Sustainability & Swishing
Yesterday I received a package – an online order of clothing. There were four items, each in its own bag, and they were delivered in a larger bag. All the bags are of course plastic. To bin or to burn, that is the question… but I was suddenly in the mood for protest, so instead I took action, in my own small way. Continue reading
David Skelton has stepped down as Chairman but stays as a Director, Geoff Hardman has taken over as Chairman, Graham Beven Finance Director. Astrid Fischer Company Secretary and Sue Skelton Treasurer make up the Directors, with Mary Hardman membership secretary and Ali Humphreys PR making up the Management team that meet every month.
A year ago SHARE launched “Power The Night With Sunlight” led by Ali and Astrid and supported by the hall committee with Nick Easton as chairman, to gain votes for a M&S Energy grant to install a system to store the energy produced by the PV panels put on the hall roof 3 years ago, in short a battery . Thank you to the 1000’s that voted,(and got their friends to vote) BUT despite the huge support, we came second and lost out. BUT this summer, M&S Energy asked if we were still pursuing our project, and could we complete by the end of September 2018. We did and had a scare on the deadline when the installer’s wife went in to early labour!
The battery has been installed and tested and the data produced so far is really interesting and encouraging to see where further savings may be made. Within the budget SHARE are also installing new low energy light fittings throughout the hall.
Looking at other projects, the firewood sales continue to be a success and we’re searching for ways to be more sustainable; encourage coppicing and we’d still love to have a Parish Woodland. Continue reading
Recycle these valuable resources and support charities.
UPDATED PAGE HERE > http://south-hill.co.uk/charity-recycling
Please collect these items and drop at a collection point near you, at the Parish Hall in Golberdon, St Sampson’s church porch at South Hill, Green Meadows (on the South Hill Road from Golberdon crossroads) , Trevigro by the bench, inside Callington Tesco by the recycling, inside the Tamar AONB centre at Drakewalls.
Contact Ali SHARE@south-hill.co.uk
SHARE = South Hill Association for Renewable Energy
– Sept 2nd CIRCUS FUNTASTIC in aid of Macmillan, Saltash Rd Recreation Field, Callington. Seats £6, Kids under 2 free. Book on 07447 986900 Show times: Wed 29th 7pm, Thursday & Friday 4pm & 7pm (Thursday Special Family Ticket 20). Sat 2pm & 5pm Sunday 1pm & 3:30pm
Saturday 8th Sept CALLINGTON CARNIVAL – procession starts from Saltash Road car park, 4:30pm
Saturday 15th Sept HARVEST SUPPER, 7:30pm start at The Parish Hall Committee HARVEST SUPPER. Tickets are on sale now, please phone Liz 383202 to reserve your seats. If you are unable to attend and wish to support with a raffle prize or item for the Auction or a donation, please drop off at Green Meadows or phone Ali 384544 for collection. Thank you.
Wednesday 19th Sept SHARE AGM, 7:30pm at the Parish Hall Golberdon. South Hill Association for Renewable Energy 3rd AGM. Members and potential new members all welcome to hear about another busy and successful year for the group. Exciting news from M&S Energy, upcoming visits and discuss future projects. Light refreshments available so please email share@south-hill.co.uk if you plan to attend, alternatively send your apologies and any ideas, thoughts or items for discussion.
Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th Sept – walking THE SAINTS WAY from Padstow to Fowey (28 miles ish). If you would like to join us for the whole walk or a part, let Ali know ASAP Thank You iamalihumphreys@yahoo.com https://www.oliverscornwall.co.uk/saintsway.html
Friday 28th Sept MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING, from 10:30am until 1pm. Lucy Penney is holding a coffee morning at Polhilsa Farm, PL17 8PP (kind permission of the Barriball family) Coffee, cake, games and raffle… Even have a walk around the ponds! All welcome, bring your friends. For any more info please email: lucyede@live.com
Other News:
The Horticultural Show write up and pictures are on the Connection web site here.
Planning – On August 24th the South Hill Parish Council met to discuss the recent planning application at “The Bee Farm” Trevigro. About 20 parishioners also attended to voice their views. The full details can be read on the Cornwall Council Planning Portal here…
South Hill Parish History group. Thank you to Magda for stepping forward to get the group started. If you are interested email ….. PLUS what would YOU like to discover more about? Reply to this email with your suggestions. Or if you have photos or information to share email newsdesk@south-hill.co.uk
If you know of an event you’d like to share or have an article for the next newsletter due Oct 1st, please send to editor@south-hill.co.uk. Thank you.
The third AGM of the Society will meet and report on Wednesday 19th Sept 2018 at South Hill Parish hall starting at 7:30pm. All members have been delivered the Agenda. If you wish to raise any matters or make any proposals please contact the secretary Astrid by Sept 10th. Refreshments will be provided so please RSVP or send your apologises if unable to attend.
Astrid Fischer 383620 share@south-hill.co.uk
SHARE has delivered this handy FREE booklet to all households in South Hill Parish. It’s full of tips and advice from the Energy Saving Trust to help you save energy AND money. Use it to reduce your bills AND your carbon footprint.
