A dozen volunteers from the Village Trust scoured the conservation area for litter this morning and managed to find plenty to collect. Though there appeared to be less litter than last year.
Archive for the ‘Litter’ Category
Annual Litter Pick
March 25, 2023Annual Litter Pick
April 10, 2021Thank you to the 10 volunteers from the Trust who helped with the annual litter pick this morning.
We had expected more litter, having cancelled last April’s litter pick due to Covid.
Spring Litter Pick Cancelled
March 20, 2020Due to the Coronavirus outbreak it has been decided to cancel the litter pick arranged for 28 March. We may reorganise it for September if the situation improves.
Open Meeting and Litter Pick
March 9, 2020There will be no Village Trust Open Meeting in March this year. The next meeting for members and residents will be on 19th May at 7.30pm in the Catholic Church Hall, after the AGM that evening.
The annual spring litter pick is being held on Saturday 28 March this year, in association with Litter Free Durham’s ‘Big Spring Clean’. Volunteers who can spare an hour or two are meeting at the car park next to the Golden Flower at 10am. We aim to tidy up the village centre and along the roads leading out from it. Litter pickers, gloves, hi-viz vests and sacks are provided.
The Big Spring Clean is LitterFree Durham’s annual campaign, operated and delivered by Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council.
Both councils work in partnership with LitterFree Durham to plan and execute the campaign every year.
The aim of the campaign is to reduce the amount of litter in the county by engaging with as many members of the community as possible through litterpicking activities and education in schools accross the area.
The campaign was first launched in 2010 to further LitterFree Durham’s work on the Stop the Drop Campaign that had been promoted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Since then it has grown year on year by attracting new groups and by maintaining engagement with previous participants.
Spring clean
March 2, 2019The annual Spring litter pick by the Village Trust was carried out this morning. Thank you to the nine members who volunteered their time. The village is looking much tidier. Lets try and keep it that way. Only 10 bags collected this year compared to 20 in April 2018.
Litter picked
March 24, 2018Thank you to the 15 Trust members who collected 20 bags of litter this morning, during our annual Spring litter pick in the village.
Litter pick success
April 9, 2017On Saturday morning 15 members of the Trust, together with our local county councillors, picked up litter from the village centre and along the main roads radiating outwards. Thank you to all those who volunteered. The village looks a lot tidier now.
Pansies and litter
October 19, 2016Last Saturday our volunteers planted the winter bedding in the Trust’s tubs and planters.
This year we have planted multi coloured pansies instead of violas, which were not as successful as in previous years. Tete a Tete daffodils, iris and tulip bulbs have been planted too. The County Council will be planting up the barrier baskets to match.
If you would like to help tidy up the village, there is to be a litter pick and sweep up on the morning of Saturday 29th October. We are meeting in the car park next to the Golden Flower at 9.30am. Litter pickers, bags and hi-viz vests will be provided. Bring your own gloves and tools to cut down weeds and sweep paths.
25 Bags of Litter
March 19, 2016This morning 17 volunteers collected 25 bags of litter in & around Shotley Bridge.
Thank you to all those who helped to make the village cleaner.
Big Spring Clean tomorrow
March 18, 2016This year the Shotley Bridge annual spring litter pick, organised by the Trust, is being held on Saturday 19 March …
Volunteers to meet at the Golden Flower car park in the village centre at 9.30am.
Gloves, bags, pickers and hi-viz vests will be provided, if you don’t have them.
Blooming report
October 25, 2015Over thirty members of the Trust attended the recent Open Meeting, at which a report was given about the Trust’s entry in Northumbria in Bloom this year.
Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our bid for ‘Gold’, being just 4 marks [out of 200] short of attaining the top award in the competition, but we managed to achieve our highest score ever and another ‘Silver Gilt’, for the third consecutive year.
Disappointed that the extra improvements and volunteer effort this year had only resulted in achieving another ‘Silver Gilt’, it was announced that the ‘Blooming’ committee had decided not to enter the competition in 2016. It was emphasised, though, that the high standard of planting in the tubs, baskets, troughs and sustainable beds throughout the conservation area would be continued by volunteers next year, but without the extra work behind the scenes needed to impress judges. Hopefully the local businesses will continue with their own floral displays too, to keep Sholey Bridge ‘Blooming’.
The slideshow presentation given at the meeting was taken from the photographs in the Portfolio, which had been presented to the judges when they visited in July …
Blooming ready
June 4, 2015The Trust has started preparations for the Northumbria in Bloom summer judging in 7 weeks time. The judges will be visiting on the morning of 20 July.
