To an audience of 15 at the Home Cottage in March, Fanny Maiklem explained how she started in business 30 years ago, by selling eggs and potatoes at the gate. Fast forward to 2006 and Fanny’s Farm Shop won Best Rural Retailer. The core values are to:

Buy Locally
Sell Locally
Employ Locally
Do recycling.

Fanny explained that one thing that goes well usually presents two more problems to overcome. She noted farming is very political – Fanny’s Farm Shop will never beat the supermarkets and suppliers. She asked if we really know where the food on our plate comes from? And what is ‘local’? To some suppliers this could mean production up to 35 miles away. This prompted discussion around the lack of an abattoir in the area, causing unnecessary distress to animals. Fanny doesn’t sell anything that is not local. Calabrese and chocolate cakes are the best sellers.

“Do you know where the food on your plate comes from? We should challenge claims about ‘local food’ and ‘organic eggs.” Fanny Maiklem

Health and safety is a big issue for the shop, as is trading standards and hygiene. Three samples are taken from each food item as part of a stringent regime of environmental control. Regulations prevent giving livestock leftover food.

As well as her daughter working in the shop, Fanny explained she provides local employment and added “staff with special needs are a pleasure to have.”

Some of the products sold at Fanny’s Farm Shop, and their local sources:

Watercress                             Gomshall
Chocolate cake                       Loseley, Guildford
Oak-smoked bacon                Chobham
Owlett apple juice                   Kent
Spinach                                   Milford, Godalming
Milk                                          Leigh
Bread and scones                  Down’s Bakery
Butter and ‘parmesan’            Bookham, Hickstead
Eggs                                        Fanny’s Farm’s own.

New suppliers contact Fanny regularly, on the basis of the reputation of the Farm Shop. Fanny noted with sadness there is only one milking herd in the area now, at Leigh, where once there were six. The shop stocks more varieties of marmalade than Fortnum and Masons, and the annual marmalade competition attracts 100 entries. Fanny’s own marmalade recipe is a closely guarded secret. Further stock that comes from the farm includes honey from eight beehives, and eggs. The farm also has a small vineyard and cuts its own willow. Fanny would like to see more local land given over to producing  food and added…“Redhill Rec should be turned over to chickens!”

So what next for this local empire? Fanny has been trying to obtain a license to hold wedding ceremonies at the Farm, but this is proving the point of one step forward two steps back. The accessibility of the tree house is proving a stumbling block for obtaining a license, and Fanny has not been able to resolve her application successfully with the relevant bodies. This is clearly a temporary blockage to moving forward however, and Fanny says “to have a bride come in would be so exciting for us”. Fanny concluded her stimulating talk by adding: “the best is yet to come”.

On Saturday the 13th of March, I ventured down to Brighton to meet various other Transitioners, at the South East Transition Towns Conference. It was an all day event, held at the Friends Meeting House, which flew by very quickly. After an introduction and a few words about various projects being run over the South East, we moved into an open space style meeting, where there were a number of different things going on in different areas of the building. The idea was that participants would be able to flit between them as they wished. Among others, there was a composting corner, a “What is Transition” talk, an Economist explaining the set up of a local currency and how it works, and a talk on Solar Panels.

I spent most of my time learning about Solar, and learnt that “Southern Solar” are about to launch a new deal, where you can buy your Solar panels without paying any money up front. Southern Solar will just take the money that you make from the government each month, called a Feed In Tariff. The government have guaranteed that for the next 25 years, they will pay you for all the electricity that you generate at home, regardless of how much you use, and this is your Feed in Tariff. In effect, the Solar Panels will really pay for themselves! Can you imagine Reigate and Redhill’s main shopping streets lined with solar panels on their roofs?

Lunch was also an open space meeting, so after buying my homemade veggie pastie, I sat down to chat about CSA’s – Community Supported Agriculture. In these programs, the community pays the farmers up front at the beginning of the year, for their entire years worth of produce. If it is a good year, the community make a good return in food, and if is a bad year, the community share the burden. This eliminates the problem of farmers growing food, only to have it go to waste because the market is not there.

