The former Cheshire County Council succeeded in receiving funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a new Landscape Partnership Scheme 'Habitats and Hillforts'.

The 3 year scheme is based within the Sandstone Ridge Area, and focusing on the six iron age hillforts along the ridge. There are four main programmes, Habitats, Hillforts, Access and Interpretation and Training.

There's a training programme, aiming at providing training for people within the local area and the vicinity of the hillforts.
See website - www.habitatsandhillforts.co.uk. Also, some documents are available in the Habitats and Hillforts tab under 'Downloads and Information'

We're currently loading a green guide on - please comment or amend.

Other Green Guides:

Shrewsbury (on line pages and pdf)

Chester had one, it's now defunct but replaced by a nominal entry (needs filling up) here

VREN would like to hear your experiences. How do you apportion costs? Do you have difficulties with insurers? Who wins when two want to use the car at the same time, in opposite directions? What are the financial/social/other benefits? Please add your thoughts via our contact page
Liftshare: If you've got a long haul or a regular journey, register at https://www.liftshare.com/uk/. People there offer or request lifts.
Freewheelers helps co-ordinate lifts to events (from festivals to conferences, including council gatherings) - event holders and event goers note! See http://www.freewheelers.co.uk/

Speaker Available
 
Ever felt like a small fish battling an incredible torrent? VREN has a COIN-trained speaker available. Together we can turn the tide! Contact us for details.  

(COIN = Climate Outreach and Information Network)

Resource Recovery Solutions is a United Utilites and Interserve partnership, planning a waste-to-energy plant using gasification technology in Wincham. Website: www.resourcerecoverysolutions.co.uk or freephone 0800 1303 505.

Both groups have put planning applications in: it appears the council is having difficulty squeezing their bulk onto their website. Meanwhile the Viridor application is available to view now at Wyvern House, Winsford, and the RRS one will soon be.

CHAIN is co-ordinating action against these and other proposed incinerators, eg Brunner Mond's. Meet them at www.anti-incinerator.org.uk

Cutting back on waste is an obvious answer - buy less, mend more, maintain, compost, borrow/hire, and use FreeCycle to find new loving homes for the things you no longer love. You can also advertise for stuff you need, within reason. All saves trips to the tip! See http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/valeroyalfreecycle/

For other UK/northwest Freecycle groups, see http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ and http://www.freegle.org.uk/groups/north-west

There's a nice map of recycling sites here,

hover over a site to reveal what it takes. Ones that take other than bottle-shaped plastic are rare! Which means they want PET and HDPE, codes 1 and 2. (But PET and HDPE come in other shapes too...) Let us know if you find a local one that welcomes other shapes and plastics!

If you're stuck for what kind of plastic it is, there's a set of tests to try at www.recoup.org > Identifying Plastics.

Recoup also list reprocessors, but I guess these are only interested in industrial quantities. Alpha in Liverpool may be happy with reasonable quantities of polypropylene. But some of the reprocessor websites don't even mention they take recycled plastic.

www.junkk.com have ideas for reusing plastic things (usually with a deft cut and a canny stick), and a search on 'plastic' came up with Smile Plastics (http://www.smile-plastics.co.uk) of Shrewsbury, who take a range of plastics and turn them into rigid sheet.

A faesibilbity study has narrowed down the choices for renewable energy from the Mersey:
# Tidal Barrage, with conventional low-head turbines
# Tidal Power Gate, a grid of specially designed low-head turbines
# Tidal Fence, capturing energy from the natural or constrained tide, using horizontal or vertical axis turbines designed for use in open streams
# Tidal Fence variant, using turbines set in venturi tubes to concentrate the flow.
(This list may be revised as further information comes in)
The next stage in the study will identify suitable sites.
More information on the faesibility study by Scott Wilson, Drivers Jonas and EDF for Peel Energy and NWDA.

Where's the Hydropower?
The Environment Agency has a report on the potential for small hydropower in England and Wales. They've identified over 25,000 sites where existing structures have potential for conversion. Together they could generate 1% of the UK's electricity, but only around 4,000 sites are suitable for use with environmental measures to protect wildlife, eg fish passes for migratory fish, as well as having access to the electricity network.
See the report, which includes information on what you need to know when developing a scheme.

 There were two proposals: one a swing bridge, the other a high level static bridge. British Waterways need access, especially emergency access to the sluices. They're planning for it to have a 120 year life, like the last.

The swing bridge has been opted for, though more expensive by 25%, and will require more ongoing costs in maintenance, etc. Though it would not solve the access problems for less able people down the 1:6 slope from The Crescent, there is a fairly level route along the towpath and the railway viaduct. The less expensive high level option (it needs to clear the water by 5.5m) would have been more intrusive on locals in The Crescent but could have eliminated the 1:6 gradient from The Crescent (...and from the riverside?). Completion is expected late summer 2010. (The present bridge took two-and-a-half months from conception to completion!) Whitbybird are working on the bridge design  www.whitbybird.com. The new bridge will be steel, and 6' 6" wide (ie, wide enough for a car). Bridge completion wawas in November, with the opening on 3rd December 2010. The old bridge (pictured below in April 2010) went in May. The new bridge was largely  constructed off-site. With £600,000 from Connect2, 2/3 of the funding is secured. And it is a Public Right of Way! There's a small project steering group, and a larger group of stakeholders.
Hunts Locks: are Grade 2 listed. However, they propose to raise the handrails and make the footways slightly wider: it's possible to do this to just short of 1m wide. 

More pictures in our Gallery section
Sustrans has offered £160,000 to improve the footbridge over the River Dane by the railway viaduct.

Headwater, a Northwich-based company specialising in active holidays, has teamed up with Re~Cycle to supply unwanted bikes and bike parts to Africa. Many of the bikes assist medical workers, helping them cover long distances. If you've a bike you'd like to donate, check Headwater's website 

March/April & Sept/Oct - 8am - 6pm
May - August - 8am - 8pm
Nov - Feb - 8am - 4pm
7 days a week, only closed Christmas Day.
But before you take it to the tip, does anyone want it? Is it still usable, or good for parts? Check via Freecycle - see last paragraph under 'Incinerator', above