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Towards One Planet Living in Sutton

One Planet Sutton is a major initiative to promote more sustainable council services, sustainable lifestyles and workplaces within the London Borough of Sutton. 

If everyone in the world lived as we do in Sutton we'd need three planets to support us. We need to reduce our impact - our Ecological Footprint - by two thirds to a sustainable and globally fair level. We call this One Planet Living®.

We are working with residents and businesses in the London Borough of Sutton to find ways of reducing our ecological footprint by 65% while strengthening our community and improving our quality of life. This is an ambitious project but together we can make it happen.

News

The Veg Van comes to Hackbridge!

19th March 2010

Commuters can buy locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables outside Hackbridge train station on the way home from work in a new scheme from local environmental charity, BioRegional. The Veg Van, a not-for-profit, renovated milk float, launched on Wednesday, bringing seasonal, locally grown fruit and vegetables to this area of the London Borough of Sutton where fresh produce is hard to come by.

Nicknamed Veggie, the veg-mobile is aiming to cater for thousands of people in Hackbridge, making it convenient and affordable for them to eat healthily while cutting their need to drive to shops and boosting sustainable business in the local area.

Anna Francis, One Planet Food Manger at BioRegional said: “We’re linking up with local growers such as the community farm to bring super fresh, seasonal food to the area. We hope that the van will become part of people’s weekly shop and that others will be inspired to set up similar projects around the UK.”

The Veg Van will be open every Wednesday 4.30-8pm, conveniently placed at Hackbridge rail station for residents to pop by straight after work or school. It will also be travelling to local schools to sell its wares and may even stock food grown by the pupils.

Find out more at http://www.vegvan.org.uk/

Community farm - fantastic first activity day!

27th February 2010

Thank you to everyone who attended the first of our monthly Activity Day on Saturday. Despite the ominous grey clouds, they day was a great success (and not a drop of rain!) - we managed to erect a poly tunnel, plant cordon apple trees, raspberry canes, beans and prepare beds, as well as a bee keeping talk, nature walk and home made soup, amazing! More photos from the day are available here

Find out more at http://www.suttoncommunityfarm.org.uk/

We're launching Sutton's first community farm!

27 January 2010

Come to Stanley Park Junior School, Stanley Park Road, Carshalton, SM5 3JL at 6.30pm to get involved and talk about what you want to grow!

Fine out about the first activity day at the farm, which will be on Saturday 27th February, form 10am-3pm.

Training and equipment will be provided and everyone is welcome.  

Hackbridge Community Forum

14th January 2010 

Come to this public meeting to hear updates on projects and developments aimed to make Hackbridge the UK's first truly Sustainable Suburb.

The meeting will take place on Thursday 14th January 2010 at Hackbridge Primary School from 7pm to 9pm.

Chaired by Cllr John Drage, there will be updates on projects and developments, discussions about bio-diversity and flood risk, as well as news about further work planned in Hackbridge. Residents will be encouraged to share their views and ideas around shaping the future of Hackbridge and the Community Forum.

The school's address is Hackbridge Primary School, Hackbridge Road, Hackbridge SM6 7AX.

Sutton adopts One Planet Action Plan

17 December 2009

The Council have adopted their own One Planet Action Plan, committing to ambitious high level targets against each of the One Planet principles. It includes steps the council and its partners will take to cut carbon emissions from buildings and vehicles, increase recycling and ensure all new developments are built to the highest environmental standards. It's been a busy week for sustainability in Sutton, after also being awarded a green flag on environmental sustainability in its Comprehensive Area Assessment.

For more information, visit: http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=8417
And to see the action plan, visit: http://www.sutton.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=8680&p=0

A low carbon retrofit for Sutton

10 December 2009

In partnership with a range of organisations, including B&Q and BioRegional, Sutton Council have secured funding to trial two different approaches to energy retrofit in Sutton. Hackbridge has been declared one of 10 Low Carbon Zones in London and residents will be offered free basic energy efficiency measures (such as loft insulation, and energy saving lightbulbs) and training in how to save energy in their homes.

