Aims
We take action and encourage participation in the village to create a more sustainable and resilient life style for the community. The Group evolved from Timsbury Environment Group in 2019.
How the group seeks to works towards these broad aims can be judged from some previous and current activities given below. Join us – with more members able to give some of their time, more can be done!
Some Activities
Bus services
Bus services are vital to the wellbeing of the village. We conducted surveys and promoted use of the 178, 179 and 768 services.
Environment & Sustainability
The responses to the section of the Timsbury Village Plan questionnaire on “Environment & Sustainability” showed widespread concern about threats to environmental sustainability, and an appreciation of the dangers of climate change (global warming). The importance of the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and other gases) was recognised, and some support was expressed for wind power.
TEG has played a modest local part in distributing information and organising an energy saving display in the school.
Climate change
The Royal Society is a fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. It is the national; academy of science. We have put on the website the Society’s short note on “Preventing dangerous climate change: The need for a global agreement” See links below to other document on website for more details
The Timsbury Environment Group sought a meeting with the local M.P. to enquire about recent developments, and to find out his views on the issues. A short report of the meeting was published in the Timsbury Newsletter. See links below to other document on website for more details. Members were shocked to hear that he did not appear to accept the judgement on climate change of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), endorsed by the Royal Society, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the leading science academies in most of the world, and that he believes that lots of scientists hold seriously different views.
Fracking
The 2015 Infrastructure Act heightened the considerable national and local concern over the impact of “fracking” and related technologies for extracting unconventional gas: it made it a duty for the government to maximise extraction of such gas (section 41). TEG has made several reports through the Timsbury Newsletter, now on the website. One “A Local Gas Field? What if there were Fracking in Timsbury?” explains the terms “methane”, “shale gas”, “fracking” and “coal-bed methane”. It discusses safety concerns, the serious implications for climate change, and considers what could happen around Timsbury. The other report “Fracking in North-East Somerset: How many wells and where might they be?”
describes the estimates by two different exploration companies of possible gas resources in the N.E. Somerset area around Timsbury.
See links below to both documents on this website for more details
Tree Planting
We encourage residents to plant new trees for wildlife benefits, food and their sheer beauty ion gardens and the landscape.
In 2012 we helped residents to plant 45 new trees of all sorts in their gardens, including for fruit . Every tree was a different species .The oak tree shown was planted in Greenhill House gardens for the benefit of residents of this Cheshire Home.
Bath & NES Consultations
We have worked to alert villagers to consultations to which they might respond and have made suggestions to the Parish Council as to how it might do so. Examples include:
Core Strategy Consultation 2010 See links below to other document on website for more details
Bus Services Consultation 2013 See links below to other document on website for more details
Placemaking Plan 2014
Memebership and Meetings
We don’t have a formal membership structure – the group is open to anyone in the village who is interested. We generally meet in the Seven Stars pub or in members’ houses.
If you have any suggestions, or indeed would like to join the group, please contact one of the members, or directly:
E-mail address: timsburyenvironmentalgroup@gmail.com
or David Packham 470720
More details
Links to further documents on the village website:
• Report to 2014 Parish Meeting
• What if there were Fracking in Timsbury? Report of meeting Nov. 2013
• Climate Change views of Jacob Rees-Mogg, M.P. Report of the meeting Sept. 2012
• Royal Society note on “Preventing dangerous climate change”
• Response to Bus Consultation by Timsbury Environment Group 15 July 2013
• Response to the B&NES Core Strategy Consultation 2010
• TEG B&NES Core Strategy Forms 2010• TEG B&NES Core Strategy Forms 2010
• Fracking in North East Somerset: How many wells and where might they be? Report