News
Unanimous Support for Derbyshire Dales District Council’s Biodiversity Project
Fri, 6 August 2021
Derbyshire Dales district councillors have voted unanimously to increase biodiversity in the road verges and open spaces the authority manages - 12 pilot areas have been identified.
DDDC were approached by 5 community groups and organisations to take part in the Council’s wildflower verge project:
- Rewilding Hathersage
- Wilder Wirksworth
- Bradwell Wildflower Project
- Doveridge Parish Council
- Hartington Parish Council
The groups have informally adopted the verges in their area and are working in partnership with the council to manage them for wildflowers and pollinators.
Each of the pilot sites are being surveyed as part of the monitoring, to see how the verges develop over the next three years.
Rural Action Derbyshire's Electric Bike Scheme
Fri, 6 August 2021For 15 years, Rural Action Derbyshire has been running a scheme called Wheels to Work which provides transport solutions for people who struggle to get to work or training because of a lack of suitable public or private transport. They offer moped loans, reconditioned bicycles, and help towards transport costs in some circumstances.
This year, Derbyshire County Council have provided £52,500 to help fund Wheels to Work and some of the money will be used to pay for a fleet of e-bikes. The addition of six electric bikes will useful for users needing to travel greater distances and in hilly terrain.
There are a limited number of electric bicycles available now on a first-come first-served basis. There is a small loan charge of £30 a week (£25 for students) and the scheme is open to anyone who is struggling with access to education, training, or employment in Derbyshire.
Derby City Council’s Sustainable Transport Grants
Fri, 6 August 2021
Through the Connected Grant scheme, businesses and voluntary or community groups based in Derby can apply for up to £15,000 to fund improvements or initiatives that encourage sustainable travel and working practices. This could cover both infrastructure and incentives for staff or visitors, including:
- Use of e-cargo bikes
- Creating cycle parking and storage facilities
- Installing electric vehicle charging points
- Building showers and changing facilities
- Improving site access for walking and cycling
As part of the application, organisations will develop a Travel Action Plan. They will get free help and advice on travel measures that will have the greatest impact on their organisation/group.
Amber Valley’s New Battery-powered Sweeper
Fri, 6 August 2021
In their latest step towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, Amber Valley borough council have introduced the first battery-powered precinct sweeper to clean up the streets of Amber Valley.
This greener and cleaner sweeper replaces the previous diesel model in Ripley Town Centre and is far more efficient. With fewer moving parts, it is also likely to be more reliable and should be cheaper to run.
Scott Copeland, Town Centre Operatives, said: "...I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try the machine out before the council committed to buy one and I knew within the first few hours how much of an improvement it is."
Unanimous Support for Derbyshire Dales District Council’s Biodiversity Project
Thu, 5 August 2021
Derbyshire Dales district councillors have voted unanimously to increase biodiversity in the road verges and open spaces the authority manages - 12 pilot areas have been identified.
DDDC were approached by 5 community groups and organisations to take part in the Council’s wildflower verge project:
- Rewilding Hathersage
- Wilder Wirksworth
- Bradwell Wildflower Project
- Doveridge Parish Council
- Hartington Parish Council
The groups have informally adopted the verges in their area and are working in partnership with the council to manage them for wildflowers and pollinators. Each of the pilots sites are being surveyed this summer as part of the monitoring, to see how the verges develop over the next three years.
Wilder Wirksworth have adopted a verge at the entrance to a housing estate close to the centre of town. They collected native plants growing in their garden such as: primroses, red campion and ox eye daisy and planted these into the verge. The group plan to sow locally sourced yellow rattle seed in late summer which is a semi parasitic on grass, to reduce the vigour of the grasses allow the wildflowers to more successfully compete with the grass.
Rewilding Hathersage have taken on two verges and are waiting to see what wildflowers appear this year before they look at adding local wildflower seeds or plants.
Doveridge Parish Council are keen to increase the number of wildflowers on an area of open space at a junction between two roads. This year a strip of vegetation around a pond was allowed to grow long and in the autumn they plan to create a wildflower area. The eagle eyed parish councillor’s also spotted a number of bee orchids growing in a road verge at the edge of the village and the council was able to quickly respond by just cutting the roadside edge of the verge avoiding the orchids.
Bradwell Wildflower Project
A group of local residents have adopted five verges, three managed by DDDC and two by the parish council. The community planted 500 planted grown from locally sourced seed within the verges. They also involved the village school and the children who compared the number of flowers in short mown grass to the areas allowed to grow long, as part of No Mow May campaign.
Hartington Wildflower Project
The group are trying different techniques on the five areas they are managing to see what works best. From leaving the vegetation to grow long in council’s owned car park, to scarifying and sowing in the churchyard and rotating and introducing plants on another site.