The Chief Executive, Community Rail Network demonstrates "How local councils can engage communities on sustainable travel".
Last updated
The video timeline is approximately as follows (mins:secs):
0.00 - 08:00 Early Joiners' chat (mostly Andrew Maliphant and Jacky Lawrence, but some good discussion about Great Collaboration current status)
08:00 - 09:35. (others joining.....checks on screen-sharing)
09:35 - 10:40 Andrew introduces today's speaker, Jools Townsend
10:40 - 33:35 Jools' presentation "Sustainable Transport"
33:35 - end (92:18 !!). Q & A (very lively)
Presentation:
CREATING NEW ALLOTMENTS
Parish or town council (This example from Mitcheldean Gamlingay and Frampton-on-Severn parish councils)
Local Government Act 1972 s.124(1) (acquire land)
Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 s.26 (make improvements)
Awards For All and other Big Lottery funds
See also www.nsalg.org.uk/allotment-info/funding-advice/
National Allotment Society www.nsalg.org.uk
Nearby council with allotments
Negotiation
Administration
Cultivation
Well-drained land with good soil.
Funds to buy or lease it.
Water supply (one tap may not be sufficient for an allotment site, another option is a dip tank per about 8 plots).
(Push) mower.
Depending on location, a toilet may be essential on site – perhaps a composting toilet.
Need parking and access to plots for deliveries by vehicle as people bring tools/heavy items such as sheds.
Fencing
Notice board(s).
A decision needs to be made early on about whether to provide sheds on each allotment, not permit any sheds, or allow people to bring their own (size/colour etc?). If the site is near residential properties, some residents can complain that it looks like an eyesore with homemade sheds/lean-tos, etc.
May need planning authority approval for change of use.
Permission may also be required for any hardstanding car park or communal sheds that might be seen as permanent structures.
Also need to address whether livestock is permitted, e.g.: chickens/pigs/bees.
Any necessary site clearance.
Erect fencing (may need rabbit/deer fence if the location is very open).
Erect access gate(s).
Contractor may be needed for mapping out and staking out the allotment site.
Also digging trenches to lay water pipes.
Find a suitable site large enough for several allotments.
Negotiate purchase or long lease from the current owner.
Fence round the site with gates for person/vehicle access.
Install water standpipe if not already on site.
Divide land into equal-size allotments with access paths.
Devise allotment rules based on examples from another council.
Publicise availability of allotments.
Sign agreements with allotment holders to pay rent and observe the allotment rules, including having their own insurance.
Keep a waiting list.
Erect noticeboard(s) to give information to the allotment holders/general public.
Oversee maintenance of the site.
Be available to resolve any disputes/breaking of the rules.
Fruit trees help improve carbon footprint.
Growing your own reduces food miles.
Grow cheap fruit and vegetables for your own family and friends.
Healthy outdoor exercise.
Cultivation improves biodiversity, including support for bees.
It would be useful if allotment rules could include info on the latest climate-friendly methods: e.g.: no pesticides, no dig (optional but beneficial to soil health!), non-chemical pest control, crop swaps to reduce food waste, etc.
Meet more people and be part of a community.
Perhaps offer a plot to the local school/scouts/youth club, etc., to get the community involved.
Charge an annual rent to collectively cover water supply, mowing, and maintaining paths and possibly a sinking fund for fencing/other repairs.
Option to establish an allotments association to oversee respect for the rules, manage any regular site maintenance such as mowing paths, and be the link between the council and allotment holders.
00:24:07 Amanda Davis: jim hardy and david newman, please can you mute? Thank you
00:24:17 Cara Naden: Reacted to "jim hardy and david ..." with 👍
00:25:21 Jacky lawrence: Reacted to "jim hardy and david ..." with 👍
00:27:22 Jim Hardy: Replying to "jim hardy and david …" My phone was telling me I was muted! 00:27:44 Jim Hardy: Reacted to "jim hardy and david …" with 👍
00:28:50 Amanda Davis: Replying to "jim hardy and david ..."
🙏 00:34:12 Cara Naden: Just to note that most EVs brakes use regenerative breaking not break pads so particulates are less than fossil fuelled https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/running/do-electric-vehicles-produce-more-tyre-and-brake-pollution-than-petrol-and/#:~:text=Brake%20particulate%20matter,-Let's%20first%20look&text=When%20slowing%20a%20car%20down,on%20petrol%20and%20diesel%20cars.
00:37:49 Belinda Bawden: John - please could you share your email if you're happy for people to contact you?
00:37:56 Cara Naden: Reacted to "John - please could ..." with 👍
00:38:08 John Fagan: john.fagan@scribeaccounts.com
00:38:16 Belinda Bawden: Reacted to "john.fagan@scribeacc..." with 👍
00:41:43 lisa scott: It was only when I got my EV back in September that I compared the amount of energy we use when we use a car. Even though EVs have an efficiency rate of energy conversion of 77% (ICE cars are 17 - 20%)! My car can carry me max 260 miles on a full charge, that is 58Kw of electricity which would run my whole house at typical use for more than a week! I didn't think of it so much with my former car, a diesel, as I just filled the tank once a month, and I didn't make that connection.
00:42:02 lisa scott: Reacted to "Just to note that mo..." with 👍
00:42:13 Cara Naden: Stuart - have a look at the Strawberry Line project https://www.thestrawberryline.org.uk/
00:42:34 Cara Naden: Reacted to "It was only when I g..." with 👍
00:42:46 Belinda Bawden: We're the same in West Dorset. All the attention in the proposed new Local Transport Plan is on the east side and getting in and out of the urban Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area. We feel very neglected, especially west of Dorchester and Weymouth yet we have huge influxes of traffic of up to 20,00- to 30,000 cars a day when the sun's out!
