Green scheme hits £1m target
IT is just over two years since West Berkshire Council declared a climate emergency.
Local Democracy Reporter Niki Hinman looks at the community’s financial investment in going green.
A FINANCIAL solution in the form of the launch of Community Municipal Investments to finance green infrastructure projects achieved its goal of raising £1m.
Overall, 640 investors contributed nationwide, with 23 per cent of total investment coming from West Berkshire residents.
It has helped with the ‘doing’ side of things.
So far £520,000 has been spent for six Solar PV roofbased projects on council facilities, including a school, leisure centre, care facility and council offices.
The remaining £500,000 has been used for a variety of schemes, including tree planting and habitat creation as part of flood alleviation work.
Money has also been spent on energy efficiency upgrades for traffic signals – 17 of those have been fitted with LED lights – and street lighting.
Funding from the bond is also being used to develop the council’s local walking and cycling infrastructure plan.
As part of this the council delivered a £100,000 upgrade to the Thatcham to Brimpton towpath in October 2020.
Tree planting and habitat creation as part of the Dunstan Park and South East Thatcham Flood Alleviation Scheme, costing £100,000, was also funded by the bond and will be completed this year.
More than 100 people who invested in the scheme chose to donate their returns back to the council so it can be used on more green projects, rather than take the money.
Simon Claybourn, wild verges project officer for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, said: “The money generously donated will be going directly to helping the wildlife of West Berkshire.
“It’s fantastic to see so many people caring enough to commit funds to what we’re doing.
“With this help, this project will be able to do even more for nature by engaging with and resourcing even more local communities to put wildflowers back on the map.”
It’s fantastic to see so many people caring enough to commit funds to what we’re doing