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Sustainable Bubwith: A New Community Venture Takes Root

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For the past few years, the Bubwith Parish Council has been looking at ways to encourage sustainability and environmental awareness within our community.

The Parish Council’s eco subgroup has taken a few different forms over the years, including Love My Parish, and while the ideas and enthusiasm have always been there, we’ve been looking for ways to turn those ideas into something practical that people across the parish can get involved with.

Now, those seeds are finally beginning to grow.

We’re excited to support the launch of Sustainable Bubwith, a new community venture bringing together a Repair Café and Farmers & Makers Market, in collaboration with Bubwith Leisure Centre and local grower Catherine Jepson.

Repair, reuse and give things another life

The Repair Café is based around a simple idea: before something is thrown away because it is broken, could it be repaired instead?

The first event will provide an opportunity for local people with practical skills to come together and help repair items, share knowledge and perhaps learn a few new skills along the way.

We’re currently looking for volunteers who are confident repairing things and would be happy to share their skills with others.

You don’t necessarily need to be a professional repairer. If you’re good at fixing things and enjoy helping people, there could be a place for you.

Supporting local farmers, growers and makers

Alongside the Repair Café, we’re also launching a new Farmers & Makers Market.

The aim is to create a genuinely local market where residents can discover and buy products that are made or sourced locally, while giving small producers, growers, farmers and makers an opportunity to reach people in their own community.

We’re looking for local farmers and growers, food producers, bakers, makers, artists, crafters and anyone producing natural, sustainable or locally sourced goods.

Stalls are just £10, with the first market taking place alongside the Repair Café.

The first event

The first Sustainable Bubwith Repair Café and Farmers & Makers Market will take place on:

Saturday 10 October
1pm to 4pm
Bubwith Leisure Centre

It’s an important first step, but we know that getting something new off the ground takes more than an idea.

It needs volunteers.

It needs farmers, growers and makers.

And most importantly, it needs our community to come along and support it.

A venture that can grow

For now, we’re keeping things fairly simple and seeing how the first events develop. But there’s plenty of scope for Sustainable Bubwith to grow in the future.

Ideas could include clothing swaps, plant-focused events, specialist repair sessions and other opportunities to repair, renew and repurpose.

The intention isn’t to create another large-scale event. It’s to build something genuinely local, useful and community-focused.

The Parish Council is particularly pleased to see an idea that began within our environmental work several years ago now becoming something residents can actually take part in.

If you can repair something, make something, grow something, sell something locally or simply come along and support the venture, you can help Sustainable Bubwith grow.

For information about becoming a repair volunteer or booking a stall, contact Catherine at or 07544 147007.

August Chair Letter : Bubwith Businesses, Hedgehogs & Hedges

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Dear Parishioners of Bubwith & Breighton

 

I hope this finds you well.  They say be careful what you wish for, so my apologies for complaining about the dry garden last month, we seem to have been blessed with a lot of rain as a consequence.

 

Let me begin with Bubwith Bridge.  Work has now commenced although I note that there is a concern that there is little sign of major activities at the moment.  I shall be raising this with ERYC to see if there is an explanation.  Don’t forget there is a contact email: to direct questions to individual officers simply mark ‘for the attention of’ and it will get to them.  

 

There is also the Bubwith Bridge Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/188447323849759 for updates and for those not on Facebook a regular update can be emailed or a printed version posted.  Please either call the council call centre 01482 39 39 39, or email your name and address to and request regular updates by post.

 

Locally, businesses in the village are definitely already feeling the impact and are very actively mitigating against reduced business due the closure.  Mounfields have introduced an order and delivery service for their customers over the bridge, contact Mounfields on 01757 288339.

The White Swan has introduced Quiz night Thursdays, £5 pp including supper, 7pm for 7.30 start, this enjoyable event got off to a great start so get there early and don’t miss out! All our businesses need our local support to see them through this time.  I bumped into someone the other day that had only just tried the fruit and veg room at the Jug & Bottle and were bowled over by the selection, if you don’t go in you won’t know what you are missing until it’s too late!

 

Bubwith Leisure & Sport Centre has a new Social Team of volunteers.  Their goal is to run social events at the centre to support for local people.  The team is planning events for next year including a Gin Festival & Bubwith Big Bash. Currently they have reinstated the monthly Bingo and are holding a Family Fiesta evening on 9th September (tickets £10 adult £5 child including supper and a soft drink or Sangria, tickets available Alison Craven mob: 07738609711 or ).  If you would like to get involved with the Social Team as a volunteer, as a group in the village, or have suggestions please contact Alison.

 

ERYC Business Development lead Dawn Hall has offered to support the development of a marketing booklet outlining all the businesses within our community and I’ve recently been in touch with most to see if they’d like to be involved. Paula Clark (a professional also local to the village) is being commissioned to design and produce the booklet. If I haven’t contacted you please contact me if you’d like to be involved.  It’s intended the booklet will encourage people to use our services now but also signpost newcomers in the future and encourage us all to reduce our carbon footprint by buying local.

The bridge is not the only story of the moment.  We have been fortunate to have some successful bids from the Spaldington Wind farm Community Fund.  Thanks to those in our community who put some great bids together.  Our successes include; funding our Youth club Workers (we are the only village in the immediate area to have one, supporting the repair of the metal bridge from the Leisure Centre Field to the PRW along Southfield Drain and FoBS application for a Children & Young Peoples’ art project.  Every year people make the effort to put in bids to enhance our community assets and every year their effort has paid off, thank you!

 

This month I’d like to give a mention to hedges and hedgehogs.  August is approaching and from the birds perspective it’s safe to cut your hedge (if you haven’t already).  The Parish Council has been inundated with request for action on cutting back hedges as some are sticking out so far it is impossible to operate a pram/buggie or mobility scooter safely on the pavement.  There are some  where even a single pedestrian ends up on the road to avoid them, not to mention reduced visibility for motorists.  Please be considerate to your community by keeping your hedge in check.  If you have a problem getting your hedge cut please get in touch we may be able to assist you.

 

As for hedgehogs, did you know they are an endangered species in the UK?  Did you also know that they could walk about 3 miles per night foraging for food?  Hedgehogs R Us a local charity contacted our PC to raise awareness of their highway project.  All it requires is to leave a 5-inch (12.7 cm) gap in your fence to enable our spikey friends to access your garden and help themselves to your slugs, snails, beetles and earthworms.

 

Finally and very importantly, a request has been made to site a waste bin in Breighton to assist dog walkers to deposit their dogs’ deposits.  Steve Young is on the case and hopefully it will be with you very soon.

 

Thank you for your kind attention.  If there is anything arising from my Chair’s piece today please get in touch.

 

Best wishes.

Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council   

I’m always glad to hear of concerns and issues.  .

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