00:44:44 Stuart Withington: Thanks Cara, looks great. I hope I can get my route to that standard😍
00:44:56 Cara Naden: Linking community renewable energy solar with electrifying trains - great project!https://www.ridingsunbeams.org/
00:45:02 Cara Naden: Reacted to "Thanks Cara, looks g..." with 🤞
00:45:39 David Newman: I want to find out more about the community mapping you did.
00:46:53 Cara Naden: Stuart - another community project leading on cycle and walking routes using some disused railways in Somerset https://fromesmissinglinks.org.uk/
00:52:40 Jools Townsend: We worked with Mapping for Change on the mapping: https://mappingforchange.org.uk/
00:55:20 Amanda Davis: Why no railcard for the single railway user? I don't have children, not disabled (not enough anyway!), no partner for regular travel etc, all of which have railcards. This would make my travel so much more affordable by train
00:59:09 Amanda Davis: Andrew, are we capturing all these great links and resources? I would love the link from Cara on the cooperative in the SW, I believe it was rail. What a rich session today! Congratulations!
01:00:48 Cara Naden: Go-Op aiming to create a Community run rail service in the SW https://go-op.coop/
01:01:47 Amanda Davis: Reacted to "Go-Op aiming to crea..." with ❤️
01:03:10 Cara Naden: reinstate our Railway station scheme https://langporttransportgroup.org/
01:04:38 David Newman: I rode my electric motorcycle to Broadway to catch a train in the Cotswolds. Same weight as a petrol bike.
01:05:37 Cara Naden: And going forward the benefit of EVs is to be able to support balancing energy for home and transport use. Vehicle to Grid charging
01:05:50 Graham Stoddart-Stones: Average household kWhours per year in the UK:https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/how-much-electricity-does-a-home-use
01:05:59 Cara Naden: Can also convert existing fossil fuelled vehicles to EVs
01:07:01 Graham Stoddart-Stones: It is 3,509 kWh a year…….67.5 kWh per week, for the average household
01:08:27 Graham Stoddart-Stones: Will autonomous cars mean that we will not need to have a car per household?
01:08:34 Cara Naden: And more EV charging availability in destination locations helps to reduce the need for large battery vehicles.
01:09:19 Cara Naden: Replying to "Will autonomous cars..."
Yes demand response using AI and matching destinations by demands will mean we won't need an individual car.
01:09:30 Amanda Davis: My car lives on my drive 90% of its time, and if I could book a car when I need it, I would happily not OWN a car. I only need to USE a car.
01:09:37 lisa scott: Replying to "Will autonomous cars..."
no, we will just get more congestion as the car does the prop off them does a 2nd trip to pick up the same person.
01:09:39 Cara Naden: Reacted to "My car lives on my d..." with 👍
01:09:54 lisa scott: Reacted to "My car lives on my d..." with 👍
01:10:32 Cara Naden: Check out Co-Wheels and we hope will expand their EV community pool car. https://www.co-wheels.org.uk/
01:11:25 Amanda Davis: Reacted to "Check out Co-Wheels ..." with 🙏
01:11:41 John Fagan: I like the idea of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technology for Decentralised Energy Storage: EVs can serve as mobile energy storage units. When plugged into the grid, the batteries of electric vehicles can be used to store excess energy generated during periods of low demand or high renewable production (e.g., sunny or windy days). This stored energy can be distributed back to the grid when demand is higher or renewable energy generation is low, effectively decentralising energy storage.
01:11:54 Cara Naden: E-bike shares with the Big Issue https://bigissue.bike/
01:12:00 Cara Naden: Reacted to "I like the idea of V..." with 👍
01:13:25 Cara Naden: Agree walking and cycling needs to be prioritised in our communities and link up community transport networks.
01:13:46 Stuart Withington: Reacted to "Agree walking and cy..." with 👍
01:14:04 Amanda Davis: I keep my 18 year old diesel on the road and had it from new, on the equation that it is more carbon friendly than ditching it and buying new. I "offset" by minimising my use (eg removing need to travel where poss) and car sharing where public transport not available. Would love a way to fact check test my "equation".
01:16:17 Amanda Davis: Younity - Midcounties + Octopus: Michaela Cryer on community energy
01:16:57 Cara Naden: Replying to "I keep my 18 year ol..."
"The scientific consensus is overwhelming: on any realistic like-for-like comparison a battery car will be cleaner than its petrol or diesel equivalent" https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/23/do-electric-cars-really-produce-fewer-carbon-emissions-than-petrol-or-diesel-vehicles#:~:text=The%20verdict,than%20inefficient%20fossil%20fuel%20engines.
01:17:42 Stuart Withington: Replying to "I keep my 18 year ol..."👍
01:20:39 Cara Naden: Community energy wind turbine and council collaborations would be great!
01:22:10 Graham Stoddart-Stones: Thanks, Cara, have added that to the list….
01:27:09 Amanda Davis: CNL's routemap was developed through multiple community and partners workshops etc. Process was more valuable than the document (of course)
01:29:47 Belinda Bawden: Thanks very much for another excellent Banter!
01:32:17 Jacky lawrence: Low Carbon Warwickshire Network, Napton Environmental Action Team, Savers charity
01:32:40 Jacky lawrence: Napron Parish Council Climate and ENvironment WP too