After lunch was my favourite group. I missed out on the Energy Decent Action Plan in 2 hours being organised upstairs, so that could learn how to spin wool with a stick and a potato….It was great fun, and I now have two bin liners full of sheep’s fleeces to get to work on. If anyone would like to learn, please contact me. We will probably run a work shop in the summer so that I can pass along this amazingly simple but important knowledge.

Rebecca Harris

A Sustainable Redhill member, Drummond Richardson, spoke to the group at the February meeting on how to draught-proof your house.

Up to 50% of the heat we put into our Victorian/Edwardian houses escapes quickly through leaky or poorly insulated doors, windows, walls, floors, ceilings and the roof. The first step towards greening your home is to stop draughts. You will notice a difference immediately and could see fuel bills reduce by 10-20%.

As requested by those who came to the talk, following are the documents that Drummond prepared for further information:

• Slides from the talk
• Hyde Farm CAN Guide to draught-proofing
• Magnaglaze Secondary Glazing system information sheet
• Reflective radiator panels information sheet
• A list of product sources

On Saturday the 13th February we hosted a Symposium called “Be the Change” at St. Mark church in Reigate. The purpose of the Symposium, which began in 2005 and is now offered in 16 countries, is to create a world that is environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just.

Aproximately 25 people from Reigate, Redhill and surounding areas joined us to participate in workshops and discussions, and watch clips from inspirational speakers from around the world. Speakers who have made a change in their lives, and are helping to change the dream of the moderm world to be one that is less fixated on money, and more concerned with the environment and community.

The event was a huge success, and left most people motivated and inspired. My personal feeling was that it was amazing to connect with so many people who are involved in amazing projects within our community. It was a great day for networking, learning about the Transition movement, and all of the projects that are in the pipelines.

If you were unable to attend the event, but would still like to learn about or get involved with projects that we are working on, please come along to our meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at the Venture Inn on Lesbourne road, Reigate, or on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at Home Cottage, right behind Redhill train station. Both meetings start at 8pm.

This review response summarises all of the questions and suggestions made by members of Sustainable Redhill, including comments made following a presentation of the blueprint by Julian Ellacott at our meeting at the Home Cottage on 19^th January 2010.

We support the plans to increase recycling locally. The following are suggestions of how the council could improve its plans, including a greater focus on waste reduction and reuse. Some of these are suggestions of areas where we could work together with the council. We look forward to hearing your comments back on the following and discussing how we might help work together on this.

Comments and Issues Raised

1. New Waste and Recycling Collection Plans

Street Cleaning. Can the council please confirm that now collection routes are clustered into areas (e.g. collections on a Monday, for example, are in Horley) that this will make it easier for the council to do a cleansing sweep after the rubbish has been collected, and that therefore this will improve the cleanliness of our streets. 

Question. How much of the 40% that is recycling is due to the 100+ neighbourhood recycling centres and how much is currently black box doorstep collections?

More than 400 residents have taken advantage of the Surrey County Council scheme designed to help save up to £150 each year on energy bills.   For those who haven’t heard, local libraries across the county are lending out energy monitors to help people better understand the energy consumption rates of household appliances.  By understanding which devices are using electricity at any given time residents can reduce consumption by turning off appliances and lights that are not being used, and upgrading devices to more energy efficient models, saving up to 15 per cent.  

The energy monitor lending scheme has proved most popular in Reigate and Banstead, with 64 individuals and families borrowing the devices from one of the borough’s six libraries during October and November, compared with just 22 in Spelthorne.   Read more on the council’s website: http://shs.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Scheme+to+save+residents+money+on+energy+bills?opendocument

Another great scheme coming up is being run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Partnerships for Schools (PfS).  They are running an exciting new initiative to get Energy Display Meters provided and installed into English state-funded schools, absolutely free.  

