In July 2019 Chalford Parish Council declared a Climate and Environmental Emergency and pledged to do everything within its powers to make Chalford Parish Community carbon neutral by 2030 at the latest.
Initially, the emphasis was on the climate and energy, and measures were taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the Parish. Our achievements and plans are set out below. In 2024 the focus shifted to nature recovery in the Parish and adjacent areas. A Local Nature Action Plan was approved by Stroud District Council in April 2024, and we are taking steps to implement it.
ChalCAN
Chalford Climate Action Network was set up in 2019 in response to the Parish Council’s declaration of a climate and environmental emergency. Initially constituted as a working group of the Parish Council, ChalCAN is now an independent community group, supported by the Parish Council and working with the PC where appropriate. There are thee ChalCAN working groups: Energy and Transport; Food, Waste and Plastic; and Biodiversity.
To find out more about ChalCAN, visit https://chalcan.org.uk/ You can also follow ChalCAN on Facebook.
Climate Change
What we’ve done
As a first step we had an expert carry out an energy survey of the Parish Centre, which was given an energy rating of C. As a result of the advice we received on how to improve our energy efficiency we:
- Changed our lights to LEDs at the Parish Centre and at our workshop at Frithwood Cemetery.
- Fitted solar Photovoltaic panels on the roof the Parish Centre.
- Had the Parish Centre’s insulation checked to ensure energy was not being wasted - we were pleased to hear we have excellent insulation.
Additionally, we have installed two 7kW Electric Vehicle charging points at the front of the Parish Centre for public use.
Our electricity and gas come from a 100% ‘green’ supplier.
What’s next?
The Parish Centre’s gas boiler is getting towards the end of its life, and replacing it with something more climate-friendly would be a good way to reduce the Centre’s carbon dioxide emissions. How we’ll go about it has yet to be decided, though an initial survey about using an air source heat pump was not encouraging, with issues of hot water storage and noise given the close proximity of neighbouring dwellings.
Nature Recovery
Over the years natural systems have been depleted across large parts of the planet. On a small scale, Chalford Parish Council is acting to help nature recovery in those areas it owns or has influence over, and in cooperation with local groups and neighbouring areas.
What we're doing and what we're planning
In
April 2024 the Parish Council approved its Biodiversity policy and its Local Nature Action Plan (LNAP), and set up a Local Nature Action
Plan Working Group. The LNAP, which is a live and evolving document, was reviewed
and accepted by Stroud District Council. (In particular, there are changes to
Appendix 2, Updated Land Ownership and Grass-cutting
Schedule for 2025 )
What's been done so far
Even before the Parish Council adopted a
Biodiversity policy, it had been working to improve biodiversity in the Parish
whilst keeping
a balance with amenity use, road safety and public acceptance.
Some examples of action it has taken are:
· Increasing the width of playing field edges that are cut once a year
· Cutting the ‘drip-line’ areas under trees once a year
· Cutting verges and other areas less frequently and on a higher cut where possible
· Having a no pesticide policy
· Working with Stroud District Council to get nature-friendly approaches to the land SDC is responsible for
· Working with and supporting ChalCAN Biodiversity as they:
o Planted over 100 trees on land at Middle Hill – the area now known as The Spinney
o Planted trees elsewhere in the Parish
o Developed a 12km biodiversity walk around the Parish
o Took responsibility for managing areas of particular environmental interest, such as Abnash Bank and Parish Bank
· Working with and supporting Friends of Frith Wood as they:
o Provided advice and people to help manage the Parish-owned area of Frith Wood
o Created a lively community group helping to improve the Parish-owned area of the wood
Created two nature sanctuaries in the Parish-owned area of the wood
Meeting Notes & Reports
Stroud District Council training sessions
Report LNAP SDC online training (2024-05-14).docx
Report LNAP SDC training session (SDC Uplands, 2024-08-29).docx
Parish Council LNAP Working Group
LNAP WG meeting notes 2024-04-29
LNAP WG meeting notes 2024-10-14
Notes of a wider Nature Recovery meeting on 14 January 2025
Reports to Full Council
LNAP WG report to FC 2024-12-05
LNAP WG report to FC
2025-02-06
Resources
The Parish is fortunate to have some good
resources, many as a result of work by a local ecologist.
In-depth reports
Chalford-Parish Nature Capital report
Chalford Parish baseline ecological survey
Report on Gloucestershire LNRS community engagement strategy 2024
Chalford Parish Environmental Surveys
These are being made more accessible. In the meantime the link below takes you to the existing records.
Survey Records