The other initiative, called Pay As You Save is borough-wide. Residents will be able to borrow £10,000 to spend on energy efficiency measures (including boiler upgrades and solid wall insulation) and renewable energy technologies (like solar panels to generate electricity of provide hot water). These measures will reduce the running cost of the house and the loan is paid back over a 10-25 year period in-line with the savings made, then once the loan has been paid back the ongoing savings will go straight into the occupier's pocket!

If you'd like more information on either of these programmes please contact: ben.gill@bioregional.com or katherine.Hudson@sutton.gov.uk

One Planet Food in Sutton

10 December 2009

Local environmental charities BioRegional and EcoLocal have launched an exciting community project that will enable Sutton residents to buy affordable, delicious and nutritious local food and get fit and healthy through growing their own. The project includes:

• Food growing training for everyone from school children to families; including a revamped community allotment training centre in Carshalton

• Increasing awareness about healthy eating, including healthy cookery courses and healthy/local food events and workshops

• Setting up Sutton's first community farm near Carshalton and Wallington - perfect for people who don't have enough time for their own allotment but would like to grow some food and learn new skills. The farm will start in January 2010 and provides free growing space and training

• Local food markets providing fresh affordable local produce in areas with limited access; the first market will kick off in Hackbridge in January 2010

• A local food network where local producers supply healthy local food to Sutton's schools and hospitalsThe project is funded by Big Lottery Local Food Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, NHS Sutton and Merton and Sutton Council and is part of One Planet Sutton - promoting sustainable council services, lifestyles and workplaces within the London Borough of Sutton.

The training events have already started and look out for the fresh food market in Hackbrige in the New Year. Likewise if you want to volunteer on the farm please get in touch with Anna.

For more information or to get involved contact:

BioRegional anna.francis@bioregional.com or call 020 8404 7085

mailto:EcoLocal%20food@ecolocal.org.uk or call 020 8770 6611

Public group launched to guide Hackbridge transformation

October 2009

Residents and businesses in Hackbridge are invited by Sutton Council to join a new group that will guide the transformation of the suburb into the UK's greenest place to live.

The council is staging the first meeting of the Hackbridge Project Community Forum on Thursday 15 October. It will act as the focal point for local people to have their say on and debate the various schemes and developments that make up the project, the pilot for One Planet Living in Sutton.

The Forum will meet for the first time at Culvers House Primary School in Orchard Avenue between 7pm and 9pm and all local people, businesses and community groups are invited.

Following an introduction by the council's Deputy Leader, Cllr Ruth Dombey, people can hear how the forum will run. They will also hear presentations on plans to redevelop the Felnex Site into hundreds of new, sustainable homes and other facilities.

There will also be a presentation on the Low-Carbon Zone. Sutton is to receive over £200,000 from the Mayor of London that will be used on a package of measures to help at least 700 homes in Hackbridge cut CO2 emissions by over 20% in the next three years.

To sign up for agenda updates and news from the Community Forum email your contact details to matt.archer@sutton.gov.uk

Library loan to cut energy bills

October 2009

A handy gadget that allows householders to see how much energy they are using in real time is available to borrow from Sutton Library.

The smart meters will literally allow people to see how much it costs to switch a light bulb on or off and are the perfect aid to cut your household energy bills by showing you where energy is going to waste. They are simple to use and easy to install without professional help.

Many household devices such as TVs and video game consoles use electricity even on ‘standby' mode while phone chargers and other similar devices also consume electricity if left plugged in. The smart monitors show how much energy is being used, how much it costs and also how much CO2 - a major cause of climate change - is being produced.

Sutton Council has teamed up with the Energy Saving Trust to offer the meters which will be available to borrow from Sutton Library from Thursday 8 October. The meters can be borrowed free of charge for up to a week.

Cllr Graham Tope, Executive Member for Libraries on Sutton Council said,

"With winter fast approaching more people than ever will be keeping an eye on their energy bills and these new smart meters are a really easy way to get started.

"Little things, like properly turning off the TV or switching the light off in the hallway can drastically reduce the amount of energy we use. Being able to see exactly where every penny goes is a great way to cut down on waste, be kinder to the environment and save money.

"Just pop into Sutton Library, borrow a smart meter, and see how you could start saving straight away."

 

 

 

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