environmental changes. At the core of this is the belief that global problems can only be tackled on a local scale through reducing energy dependence (particularly fossil fuel derived energy) and improving self sufficiency through increasing local food production and reducing the environmental impacts of this production. In theory this ‘relocalisation’ can provide benefits to the local economy which in turn offers a route to sustainable economic prosperity. I will no doubt be contacting many people in the local area and bugging you for information but if anybody would like to contact me regarding the project then feel free to email me at daniel.murray@warwick.ac.uk

Thanks,

Daniel Murray

How to start a Car Club

Car rental on your doorstep?

For the last 18 months the people of Hook Norton have been able to book a car on the internet and walk into the village to pick up the car. All they need to do is to join the village car club for £60. The scheme is ideal for couples or families who don't need to run two cars or individuals who don't travel often. The fee to hire the cars works out much lower than commercial hire so within a couple of bookings the cost of joining is repaid.

At the Transition Shipston meeting on 4^th July at the Townsend Hall David Newton from Hook Norton Car Club is coming to talk to us about how the scheme works (see Diary below).

The Hook Norton Car Club is administered through MoorCar www.moorcar.co.uk. This is how the scheme works...

How to convert your own car (How to start a car club)

If you have a car and only use it occasionally then you might consider sharing the use of the car with your friends and neighbours. Moorcar will help you set up your own car club.

You can charge for use by the hour and the miles driven, it is also possible to charge a flat monthly charge between a group of friends and get everyone to pay for the fuel they use.

If you choose the best way of charging for your circumstances, you will be generating a small income to offset the costs of the tax, MOT and the insurance.

So what is involved:

Moorcar can show your car at your address (location) on their website. They use a Google map to place your car outside your house. If you need leaflets to advertise they can customise these for you.

When you are ready to allow other people to book the car, Moorcar will insure the vehicle. This will require that the vehicle has had a recent service, MOT certificate and valid car tax.

Members of your car club can register through the Moorcar website. This will collect all the information required to allow a member to print off the driver’s declaration for insurance purposes.

Once a member is accepted they can make bookings for your car. Members can also make bookings with any other cars in the Moorcar network or a growing number of car clubs across the UK.

It will be your responsibility to collect any charges and make regular checks on the vehicle. Moorcar can provide a checklist for essential items like tyres, oil, water, windscreen wash etc. The simplest system to provide your members with access to the car keys is to attach a keysafe to a nearby wall which gives access to the car keys with a push pin code. Moorcar can suggest a suitable choice of keysafe.

The Transition Shipston Guide to Local Stuff

Transition Shipston is compiling a directory of “Local Stuff”. It will incorporate the local food directory that was published 2 years ago but also include other local information… evening classes, alternative therapy, music, arts, walks, cycle routes, businesses, pubs and cafes (serving local produce).

If anyone can recommend “stuff” for entry contact Pam Bennett pam@pambennett.com

Further objection to the supermarket

Ainscough Strategic Land has recently sent an amendment to the District Council to their planning application for a supermarket plus housing and a petrol station on the Campden Rd. Shipston Heart Alive! Campaign is sending in an further objection to this. If you want to hear more come along to the SHA!C meeting next Wednesday, 13^th June, 7.30 at the George. To see the amended plans go to www.stratford.gov.uk/planning

Self-build homes for Shipston?

With so much more housing allocated to Shipston wouldn't it be nice to have a small self-build housing estate instead of a large developer designed one. In October Transition Shipston is planning to have a speaker on building your own home. Here is some info to get us started from The Community Self Build Agency...

To make it possible for men and women from all backgrounds to benefit individually and collectively from being a member of a self-build housing group. Whilst participating in the planning, design and building of their own homes they acquire a range of skills and experience. The Agency is particularly interested in opening up opportunities for those with limited income or the unemployed to participate.

What is Community Self-Build?
Community self build is about a group of local people in housing need, building their own homes and gaining much more besides. As the concept of community self-build becomes more widely known, it is more likely that projects will be initiated by potential self-builders, rather than other organizations. Some projects have already been initiated by groups of individuals. Those without building skills, participate on the basis that they are prepared to make the necessary time commitment and be prepared to learn new skills. Read more

www.communityselfbuildagency.org.uk

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"When your life might depend on your next door neighbour, rudeness becomes an unaffordable luxury." Jason Heppenstall

Ask MP to sign up to the Rio-UK Declaration!

