Contents... 1.
Our Town 3
2. The In Bloom Team 4 3. Horticultural Achievement 5 - Impact 5 4. Horticultural Practice 6 -Town Gardens 6
-Shade Beds 6 -Insect Bed 7 -Autumn to Spring Display 8 -Calne Summer Bedding Displays for 2017 9
5. Environmental Responsibility 10 -Conservation and Biodiversity 10
-Nature Trail 10 -Penn Wood 11 -Resoucre Management 12 -Local Environmental Quality 13 -The Great British Spring Clean 13 -Pride of Place 14 -Local Heritage 15
6. Community Participation and Involvement 16 -Allotments 16
-Green Spaces - Castlefields and Others 17 -St Margarets Tree Planting 20 -Raising Public Awareness 21 -Community Engagement 21 -Calne Connection 21 -Social Media 22 -Online 22 -It's Our Neighbourhood Groups 23 -Improvements to Skate Bowl 23 -Beversbrook Sports and Community Centre 24 -Environmental Quality at Beversbrook 24 -Funding and Support 25 -Sponsorship 25 -Summary of 2016-2017 26 -The Future 26
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Our Town... Calne is a lively town, the perfect place to while away a few hours, be it browsing the independent shops, enjoying a tasty lunch or unwinding in Castlefields Park. We are well connected to other Wiltshire towns along the A4 and are neighbours with Cherhill White Horse and Avebury. The earliest known reference to Calne was in AD955 in the will of King Edred, but its origins are likely to be much earlier. The name is thought to be derived from the Celtic “col aun� meaning a current of waters; it is from the river that the town derives much of its early importance. The town prospered in the Middle Ages producing woollen broadcloth and the affluence of the town at that time is reflected in the many beautiful buildings you will encounter as you walk around.
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The ‘In Bloom’ Team... The team was formed around eight years ago and entered the South West in Bloom competition for the first time in 2010. We were proud to achieve ‘silver’ at that first attempt, since then we have achieved ‘silver gilt’ a number of times and finally in 2014 we achieved the ‘gold’ that we had been working so hard for. We were delighted to achieve the same result in 2015 and 2016. On the working group are councillors and council staff working in partnership with a wide range of representatives from local community groups, schools, youth organisations and local residents. Our shared aim is to improve our town by making it a greener, cleaner and a more beautiful place to live, work and visit. We do this in a number of ways:
- Introducing more sustainable planting into the town flower beds. - Organising the planting of the town’s flower beds, roundabouts and placement of barrier and hanging baskets. - Co-ordinating our efforts with local groups and liaising with businesses and organisations. - Welcoming all sections of the local community who are able to offer help either practically or financially. - Encouraging residents, schools and clubs to become involved with the Calne in Bloom project regardless of disability, age or ethnicity.
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Horticultural Achievement... Impact...
As with previous years we are trying to use less annual planting in our schemes to reduce the environmental impact. The roundabouts and large beds at The Pippin and Town Gardens are now all a mix of sustainable herbaceous perennials, shrubs and grasses, many of these plants have been donated by local residents making Calne in Bloom a real community effort, our ground staff also divide perennials to fill in gaps where needed. Each year Calne in Bloom look at ways of reducing costs and increasing permanent displays within the planting schemes, this then reduces the amount of watering and maintenance tasks that the ground staffs have to undertake. The riverside is a particularly beautiful part of the town with many water tolerant trees, shrubs and water plants attracting the wildlife along with many visitors. It is a focal part of Calne life when events are taking place such as The Lion’s Duck Race in May, Summer Festival in June, Bike Meet in July, Town Crier’s competition in August and the Christmas Festival in December.
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Horticultural Practice... Town Gardens...
Town gardens are a haven for bees, butterflies and other insects due to the prevalence of the nectar beds, trees and shrubs. Many of the plants have been donated from local residents’ gardens. Located within the town centre, Town Gardens offer residents shady benches for lunches and a moment of tranquillity.
