Action Groups Update - March 2026
Growing Communities Action Group
We have been contacted by a local school concerning help with the planting of a hedge. Ideally this would have been done in the Autumn. Once the trees have arrived and are planted, they will have to be regularly watered to ensure that they survive.
The bed outside the William Elder Building is to be reconfigured. We have prepared a design, which needs to be agreed with the Community Trust, who are responsible for the bed, and the Town Council, who will do the structural work.
Otherwise, the beds are looking good, particularly the daffodils which are now in flower.
Transport and Active Travel Action Group
The split in responsibility between the Town Council and the County Council for bus shelters and their timetables is a continuing source of frustration, and seemingly not the norm elsewhere. The shelters at Golden Square – Berwick’s Transport Interchange – need to be improved. We have been asked to draw up some proposals.
On the cycling front, the River Tweed Trail, which is due to launch in 2028, will be one of the UK’s newest walking and cycling routes, following the 113-mile course of the river from Moffat to Berwick. The projected numbers using the Trail are ambitious, so it’ll be interesting to see if they are realised, but it should bring more cyclists into the town.
Tweed Estuary Pollution Action Group
The Winter bi-monthly Algae Monitoring continues. The Environment Agency is continuing to analyse the data we are collecting and have confirmed that they are using it. The excessive growth of algae is causing problems in certain areas, such as Budle Bay, where it is being removed.
We will be having our annual meeting with the Environment Agency and Newcastle University to present and discuss the findings from the algae monitoring in May 2026,
Northumbrian Water has a significant investment programme for Berwick, but we will have to wait and see what difference that will make to pollution levels in the estuary as this budget covers many items besides the storm water overflows and updating of the sewage treatment works,
A recent visit to a Primary School in Tweedmouth to discuss algae monitoring went well. This was followed up with an art project, led by an Action Group member.
Warm Homes Action Group
The home energy information table at the Repair Café continues. Meaningful discussions take place with 5-10 people on average while they await their repairs, with the most popular topics being: insulation; solar PV & battery storage; heat pumps; switching energy supplier; and switching from a variable to a fixed tariff.
Zero Waste Hub Action Group
Repair Café: the February Repair Café was one of the busiest ever, with 37 customers, and at least 45 items, with some great feedback from customers. The Repair Café is a good way of engaging with the public and getting the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ message over.
Tool Library: we now have 101 items in the inventory. Although Tweed Street has been a brilliant venue, it is now too small for our needs, meaning that we need a larger space, to allow us to continue to buy or accept more tool donations, which we’re actively working on.