50 tubs have been emptied and topped up with compost ready for planting up with summer bedding, by volunteers on Saturday morning and weeds near them have been sprayed. As an experiment, 6 of the tubs are being planted with sustainable plants that will not need to be removed twice a year. Although £100 has been allocated for this, it should save money in the long term. The Trust spends up to £500 a year on summer bedding and a similar amount on winter bedding and bulbs, as residents tell us that they prefer colourful displays. The bulbs are replanted in open spaces in the autumn.
Keeping the area free of leaves, road grit, dog dirt and litter are important judging criteria. Please help our volunteers by putting dog pooh bags and litter in the bins provided. Cigarette ends are a particular problem in the village centre, particularly outside pubs and restaurants, even though businesses provide outside bins for their customers.
Many smokers do not realise that throwing away a cigarette end is a littering offence. The County Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens are issuing fines to people doing this in a public place, as it is an offence, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Anyone dropping litter can be issued with a fixed penalty notice of £80. Thirteen people who did not pay their fines for dropping cigarette ends in County Durham were taken to Court yesterday.
More information about your local Neighbourhood Warden Team is available on the County Council website.
Big Spring Clean
March 17, 2015This year the Trust has arranged its annual litter pick on Saturday 21st March, to coincide with ‘Community Clear Up Day’, a national initiative by the Keep Britain Tidy organisation. We will also be helping to support the Litter Free Durham Initiative.
If you can spare an hour or two, meet at the Golden Flower car park at 9.30am and bring gloves. Bags, pickers and tabards will be provided, if you don’t have them.
Judges tour
July 22, 2014Yesterday, two judges from Northumbria in Bloom were escorted around the village by members of the ‘Blooming’ committee.
They seemed impressed with what they were shown during the 2 hour walkabout. But we won’t know until September how well we did.
Thank you to all the businesses, residents, school and volunteers for putting on such a good show.
Litter pick thank you
April 6, 2014On Saturday morning 11 members of the village trust managed to collect over 20 bags of litter from the village’s streets and open spaces. Thank you for taking time out of your weekend.
Thank you also to all the pupils at Shotley Bridge Junior School who collected litter from the school grounds and adjoining play park, before their Easter holidays.
Poster competition
April 4, 2014150 pupils from Shotley Bridge Junior School were invited by the village trust to take part in an environmental poster competition again this year. Easter eggs were awarded this morning, by Sue Shaw from ‘Blooming Shotley Bridge’, to the winners of each year group.
Big Spring Clean
March 31, 2014The Trust’s annual litter pick will take place this Saturday morning 5th April.
Volunteers will be meeting between 9.00 and 9.30 in the car park next to the Golden Flower. Litter pickers, gloves, hi-viz vests and sacs will be provided.
If you would like to help tidy up the local area but cannot make this Saturday, consider taking a plastic bag and gloves when you go out for a walk or keep the area near your home litter free.
Shotley Bridge in Bloom
July 18, 2013Today, judges walked around the conservation area to score our entry in the 2013 Northumbria in Bloom competition. 80% of the total marks will be awarded following their visit [20% were awarded at their spring visit].
Scores are given in three sections with five categories in each:
Horticultural Achievement – 40% [impact, horticultural practice, residential and community gardening, business areas and premises, green spaces];
Environmental Responsibility – 20% [conservation and biodiversity, resource management,local heritage, local environmental quality, pride of place];
Community Participation – 20% [development and continuity, communication and education, community participation, year round involvement, funding and support].
The points awarded and the level of award will not be known until the presentation event in September. Hopefully we will achieve a ‘Silver Gilt’ this year.
A tidy village
April 7, 2013Thank you to the twenty five volunteers who turned out on a sunny morning yesterday, to pick up litter within the Conservation Area and sweep the paths in the village centre. The photos show some of the volunteers and bags of rubbish that were collected.
The dog fouling is quite bad this year – it may only be a couple of dog owners who are not picking up after their dog but the mess it creates when people walk in it stays around until the next heavy rain. Please report any that you see to the local authority, telephone 03000261000, particularly if you know the date and time it happened so that the Neighbourhood Wardens can try to catch and fine the culprits.
Keep Britain Tidy
April 2, 2013Each year, Keep Britain Tidy identifies the companies whose products are littered most. From fast food containers to drink cans and sweets wrappers, they count the brands that create the most litter…on streets, in parks or beside water. They call it “England’s Great Litter Count’.
They release the results to the media. And because litter affects so many people, they usually list the companies whose products litter the most.
This year, for the first time, ordinary people were invited to take part, during the first two weeks of February. Look at the results for the North East.
It will be interesting to compare the litter which is to be collected in Shotley Bridge this coming Saturday!
If you can spare a couple of hours … we are meeting at the car park next to the Golden Flower takeaway at 9.30am
Shotley Bridge Village Trust 