The Rio+20 Earth Summit is taking place in Rio de Janeiro this June, 20 years on from the original Rio Earth Summit. The UK should be leading the move to a fair and green economy, not going backwards on its commitments. Please ask Nadhim Zahawi our MP to show his support by signing our Rio-UK Declaration.

Take action here and spread the word! - http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/rio-action

May 2012 Newsletter

Contents:

Shipston Heart Alive Campaign

Transition Shipston Events for the Year

Join the Stratford Plastic Challenge

Help Needed in the Garden

Transition Network Podcast

Other Links

Local - For Sale

Diary:

Tuesday 15^th May, 7.30 - Shipston Heart Alive Campaign meeting

Formerly Save Shipston Town Centre Campaign. For more information see below.

George Hotel private meeting room

Wednesday 16th May, 6.00 - Transition Shipston Steering Group

Black Horse Pub lounge

Thursday 17^th May, 7.00 - Transition Film with Bring & Share Meal

In Transition 2.0 the new film from Transition Network, capturing inspiring stories of Transition initiatives around the world, responding to uncertain times with creativity, solutions and 'engaged optimism'.

Theme for “bring & share” meal - Mediterranean

Venue - Sharyn & Niall's place, The Apple House, Crimscote. Contact: Sharynsinger@btinternet.com

Sunday 20^th May, 2.00 - Community Garden

Clearing the central area around the fire + work on vegetable beds

Pop into the Community Garden at any time from 2.00 to 5.00

(For anyone who hasn't been before the garden is at the Darlingscote Rd crossroad with the Fosse)

Thursday 24^th May, 8.30 – Queen's Avenue Play Area & Orchard Group

George Hotel

Transition Stratford Events:

Saturday 12 May: Shared meal with Transition Stroud walkers

Lifeways, 30 Albany Road, CV37 9PG, 7.30pm. Admission free, bring a dish to share

Shared meal with five intrepid members of Transition Stroud, who are walking from Stroud to Derby this Spring, meeting up with Transition groups along their way.

Sat 12 – Sat 26th May - Stratford Plastic Challenge

For more information see below

For more information on events contact Dave on 01608 661816 or 07973 846605

Shipston Heart Alive Campaign

Over the last two months Transition Shipston has taken the lead in holding public meetings aimed at opposing the proposed Supermarket on the Campden Road and “Saving Our Town Centre”. At the follow-on meetings town centre traders, property owners, other local businesses and other concerned people all came along to support the campaign. To reflect the general support that the campaign has attracted the group has now adopted the name “Shipston Heart Alive Campaign” (SHAC).

At the first meeting of the group it was decided to ask Stratford District Council to consider commissioning a detailed study for Shipston of the likely impact of an out-of-town supermarket.

The meeting also considered the report of a parking subgroup who had studied the traffic in the Town Centre for 2 hours on Saturday morning. In that time the cars in the High Street came and went all the time. During the same 2 hours there was always plenty of parking in the Telegraph St car park and the other car parks around the town. There was a consensus that lack of parking in Shipston is a problem of perception. The group is going to consider asking for better signage, another long-stay car park and free parking in Telegraph St to help the situation.

The publicity subgroup reported that three members of the group had sent letters to the Herald in response to a pro-supermarket letter. It was decided that the group support a letter to Mary Portas asking for her support for the campaign and advice on how to save the vibrancy of the town centre.

Transition AGM & Events & Activities for Next Year

Mike Ashton was elected as Chair / Facilitator, Jo Ames was elected as Treasurer, Dave Passingham was elected as Secretary.

Here are some of the ideas we agreed to arrange over the coming months:

A booklet updating the existing Food Directory but also including cooking & gardening tips, local places to visit, articles about successful local businesses / shops, transition ideas etc.
A family cycle ride
An electric car club
Supporting the Transition Stratford Plastic Challenge from 12^th to 25^th May.
Visit to Ettington Recycling centre,
A Housing “Open Space” including a speaker on “self build” homes

Join the Stratford Plastic Challenge

Last year Transition Shipston held a “Plastic Free Week”. This year Transition Stratford have developed the idea into a two week plastic challenge including a film and an art event. Transition Shipston is supporting the initiative. If you would like to join in go to http://www.transitionstratford.com/wordpress/?p=226

What is the plastic challenge?