Shade Beds... One of the beds in Town Gardens is located under some Whitebeam. The shade created has been used to create a perennial bed with different types of planting. First to come into flower are snowdrops with Erythronium, Primrose, Pulmonaria, Brunnera “Jack Frost” and Hellebores. Several varieties of Hostas and Ferns begin to unfurl in March. Also in the spring the Beringina is in flower together with Geranium Pheum, Anemone Blanda in blue and white and Dronicum. Flowering later are Aquilegias, Astrantia and Heuchera.
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Insect Bed... To encourage the early insects in spring we start with Pulmonaria, Hellebores (Hybrids and H. foetidus), Fox Gloves, Geranium Pheum and Wallflowers. From mid-summer the insects love Marjoram, Echinops bannaticus, Verbena Bonarensis, Stachys Byzantina and several types of Buddleia including B. Globosa. Several of these plants will give nectar and pollen well into the autumn and there will also be Sedum Spectabile (the Ice Plant) Caryopteris with its piercing blue flowers.
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Autumn to spring Display... Winter planting, with species such as Pansies and Polyanthus is conducted using our nursery beds at Beversbrook over the summer months to enable them to be grown on ready for the following winter’s planting. These are then displayed around the town using the beige beehive planters and containers. Spring bulbs such as Crocus and Narcissi are planted in various locations including St Mary’s Churchyard, Town Gardens and near to the River Marden.
Grounds Staff Yearly Calendar of Tasks...
Autumn Diary -Stripped out summer bedding, weed and tidied ready for winter bedding -Planted winter bedding of Polyanthus, Pansies and Wall -Flowers in all beds, tubs and 5 tier beehives -Leaf clearing around town -Hedge cutting, pruning of shrubs and trees -Pruning and weeding of all roundabouts, wood chip to assist with weed control. Winter Diary -Painting and repairing of street furniture and seating areas around the town -Assisted Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust planting 50 new native trees at Calne Nature Trail -Winter hedge cutting, pruning and weeding -Edging pathways at Castlefields Park and Curzon Street Cemetery Spring Diary -Perennial splitting and planting in all sustainable beds -Pruning and weeding or roundabouts, wood chip to assist with weed control -Creating new cremation space in Curzon Street Cemetery -General maintenance of Cemetery and St Mary’s Church grounds -Planning summer bedding for the town centre and outskirts -Planting seed plants donated by residents -Assisting with the community plant swap event
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Calne summer bedding displays for 2017...
- Petunia Easy Wave pink and violet with Bidens Solaire medium yellow in the five tier, beehives, floral fountains, riverside barrier baskets, pole baskets and Town Hall self watering baskets.
- Impatiens New Guinea Divine Hot & Spicy mixed, pink/red, Impatiens New Guinea Divine Blue Pearl and Salvia Victoria blue in the raised beds at Market Hill Steps. Impatiens New Guinea Divine Hot & Spicy mixed, pink/red plus Coleus Watermelon in the Station Road planter.
- Cosmos Sonata pink and carmine in Town Gardens, Thomas beds and Pippin beds. Impatiens New Guinea Divine Blue Pearl plus Salvia Victoria blue in the large and small tubs.
The displays are watered, weeded and deadheaded on a regular basis and fed with blood, fish and bone slow release fertiliser giving 3-4 months release in the soil and peat-free compost. All barrier, pole and hanging baskets have a wetting agent in them which helps to reduce watering. These are watered twice a week and are fed with a liquid feed once a week. The hanging baskets displayed around the Town Hall building have an automated water system.
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Environmental Responsibility... conservtation and biodiversity... In Calne we are very fortunate to have green spaces and beautiful countryside on our doorstop. Along with Abberd Brook there are many other areas tended by volunteer groups including Penn Wood and Bentley Woods.
Nature Trail...
The River Marden Nature Trail is situated five minutes walk from the town centre. It is an oasis of wildlife in an otherwise urban and mostly residential area. The trail is owned and maintained by Calne Town Council and lies within Calne’s Conservation Area. Some improvements have been made and these include the clearing around crack willows and the rebuilding of the entrance steps at the Brewers Lane. The Bristol and Avon Rivers Trust have planted 50 new trees in the area and also created a bug hotel. The Wiltshire Badger group have also been involved in discussions and offering guidance. The next phase of work will be the improvement work to the footpath, Calne Town Council have applied for a Path Improvement Grant but this will not be available until later in the year. Discussions are also taking place to see if labour can be provided by the Community Payback scheme.