You can save around £30 a year just by turning your appliances off stand-by mode! Your TV, your laptop power supply, your phone charger – they don’t use much power but if they’re on 24/7 it adds up to a lot.
You can also read the Guide online at www.south-hill.co.uk/SHARE.
Just in case we’ve missed anybody out… If you live in the parish and haven’t seen the booklet, please email or phone and we’ll deliver one to you.
Our recent investment offer was very well received by the membership. The investment is a 2-year fixed term loan to SHARE which will pay 4% interest annually – better than any bank or building society.
About a quarter of members expressed an interest in the offer, and of those more than half decided to invest. As a result, we were offered more money than we needed, so we scaled back the amount we will borrow from each lender.
The money raised is used to finance our solar PV installation at Church Park, South Hill, which has been in operation for 22 months and is performing even better than our original forecast.
SHARE is proud to support St Sampson’s Church in their application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Improvements planned for the church include the addition of toilet and kitchen facilities. This will be a green community initiative, using renewable, sustainable and locally sourced materials where possible.
We are also supporting the Parish Hall committee with their bid for funding from the Big Lottery Fund which, if successful, will enable the installation of a new kitchen, and battery storage to make better use of power generated by the solar panels on the Hall roof. SHARE will encourage the use of energy-efficient appliances and an instant hot water boiler to replace the power-hungry tea urn.
With help from the Parish Council, SHARE has been paying for the fibre broadband and wi-fi connection at the Parish Hall in Golberdon, using income from the solar PV panels on the Hall roof (which we share 50:50 with the Parish Hall committee). BUT… our BT contract is now coming to an end, BT want to almost double the cost, and the Parish Council have said they can no longer contribute. What do we do? Our share of the income from the solar PV is not enough to cover BT’s aggressive price increase, so we are looking at alternatives. It would be a shame if we had to abandon this valuable asset to the community.
Do YOU use the wi-fi service at the Hall? Please let us know if this is important to you.
This is still on the cards. Details to follow.
SHARE Energy Booklet – click here…
Brought to you by South Hill Association for Renewable Energy with the Energy Saving Trust, a copy of this booklet has been delivered to every household in South Hill Parish.
Packed with tips and information to help you save energy and money at home, and reduce your Carbon footprint.
For our readers outside the Parish, and for those who prefer to read online, just click on the picture or the link above to download the booklet as a pdf (3.18MB).
To find out more about the Energy Saving Trust please visit their website, here…
Members may recall that back in May 2016, at the time the SHARE Church Park Solar PV installation was nearing completion, we provided fixed term Investment Opportunities to members, rather than obtaining commercial loans.
Members were able to directly support SHARE’s aims and the Church Park project, and benefit from a preferential interest rate. At the same time, SHARE was able to obtain funding at lower cost than would have been possible from banks, and the full financial benefits remain within the community. Our 40kW solar installation at Church Park was fully funded by members. Since then, routine interest has been paid, and some loan capital has been repaid. The next substantial repayment of capital is in May this year.
Therefore we are now able to offer a new opportunity for Members to invest in SHARE by providing new loan funding. The Directors would like this new investment opportunity to be as widely available as possible.
The loan period will be 2 years, at the end of which the loan will be repaid in full (unless there is mutual agreement to extend the loan agreement). Interest at 4% per annum will be paid at the end of year 1 and at the end of year 2. You may offer to invest as much as you like, subject to a minimum of £100. If this opportunity is oversubscribed, the Directors will amend the amounts of individual loans while maintaining the membership participation as wide as possible.
If this Investment Opportunity is of interest to you, please contact us by email: SHARE@south-hill.co.uk (or phone SHARE Treasurer Sue Skelton: 01579 382397) and full details will be provided, including a financial projection for the Church Park project.
The closing date for offers is the 29th April 2018. Graham Beven SHARE Financial Director
Other SHARE News:
The visit to the Bray Shop solar farm has been postponed by the owners, Lightsource. This is due to a major “realignment” with BP who now own 43% of the new company, Lightsource BP. You can read about it here if you want to know more…
Visit to the Plymouth Incinerator, we still plan to go ahead with this when more people sign up.
We will soon be publishing an “A Guide To Saving Energy In The Home” which will be delivered to every household in the parish. Look out for yours and please give us any feedback.
A Happy Easter from all at SHARE
EVENTS COMING UP…
Pub Quiz – this is now being held regularly again at the Church House Inn, Linkinhorne, on the last Thursday of each month, 7.30pm for 8pm start. The February quiz will be on Thursday 22nd (tomorrow)
The Young Farmers charity DUNG SALE is this Saturday EMAIL or phone Cat Ede to book your order. catede@hotmail.co.uk 07900381890
Saturday evening. BEETLE DRIVE 7pm start Parish Hall Golberdon. £3 per person including refreshments. In aid of the Parish Horticultural Society.