The Plastic Challenge is a two-week learning experience. In Week 1, we’ll find out how much plastic we use - and in Week 2 we’ll explore how easy it is to live with less. We’ll then measure the difference in a creative and fun way at a public Art Event in central Stratford.

Plastic facts:

plastic is durable, flexible, and much lighter than alternative packaging materials – so food and drink can be transported easily and kept for longer
but plastic is also one of the worst polluters, as it doesn’t easily degrade and can remain unchanged in the environment for a very long time
plastic is particularly damaging in our seas – up to 100,000 turtles and other marine animals are killed every year by plastic bags
the UN has estimated that there are an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating on or near the surface of every square mile of ocean
plastics are made from oil, which is a non-renewable fossil fuel and one of the major contributors to global warming and climate change
4% of total world oil consumption is used to make food packaging – the vast majority of which will be used just once, before ending up in landfill
almost all plastic bottles can now be recycled, but it can still be difficult to recycle other plastics because of the need to separate the different types

Transition Network Podcast
A Resilience Festival, Some Warmer Homes, and turning car-parks into food gardens! In this month's Transition podcast, we go into more depth with three of the stories from this month's Transition round-up. We hear about Transition Guelph's recent 'Resilience Festival', what Marsden and Slaithwaite Transition Towns did with their LEAF funding, and what happened when Transition Belper suggested turning a local car park into a vegetable garden.http://transitionculture.org/2012/04/13/its-the-april-podcast-a-resilience-festival-some-warmer-homes-and-turning-carparks-into-food-gardens/

Round-up of What's Happening out in the World of Transition
Tales from Spain, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand, and around the UK in Buxton, Totnes, Exmouth, Clitheroe, London, Shrewsbury, Taunton, Marlborough, Worthing,http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2012-05-02/april-round-what-s-happening-out-world-transition

Help Needed in the Garden

Community Garden:

We need help at the next community garden afternoon to clear the central area around the fire and put down wood chip around the seating. This is in preparation for our mid-summer social event.

Anyone interested in a small plot of their own at the community garden contact Mike at locostashton@googlemail.com

Shipston High School Gardening and Eco-club:

One of our helpers at the Gardening and Eco-club is finishing at half term. If you are interested in helping contact Dave on davepassingham@hotmail.com

Other Links

Bug Life - Gardening for bumblebees

Gardens have become important refuges for bumblebees, and you can encourage them to visit your garden by following the simple tips provided here.

Bumblebees are dependent on flowers for nectar (sugary liquid) and pollen (protein and minerals for developing larvae). They also need a place to shelter and build their nest to maintain a successful colony throughout its life-cycle. http://www.buglife.org.uk/getinvolved/gardening/Create+a+bumblebee-friendly+garden

April 2012 Newsletter

Contents:

STOP THE SUPERMARKET – Part Two

Shipston Town Council Rejects Supermarket Proposal

When Supermarkets Move In...

See through the spin and really go Green

Rob Hopkins April Podcast

Stop The Supermarket Part Two
Save Shipston Town Centre Campaign Meeting Thursday 22^nd March - report from Trev Trevithick...
This was the follow on meeting from the one at the Townsend Hall when 120 people filled the hall but many could not get in. There had been rumours that the pro-supermarket campaign had organised a mob to disrupt the meeting and there were a good number of supermarket supporters there, but in the event it all went off very peacefully. I suspect about a hundred people turned up all told, it half-filled the Sheldon Bosley Hub hall.

Paul Rathkey, the mayor, chaired the meeting, Helen started the discussion and other speakers included Richard Cheney and Jonathan Gullis, the district councillors, and Kate King from the traders, before the meeting was opened for public discussion. Paul took questions and comments from those who had not been able to get in to the last meeting or who had not spoken at the last meeting as far as possible, but in fact most people got a say. It was generally a much less antagonistic meeting than the first one.

