What You Said - Green Team Survey Results

by Jane Laird on behalf of Eynsford Green Team

Thank you

Many thanks to all those residents who completed our survey, "How Can Eynsford Be Greener". We carried out the survey to canvass local opinion, to find out what residents would like us to do and help us decide which environmental schemes we should implement.

We received 98 responses (online and paper), which equates to about 12% of households in the parish. This is an encouraging response and 72% of those respondents stated that they felt it was "very important" that Eynsford Parish Council/EGT tries to tackle environmental issues within the parish.

Recycling

From analysing what we currently recycle as a village we are doing well on glass and clothes. We are looking at ways we can facilitate more recycling within the village. We will contact and lobby Sevenoaks District Council on improving recycling options throughout the whole district.

Ideas and suggestions

We had lots of positive responses to our suggestions. 85% of respondents wanted to see more bee and wildlife planting on parish council land. We are already implementing wildlife planting and are aiming to launch a wildflower pot/hanging basket initiative for everyone to get involved with this spring, details to follow next month.

70% of respondents would like more recycling points in the village for different items and as mentioned above we will work on this.

We were thrilled to hear residents' comments/ideas, and these included the following:

• Recycle bins next to existing rubbish bins for visiting public to recycle litter
• Communal compost bins
• Co-operative for bulk purchase of electricity
• Hydro power from the river

We will review all the suggestions put forward.

Electric cars and charging points

We had an interesting response to the electric car question with 45% of respondents stating that they already own an electric car or within the next 5 years they plan to buy one. Of those that do or plan to have an electric car, 20% would not be able to charge on their own property, therefore many villagers will need access to a public charge point. As there is a developing need for public charge points EGT are reviewing possible locations and investigating the available grants. After 2030 all new cars will have to be electric and EGT will help the village prepare for this.

Renewable Energy

Whilst not everyone was keen on the idea of a community solar panel field or a wind turbine the Government has committed to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. As part of this commitment, the Government have set up the Rural Community Energy Fund, which is a £10 million programme to support rural communities in England to develop renewable energy projects. There are many inspiring projects taking place throughout the country using this fund. These projects not only provide clean energy but also give social and economic benefits to the local community. This is an area we will continue to investigate.

10-Year Plan

he responses to the survey have given EGT the information and impetus to prepare a 10-year plan of what we aim to achieve. We will publish this plan later in the year. Thank you to all those respondents who offered to help EGT or help with various projects, we will be in touch soon. We will work with village groups where relevant as we appreciate many groups already have eco policies or wish to do more for the environment. Do not forget we regularly post articles on www.eynsfordparishcouncil.org.uk, on the Greener Eynsford page and you can contact us via email, info@eynsfordparishcouncil.org.uk.