This is a fantastic tool for getting pupils and teachers excited about monitoring electricity use and actively engaging them in sustainability issues. It works by monitoring your electricity use and displaying real-time results on your school’s PCs.  

As we understand it, there are 4000 available and they’re on a first-come, first-served basis.  So, register on their website now – http://www.energydisplaymeter.co.uk/ – and they’ll let you know the moment you can apply.

In response to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change, a new group in Reigate & Redhill has been formed adopting the transition model.

Transition Towns is an environmental movement whose goal is to help communities build up resilience to the effects of climate change and peak oil (The time at which the maximum rate of oil extraction is reached, after which the rate of extraction can only fall.) It is a grassroots effort which encourages people to get together in thier own communites to make their town more sustainable, more self sufficient, and therefore more resilient. There are currently +/- 300 Transition Towns across the world, all doing projects in their own community such as creating local currencies, business waste exchange programs (matching the waste of one industry with the needs of another), re-skilling classes in woodwork, local food foraging, mending old products, bicycle maintenace, etc. and encouraging local food and energy production.

Reigate and Redhill are joining the Transition Movement along with Sustainable Redhill which already does a lot of projects with the same goals. We meet at 8pm on the first Tuesday of every month in the Venture Inn on Lesbourne Road in Reigate, to discuss ongoing and future projects. If you would like to get involved, please feel free to just show up on the day and introduce yourself.

If you have any further questions, please contact Rebecca at rebecca@sustainableredhill.org.uk or call her on 07942344801 /01737668584

NOTE: DELAY TO CONSULTATION; REVISED DATES TO BE POSTED SOON

A range of public consultation activities for Memorial Park will be taking place in January 2010 in order to agree on an Improvement Plan. 

As part of the Redhill Regeneration Programme, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is in the early stages of considering how Memorial Park could be improved for the benefit of Redhill and its residents.  Some initial work has been done to assess the current condition of the park and they have been reviewing previous feedback from local residents. The next step is to undertake a much wider consultation with residents, voluntary groups, businesses and other organisations in and around Redhill.

Mole Valley District Council has made a public commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by signing up to 10:10. As a signatory to this national campaign, MVDC are demonstrating their firm intention to reduce their carbon emissions by as much as possible during the year 2010.

10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions is achievable in 2010. Signatories to 10:10 pledge aim to achieve carbon reductions in their organisation as close to 10% as possible during the year 2010. Read on and then sign yourself up to the campaign at http://www.1010uk.org/. Together, we can achieve meaningful cuts.

Growing Redhill recently celebrated a national win, of hundreds of pounds worth of gardening tools from Fiskars www.fiskars.com. The Finnish tool company selected the group from many entries to receive the tools as part of its commitment to ‘Love Parks Week’. The tools include spades, forks and rakes to use on the plots and loppers and a pruning saw to keep the trees and bushes in check. Celebrating the win on a wet and windy day at the end of November, group members got to grips with pruning the apple trees and creating a stag beetle loggery, as well as tending to the plots. Alex and Debbie shared around crackers with apple jam and chutney as well as apple tart, all made from apples on the site. Thanks to Dione, there were hot drinks to keep everyone going. Read more here www.orangethumb.co.uk/love-parks/.

Alex Goodey, spokesman for Growing Redhill, was delighted with the turnout at the event:

“It was great to have so many members of the community dig deep after what has been a difficult first year – but thanks to the new tools donated by Fiskars, we were able to make far greater progress than would have otherwise been possible. 

“Before their grant, we only had one rusty saw for pruning and a rather sad gardening fork with only three prongs. In just two hours with the new equipment, and with some elbow grease of course, we’ve dug a new plot, created a beetle sanctuary, and pruned two large apple trees.

“Now what we need are more members to get ready for next year, so if you’re interested in skipping past the allotment waiting list and want to learn more about sustainability, local wildlife, and growing your own food take a look at the website – www.growingredhill.org.uk”

If you are interested in growing your own and do not have access to a garden or allotment then call Debbie Fox Tel: 07717 678968.