Comments ranged from one lady who had done a comparison shop between Tescos in Stratford and the Coop, which was £30-£40 more expensive in Shipston (Helen countered with the Transitiion Shipston comparison survey done a couple of years ago, its recent update and an independent on-line comparison of common household purchases. In each case Shipston came out £2-£3 more expensive, but this was before travelling time and expenses were taken into account); Mark Wildish, involved in the Pettifer's Garage development, pointed out that the greenfield site application was an outline application only, if agreed in outline then the full application may have a bigger supermarket, a smaller one - or none at all. He said the supermarkets' general policy was to get the principle of development agreed and then expand their plans, in this case he was concerned that if the outline plan was agreed then an application for a bigger supermarket on the Norgren site would be not far behind and very hard to resist. One young man said he had recently moved in to Shipston, moving his young family off a crime-ridden drug estate. He loved living here and was delighted his children were going through the town's schools, however he was very concerned about the future. He had been working at one of the local businesses, but had recently lost his job because the owner felt that business was dropping off and the future looked bleak - and this was before the supermarket application was decided, so could not be considered a factor. One lady who lives opposite the proposed site was very concerned about increased traffic, visual impact and the fact that the supermarket would be brightly lit possibly for 24 hours a day but certainly for very long periods of time.

Of particular interest were the comments from three separate young people. They all said that the town had to develop and move forward. Each said how much they valued the community and living here and why couldn't the energy being used to oppose the supermarket and the energy expended in supporting it be combined to come up with a plan to develop the town centre? One older person said that the town centre was like a supermarket, you just had to go in and out of shops instead of wandering to different departments. In general, the idea of developing the town centre received a huge amount of support.

We collected a significant number of signatures on the petition and many people took individual forms to oppose the application. In addition a collection at the end to help off set the cost of hiring the hall was well supported. A display of before and after pictures of towns suffering from supermarket development and various news stories and internet comments attracted a lot of attention.

After the meeting closed about 25 anti-supermarket supporters went upstairs to the bar and broke up into the three groups again - but this time each table was packed, there was a lot of support and I was delighted that a lot of young people came up to join in.

Shipston Town Council Rejects Supermarket Proposal

Here is an extract from the Town Council's response to the District Council strategy for the town:

“Firstly, that there is not a need for a large out-of-town retail development as indicated in previous drafts. The town council welcomes the down-scaling of retail provision to a store (retail provision) of some 410 sq ms (net) within the town centre and the principle that developments over 1000 sq ms are not appropriate for market towns such as Shipston. Secondly, the principle of keeping new housing estates below 2% of the existing residential stock (46 units in the case of Shipston) is deemed appropriate for Shipston to meet its targets of 140-220 new dwellings by 2028. Small-scale (15-45 units) developments spread around the town and over a number of years is the only way forward in limiting the effects on an already over-strained infrastructure, which is in itself in need of improvements.” For more see... http://shipstonblog.org.uk/draft-core-strategy/

When Supermarkets Move In...

A report from Lewis of what can happen when supermarkets take over...

Today, in Lewes, we spend about fifty million pounds a year on food and drink and most of that – at least forty million – is spent in our three supermarkets: Tesco, Waitrose and Aldi. In those hundred years - and especially the last fifty years since I was born - we've managed to let all this natural capital be diverted into the hands of a few multinational corporations. Our local food economies have dried up; local money no longer circulates around and about the town, building wealth and relationships as it goes. A tenner spent locally multiplies many times over as it circulates. Spent in a supermarket, that tenner goes straight out of town and into the hands of Tesco and co, and its shareholders.

As a direct result, the local economy in Lewes is struggling. There are no more bakers in Lewes. We have one greengrocer, at the top of town where the rents are affordable, and only two butchers are left. Just in the last five years, according to the new economics foundation, Lewes has gone from being a 'home town' with a wide mix of independent shops supporting a strong local economy, to a borderline clone town. The independent shops we once were so proud of are now either chains or strange chi-chi shops selling expensive string, as the joke goes round hereMore... http://www.transitionnetwork.org/stories/adrienne-campbell/2012-03/goodbye-supermarkets

See through the spin and really go Green

That was the message that TV architectural designer Charlie Luxton at the Townsend Hall on Wednesday 21 March, at the Community Energy Fair.

Charlie started by saying that it was essential to improve the energy efficiency of our homes because according to oil experts we are already at world “Peak Oil” production. From now on fossil fuels will become more difficult and expensive to extract leading to sharp increases of the cost of oil and gas.