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Penn wood... This nature reserve has seen many transformations in its history since it was farmland. It was bought by The Hills Group in the 1930s to be worked as a sand quarry and then used as an inert landfill site (holding materials such as bricks and rubble) until the 1950s. Following this it was restored to pasture for grazing livestock. In June 2003 we worked with Hills Homes to relocate 500 slow worms from Newcroft Garden allotments to Penn Wood to make way for a development. Hibernation mounds and heat traps were created for the slow worms, along with two ponds for frogs and toads - this area is now well established. Grass snakes and southern marsh and common spotted orchids are also regularly seen. In 2010 Wiltshire Wildlife supported The Hills Group and local people in planting some of the 10,000 young blackthorn, oak, ash, lime, black poplar, downy birch and a few Norway spruce and Scots pine trees that make up the wood. Scattered between the saplings are poles where kestrel, buzzard and owls can perch and some of them have bat boxes attached. Roe deer and badgers already use the site. Look up to see skylarks, lapwings and red kite. At the entrance a wildflower meadow has been planted and will be cut annually for hay. This area will be monitored and further flower plugs will be planted if needed. A fishing club uses the private lake.
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Resource Management... Calne Town Council always uses peat free compost in the floral displays and recycles it back into the shrub and nursery beds. Winter bedding is recycled into new areas and is also offered to local school gardening groups and community groups. The ground staff collect water from the River Marden which in turn is pumped into a bowser on the rear of one of our tipper trucks enabling Calne to be environmentally friendly when it comes to watering. Most of the planters now have water reservoirs therefore reducing the need to water as frequently. This system cuts down on vehicle usage to ensure we have a less detrimental impact on the environment. We recently purchased an environmentally friendly vehicle which uses diesel that has had the addition of Ad Blue, this is the common name for a substance called AUS32, also known as Aqueous Urea Solution 32.5%. The rest of the AUS32 is made up of de-ionised water. This solution is scientifically formulated to help make certain gases like diesel much more efficient, so it reduces emissions that would otherwise go into the atmosphere.
Dave our litter collector
Great British Spring Clean - Calne in bloom group
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Local Environmental Quality... Calne has a dedicated full time member of staff to collect litter and clean the streets. He also reports any issues which need attending to. We work in closely with Wiltshire Council via the Parish Steward scheme, this enables us to come up with a list of tasks for each time the steward is in Calne.
The Great British Spring Clean...
15 volunteers joined Calne in Bloom on Sunday 5th March to take part in ‘The Great British Spring Clean’. The group collected approximately 15 large black sacks of bottles, cans and general waste, along with old car parts, road cones, a lampshade, some large panes of glass and buckets of builders’ waste. Much of this waste was collected from the land behind Lloyds Bank and the waste ground to the side of the recycling area. The group also tackled the hedges and beds surrounding the Sainsbury’s car parks, along the river, through The Pippin, The Green and up to Castle Walk. This event was one of at least three Great British Spring Cleans in the Calne Community Area over the weekend, with litter picks also taking place at Castlefields Canal & River Park and Abberd Brook. The national Great British Spring Clean campaign is led by Keep Britain Tidy, with the aim to inspire 500,000 people to get outdoors, get active and help clean up the areas around us.
Friends of abberd brook
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Pride of place... The town is cared for by Town Council staff, who are often helped by dedicated volunteers. Calne is well known for the events and festivals which take place regularly. The planting schemes enhance these areas for visitors and residents alike.
Calne Carnival
At the end of every event a team comprising town council staff, councillors and volunteers litter pick the whole area, you would never know what had had taken place the next day!
Calne Lantern Parade
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Calne Bike Meet
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Community Particiption and Involvement... Allotments... Calne Town Council oversees the running to the two allotment sites at Newcroft and Beversbrook. The allotments are fully utilised and in order to keep the waiting list to a minimum regular inspections are carried out to ensure the plants are being maintained in a satisfactory manner. Should any allotments become untidy then the holder will be asked to bring it up to a reasonable standard. If this does not happen then the holder will be asked to relinquish the plot so that one of the many on the waiting list can have the chance of having an allotment.
