West Berkshire Council and Veolia are again giving away free, peat-free soil conditioner this spring. The giveaway returns for the eighth time at Veolia's Waste Management Facility in Padworth on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March, 10:00am-4:00pm. No booking is required.
Bring proof of West Berkshire residency and your own bags, boxes or containers - the soil conditioner is provided loose. Shovels will be available on site. Supplies are usually restocked around midday and 2:00pm, so you don't need to arrive at dawn. Residents are asked to take a reasonable amount so everyone gets a turn.
Separately, West Berkshire is a pilot district for 10 experimental biodiversity projects as the council and local experts hunt for ways to tackle nature loss and build green businesses. The issue is urgent: the UK has seen a 19 per cent fall in wildlife abundance since the 1970s and ranks among the bottom 10 per cent globally for biodiversity.
The Environment Act 2021 gives local authorities a duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity and report on their actions. West Berkshire strengthened its climate emergency declaration in October 2023 to include the ecological emergency, and from January new large developments must include biodiversity net gain proposals.
Two groups recently presented to the council's Environment Advisory Group. BioCap is working on the Sulham Estate to create a habitat bank and split up the vast arable fields into a mosaic of habitats.
Ed Cooper's not-for-profit is aiming for a 10 per cent net gain on Sulham with a 30-year conservation covenant. "Farmers are responsible for about 10 per cent of carbon emissions," he said. "We are working at the Sulham Estate for a net gain of 10 per cent with a 30-year conservation covenant."
The project covers 130 hectares of intensively farmed land. Plans include introducing grazing, butterflies, breeding birds and reptiles, soil surveys, a walnut orchard, a 50-hectare wildflower seed area, 4.6km of new hedgerows, 30,000 trees and a wetland to help ground-nesting birds. Rights of way will be improved to create a circular walk. Cooper says the aim is to find a business model for biodiversity and to attract corporate investment so other landowners feel able to follow suit.
Landscape architect Rachel Hammond of Edge Landscaping is pushing smaller-scale, soil-first approaches and local food production. "Going organic reduces chemical food production energy," she says. "Fertilising one hectare of land relates a ton of CO2." Her regenerative methods make soil more active and productive.
Hammond is a big believer in market gardens. "Market gardens can make 572 to 1,500 tonnes per square metre a year," she says, and argues smaller mixed farms are more sustainable: "Ten farms employing two or three people is better than one big farm. "Smaller scale needs less fossil fuels and is the future of farming."
Her Newbury case study covers 1,826 acres and 44,171 residents. She suggests public edible gardens about 65m x 40m dotted around town - sites could include Newbury Racecourse and Crookham Golf Club - and says this could produce about 182kg of fruit and veg per person. As one councillor noted, "there would probably need to be some conversations with landowners".
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