Houses waste a third of their heat and they produce 27% of UK’s CO2. They use twice the energy for space heating as Nordic houses, taking into account size and temperature. 3 million homes have such low levels of thermal comfort that that are officially a health hazard. He said that the Great British Challenge is to improve 25 million existing houses in the next 40 years.

Charlie showed examples of new “Passivhaus” designs with a projected heating bill of only £90 per year then discussed various ways of insulating, improving air tightness, solar gain and saving electrical consumption

Microgeneration he said should only be installed when all other energy efficiency measure have been taken. For solar PV panels and other forms of renewable electricity generation the government Feed-in Tariff should provide 8% to 10% return on investment. For renewable forms of heat such as wood-pellet boilers and solar hot water the Renewable Heat Incentive due to be implemented next year is aimed at providing 12% return on investment.

He then talked about Hook Norton Low Carbon, a community co-operative that has invested over £400,000 into village-wide carbon reduction schemes. This includes green-furbishing thirty houses, creating a car pool, installing a 12kW solar array on the local school and exploring the potential for a community wind turbine.

Charlie's is currently co-presenting “Brick by Brick: Rebuilding Our Past” on BBC 2 see:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01flvwz/Brick_by_Brick_Rebuilding_Our_Past_Episode_1/

For more see http://charlieluxton.com/Charlie_Luxton/home.html

Links...

This Month’s Transition Podcast

The interview Rob Hopkins did recently with Lee Brain one of the founders of Transition Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, Canada, was one of the most inspiring he has yet published. In this installment, he gives a fascinating taste of what it looks like when an emerging Transition group gives over some time to getting the foundations of its work as solid as possible before proceeding any further.

http://transitionculture.org/2012/04/02/transition-prince-rupert-the-first-question-should-always-be-how-are-we-going-to-work-together-rather-than-what-are-we-going-to-do/

CONNECT THE DOTS

Artists Project Earth www.apeuk.org the locally based environmental charity in association with 350.org are launching a global participatory creative project to show the world that ‘This is Climate Change’ and to highlight the communities that are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The impacts of climate change are everywhere, but so are we. If your community is affected, this is your day to share the reality of climate change with the world, or to stand in solidarity and share the stories of those who are already impacted. Whether your community is experiencing the effects of the drought in the UK or diminishing harvests in Africa, we’ll use the day to drive home a message to politicians and fossil fuel companies alike: “We're connecting the dots: we know fossil fuels are changing our climate and causing extreme weather conditions. We are standing-up for climate justice!”

Join 350.org on May 5th 2012 to show this world for what it truly is: a deeply beautiful but changing planet, full of people fighting to make it better. It’s time to Connect the Dots.

A Sunday Market for Shipston?

Following the success of last years Harvest Fair and with the controversy over the proposed supermarket Philip Vial has proposed a regular market see the discussion on Philip's blog www.shipstonblog.org.uk

Sustainable Building Centre
This link was sent in by a Transition Shipston supporter:
http://www.sustainablebuildingscentre.org/pages/faq#q1

Stratford Community Radio

Listen again to Val Rainbow's interview about Transition Shipston and the proposed supermarket on the Alternative Show: www.livestream.com/thealternativeshow

Primose organic centre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1ALwFJ9O4&feature=youtu.be

Primose organic centre is flagship model of an ecological an sustainable horticultural food system with very low carbon footprint and operating in a positive relationship with nature.

‘’ Pollinators in Gardens (and beyond!) ‘’

A talk by Dr Jeff Ollerton

Wednesday 18th April 2012

7.00 for 7.30pm at Pillerton Priors Village Hall,

Pillerton Priors, Warks. CV35 0PH

Dr Jeff Ollerton appeared on television recently as the adviser on Pollination to Sarah Raven , presenter of ‘Birds, Butterflies and Bees’.

This talk will be tailored towards the interests of Beekeepers, Gardeners and Farmers - - - but also anyone who is interested in the sad plight our pollinators, the effect this will have on us and our food supplies; and what we can do about reversing this situation - - -including advice on planting.

Tickets £4.00, Information and Booking - Tim Newcombe Tel. 07970 037325 E mail tim.newcombe123@btinternet.com

Seating is limited so there is no guarantee of tickets on the night but tickets can be held for you.

Please do inform us as soon as possible if you are unable to attend and your ticket will then be available for someone else.

Contents:

STOP THE SUPERMARKET – Part Two