Environment

PARISH ACTION ON THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Littleton and Harestock Parish Council has established a group to tackle the climate emergency.  This is called PACE (Parish Action on the Climate Emergency) and its members are Parish Councillors as well as volunteers who are working with us in a number of areas.  If you would like to be involved – either on a short-term project or for a range of initiatives, please get in touch with the Clerk.  We’ll be happy to chat with you.

We are currently working on:

• Energy saving
• Improving biodiversity
• Reducing waste

Our work is influenced by the Littleton and Harestock Carbon Footprint Report.  In each of the emissions categories the Parish appears to be contributing fewer emissions than Winchester district as a whole, but remains higher than the national average. This is certainly something for us all to think about as we go about our daily lives.

Energy Saving

If we save energy in our homes we can save on household budgets as well as reducing our impact on the climate.  PACE is helping to do this in a number of ways:

• Free loan of a thermal imaging camera – so you can check out where heat is leaking out and where cold air is finding its way in.  A booking form is available and you can drop it in to the Parish Office or email it to the Clerk (see address below).
• Free peer home review with one of our trained Green Champions who can help you understand where you might be able to make changes to your home to save energy. Visit our Energy Champion page here.
• Information events held locally to share experiences of DIY and other home improvements that save energy.

Improving Biodiversity

Winchester City Council has declared a Nature Emergency – and all local authorities, including at parish level have a duty to consider what it can do to conserve and enhance biodiversity.  A detailed policy approved by the Parish Council in early 2024 is available here.  We are working to ensure that the richness of existing habitats is not lost and also pursuing projects which add to the diversity of plant and insect life throughout the parish.

Buriton Road Mini-Meadow – The PACE group identified an area within Harestock for the creation of a mini-meadow.  Permission to manage the site has been granted by the City Council so that contractor mowing has now ceased and local volunteers manage the site to encourage the growth of native plants and flowers.  The impact of this goes beyond the ecological improvement; local people have joined together to create this important signal about biodiversity, information is posted at the site and residents enjoy the amenity value of wildflowers and grasses.

If you are aware of other potential meadow spaces within the parish and are keen to play a role, please contact the Clerk.  Provided that permission can be gained to manage sites and volunteers are found, this remains a priority for PACE.

Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) – The Sir John Moore Barracks is earmarked for housing development.  It currently contains one SINC adjacent to Harestock Road.  Littleton and Harestock Parish Council have been active in highlighting new ecological survey data for the remainder of the undeveloped area outside the military security fence.  As a result, the Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (HBIC), part of Hampshire County Council  have advised Winchester City Council (WCC), that this undeveloped area is now a candidate SINC.  WCC must consult the landowner and consider feedback, prior to enacting any recommendation. PACE hope this should help to ensure that nature conservation and biodiversity enhancement remains central to the design and planning for the redevelopment of Sir John Moore Barracks, when the barracks close in 2026.

Litter-picking – not only improves the appearance of the parish but is also an important way of improving biodiversity.  Waste and litter on verges and in hedgerows can be very damaging for plant and animal life and PACE will support volunteers who wish to clean up their communities.  Community litter picking events are organised from time to time and if you wish to be informed of these so that you could take part, please contact the Clerk.

Waste Prevention

Reducing waste – PACE provides information and opportunities to ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’.  An A-Z of local recycling opportunities was created by a PACE volunteer and this is available to view and download here on the Parish Council website.  This is a dynamic document and will be updated regularly in response to feedback and intelligence about the availability of recycling sites.

A local Repair Café – Repair Cafés provide an opportunity to mend a range of household objects rather than throw them away.  They actively teach people how to mend things in the future and provide a social occasion for repairers and clients.  Repair Café Winchester is now well-established and a number of local parishes, including our own, are looking at ways to come together to host events in our area.  If you are interested in this idea or could help as a volunteer organiser or repairer, please contact the Clerk and let us know how you’d like to help or be kept informed.

Travel

We monitor and publicise the provision of local bus services to ensure our community continues to be served, and will look at ways of supporting other low-carbon initiatives.

Bus timetables are available here on our local transport page.

Getting Involved

If you are interested in local practical ideas for helping reduce parish carbon emissions, encouraging carbon reducing consumer choices and helping nature, then please get in touch by contacting the Parish Clerk. Do let us know your interests, suggestions and any relevant skills or expertise you might have. No contribution is too small and it does not require attending meetings regularly, but we do have an opportunity to address the impacts of climate change in our area.

Contact

Parish Clerk

Tel: (Winchester) 886507

Email: clerk@lhpc.org.uk

PACE group Chair – Liz Winn

Email: l.winn@lhpc.org.uk