The town council is currently waiting the transfer of some allotments which have been formed by Redrow on a new housing development on the outskirts of Calne. These will be put into the general stock and offered to Calne residents at the top of the waiting list. There will also be the opportunity for current allotment holders to transfer between the sites.
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Beversbrook allotments
Green spaces - cASTLEFIELDS & Others...
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White Horse curzon street cemetery
The Rec
sT mARY’S cHURCH
hOLY tRINITY CHURCH
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Methoddist church
Castlefields
The Rec
The Green
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St Margaret’s Tree Planting...
Green fingered pupils helped plant two trees in a Calne Recreation Ground to a partnership between their school and a local garden centre. St Margaret’s Preparatory School, Calne and Whitehall Garden Centre in Lacock forged a link a year ago, with the aim of developing opportunities for learning outside the classroom. Now the garden centre has donated two beech trees to the school, which the children subsequently decided to give to Calne Town Council to help complete a row of established trees at The Recreation Ground. A group of St Margaret’s children were chosen to help plant the trees and were then shown around the town’s recreational and gardening facilities. The school’s Outdoor Learning Co-ordinator Kim Callaway said: “As part of our drive to promote eco and outdoor learning initiatives, we are developing links with our local community. Our partnership with Whitehall Garden Centre was established over a year ago and together we are working on a range of exciting developments to benefit the whole community, both in school and beyond. This particular venture was an opportunity for the children of St Margaret's to give something back to the town. Whitehall Garden Centre kindly donated these trees and we worked collaboratively with Calne Town Council to 'make it happen'. We hope to continue to develop and support links with our local community and we thank Whitehall Garden Centre for their generous support.”
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RaisiNG PUBLIC AWARENESS... Calne in Bloom is extremely proactive in raising awareness for the group’s various projects throughout the year and has established various channels of communication to reach a variety of audiences.
Community engagement...
Often, speaking to people face to face is the most effective way to gather support and understanding about Calne in Bloom projects. The plant swap event on Duck Race day was very successful in raising our profile, many residents came to the stall to ask questions and offer time to volunteer. The ‘Great British Spring Clean’ event also highlighted the Calne in Bloom initiative, we were invited to do a live telephone interview on BBC Wiltshire Radio to highlight what we do and emphasise that ‘Bloom’ is not just about horticulture; environment and community are a large part of what we do.
calne Connection... The Calne Connection is a quarterly newsletter which goes out to all residents and businesses. Calne in Bloom use this as a method of advertising and highlighting our successes and those of other community groups including schools for residents. We use photographs to send out positive messages about what is happening around the town and to engage people to sign up to become volunteers for future projects.
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Social Media... Calne in Bloom is doing more to advertise and promote their activities. Our Facebook Page has become very popular, currently we have over 470 residents and other ‘In Bloom’ groups liking, commenting, posting and sharing our posts. Through the page we have made positive connections with other ‘In Bloom’ towns and influential people such as Barry Cruse, MBE, Bath in Bloom and Patti Pinto, guest speaker on youth gardening. The purpose of the page is to increase community involvement and promotes Calne in Bloom in a possitive way in the local area. If groups are having working parties or events and would like them promoted on the page they can send their details and advertising by email to the administrator who will share and promote them through the page and other associated pages on the group’s behalf.
Online Calne in Bloom has a section on the Calne Town Council website which is regularly updated with news, events and campaigns. The latest news is then shared with other community websites, ensuring a wider coverage and greater engagement.
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It’s Our Neighbourhood Groups...