SHARE will be planting our free tree whips on Saturday 24th. We’re looking for youngsters and others to help so please get involved, meet at the Golberdon play park at 9:45am. Thank you. If you have reserved trees these will be available to collect on Saturday from Green Meadows. Mike will be here.(watching the rugby). If you haven’t confirmed you want any trees yet. DO IT NOW. Thank You. Email iamalihumphreys@yahoo.com or phone Ali 384544
The woodland visit to Trematon has now be confirmed for next Monday 26th, car sharing from Green Meadows at 10am. Join us as we visit a young mixed species wood, plus an established wood which has had no management and another which is described as “the most beautiful wood I’ve ever seen” and reaches down to the beach on the north side of the Lynher. All welcome email share@south-hill.co.uk for numbers or phone Sue 382397.
Parish Hall Wi-Fi (SHARE In Our Community) – there is currently a fault with the broadband connection at the Parish Hall. It seems to have failed just after midnight on Tuesday 20th Feb. We are looking into it and hope to get it reinstated as soon as possible. As far as we know this is the first time this has happened. Do you use the Hall wi-fi service? If you have had any issues, please let us know by emailing sue.skelton@south-hill.co.uk.
Ultra fast fibre Broadband to the premises is now available from Cabinet number 4 and covers South Hill, Mornick, Lansugle and Trewassick. If you make enquiries and find out any more, please email newsdesk@south-hill.co.uk so we can let others know.
Tenders are invited to contact the Parish Council for grass cutting and strimming in the recreational field, see the PC web site for details. http://www.south-hill-pc.gov.uk
Parish Council reminder: All roadside hedge-trimming should be completed by the end of February 2018.
The Parish Hall floor needs replacing. Funds need to be raised and quotes for the work. Contact Chair Nick Easton with suggestions. njdteaston@btinternet.com
There are a couple Eastern European men with a white Ford Transit van registration number NJO3 RKA in the area stealing what they can. They targeted this area last year and have come back. Keep your eyes peeled and call the police if you see anything suspicious. GOOD NEWS… we understand that these two unsavoury characters have now been arrested.
Twelfth Night: On January 6th, we had an open invitation to join us at the Parish Hall in Golberdon, and bring Christmas trees and cards for recycling, and to share drinks and nibbles. We were pleased to see families with children, members and non-members, many brought food and drink, giving the evening something of a party atmosphere. Surplus food was also taken to Callington Foodbank. Information about recycling, food miles and future SHARE events was available at the meeting and discussed. As part of your recycling please collect these items and pass them on.
New Finance Director: We are delighted to welcome Graham Beven of Kelly Bray to join the board in the role of Finance Director. His background and interests are a perfect fit for us.
Visit Bray Shop Solar Farm: We have arranged with Lightsource to visit the solar farm on our Bray Shop boundary. South Hill Parish Council receives money from this installation (together with Stoke Climsland). This money is specifically to be used by the Parish for “charitable, educational, environmental, amenity or other appropriate purposes within the areas of the Community and wherever possible to apply the Community Benefit Payment towards the promotion of sustainable energy and uses”. Some of this money has been used to put solar panels on the Parish Hall roof, and in order to monitor the system remotely, broadband was installed, giving free Wi-fi to all Hall users. The defibrillator at the Parish Hall was also paid for using this fund.
Lightsource (https://www.lightsource-re.com/uk/) is a global market leader in the development, acquisition and long-term management of international large-scale solar projects and smart energy solutions. They also own a number of smaller installations in the UK. Members and non-members are welcome to join us on the morning of Saturday March 31st. We will meet at the Parish Hall car park and car-share to the site. Numbers will be limited so we will need to know names beforehand. Contact share@south-hill.co.uk, or phone David Skelton (01579 382397), if you are interested. If you have questions for Lightsource, even if you are unable to attend, please forward them to SHARE. share@south-hill.co.uk
Proposed visit to Incinerator, Plymouth ( https://www.mvv) : South Hill W.I. were very impressed with their visit to the Plymouth incinerator so we are arranging a visit for anyone interested, SHARE Members and Non Members. Our plan will be to car share to Gunnislake Station and take the 9.27am train to St Budeaux, returning on the 12.54 or 14.54. The longer tour is more interesting apparently and we can have lunch in St Budeaux while waiting for the later 14.54 train. If interested let us know which times works best for you.
LOVE FREE TREES : SHARE recognise the importance of planting trees. The following young whips of trees are available Free of Charge to anyone in the parish. They have been chosen for their contribution to gardens, wildlife and are hardy. These young saplings should be planted around VALENTINE’S Day and we would like as many youngsters to be involved as possible. Let me know what trees and quantities you would like AND if you can help with planting. Ali 384544 SHARE@south-hill.co.uk
Mountain Ash/ Rowan, Bird Cherry, Hazel, Common Crab Apple, Grey Willow/Pussy Willow, Osier Willow, Golden Willow, Dogwood.
Woodland Visit: Are You interested in visiting a young mixed species woodland at Trematon? SHARE have been invited to see the growth of the various trees and discuss with the owner. Plus there are two other small woods nearby (possibly walking distance) that we can visit – very different to each other. One has had no management since it was planted 20 years ago. The other is “one of the most beautiful woods I’ve ever seen” and goes down to the beach on the north side of the Lynher. The invite is open for members and non members of SHARE. Let Ali know ASAP so we can arrange a date/time ideally before Valentine’s day and car sharing.