Heritage centre
Marden House
Calne Free Church
Improvements to skate bowl... Until five years ago the path at the bottom of the skate park was almost impassable due to brambles and stinging nettles. The bank of the skate park was constantly strewn with rubbish – all in all a total eyesore. We had the vision of trying to mirror Castlefields Park, across the river and to this end we started the clearance. Trees were thinned out, brambles removed, undergrowth cleared and we uncovered an original brick-edged riverside path which led from the bottom of Station Road, presumably to the railway station. Since the clearance, snowdrops and bluebells have been planted along the bank and in the last few weeks we’ve laid a new, environmentally-friendly woodchip path which has improved this lovely short riverside walk immensely.
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Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility... Calne Town Council owns and runs this award winning facility. The 94 acre site was opened in 2009and has been transformed into a top class sports facility with a state of the art pavilion, community hall and grounds that include fourteen football pitches, one floodlit hard court and two cricket squares. 40,000 people visit Beversbrook each year and the facility is home to 75 football teams ranging form 3 year olds to seniors and 25 other sporting, non sporting and governing organisations. During the past year 500 tournament football matches have been played with the 3G pitch providing 2615 hours of use.
Environmental Quality at Beversbrook... The facility is proud of its ‘green’ credentials. The vehicle wash down facility uses only recycled water, which is collected and stored in the purpose built pond. As the machinery is washed the grass clippings are collected and then used for compost as are the clippings from mowing. Beversbrook is not connected to any sewage network; sewage is treated on site and released back into the river. Rain water collected from the football pitches is held in an irrigation pond and during dry weather this water can used for watering the pitches. Water butts collect water around the facility for watering the flowering displays. All the chemicals that are used on the pitches are environmentally friendly and are xylene and lead free. All ditches are maintained between September and March, out of the nesting season. Around the ditches an area of three metres is left untouched to allow wildlife and wild flowers to roam freely.
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Funding and support... Calne Town Council, Calne in Bloom and many of the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ groups work with our local authority, Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency, Wessex Water and many local businesses large and small. Most of the neighbourhood groups hold fund raising events to help their campaigns and to engage with the community. Under the Calne in Bloom umbrella we work together for the good of the whole town. We always looking at more ways to reach out for funding opportunities and as a working group we advise our many groups and new volunteers getting involved.
Sponsorship... Many local businesses support Calne in Bloom with annual sponsorship of the town roundabouts, permanent flower beds and the town welcome beds. This enables the supply of all plants and materials, maintenance and watering of these areas. Calne in Bloom are very grateful for these donations which enable the town to look as beautiful as it does. New businesses regularly contact us to enquire about further option, there is currently a waiting list but we are investigating other sponsorship ideas which do not detract from the plants. Our sponsors this year have been: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Carlton Business Centre Johnson and Daltrey Integrated Electrical Security Ltd Riverview Portfolio Bevirs Solicitors White Horse Veterinary Clinic Baz Roll International Ltd WEC Ltd St Margarets Preparatory School JPO Construction ltd SAAFA Rotary Club of Calne Eco Assist Mrs M Baggs Wilkins Builders McTimoney Chiropractic Emma Boatman Financial Peter Hodges Associates ltd Chilvester Financial Whitehall Garden Centres
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Summary of 2016-2017... It is fair to say that the past 12 months has been a challenging time for all involved in Calne in Bloom. Calne Town Council have had major staffing changes within the past few months which has impacted on many areas of what we are trying to achieve. We have also had several schools and community groups drop out of the ‘It’s Your Neighbourhood’ this year. Lack of resources, volunteers and time often the reason. Friends of Abberd Brook withdrew due to a large amount of vandalism; this has left them feeling very demoralised and needing to have some time out. We wish them all well and hope that they will all come back on board next year.
The Future...
The many groups and schools that we are working with are going from strength to strength, the enthusiasm and input that they provide is invaluable and we couldn’t do what we do without them. Calne Town Council will have all key areas staffed within the next couple of months so our aim is to focus more attention to the management of the Nature Trail project and revamping of some of the beds and roundabouts which need more attention and to ensure sustainability for the future.
The Calne in Bloom portfolio was made by Amy Butterworth. Amy is studying BSc Hons Marketing at the University of Plymouth. She volunteered to create this portfolio to develop her skills further and put her first year's learning into practice, whilst building up her own marketing portfolio. Involving Amy in this project is another way that the community is getting involved in Calne in Bloom.