ENVIRONMENT
ATTRACTIVE BUILT ENVIRONMENT:
Aspirations
Creating an attractive built
environment
Aims
Ensure built environment throughout
the town is an attractive, pleasant place
to live, work and play.
Objectives
Unify town centre and create
one centre rather than lots of
separate entities.
Ensure that litter and household
rubbish collection is effective
Implement actions to create
public spaces that are practical
and aesthetically pleasing.
Suggested projects
1. Better links between areas of the town
e.g. between Co-op and High Street.
2.
Ensure Swindon Borough Council
employees show more care when
dealing with items such as paper to
ensure it does not blow all over the
street.
3. Ensure Swindon recycling street
collectors are more responsible
regarding items they cannot take.
4. Provision of more litter bins around
the town, and ensure they are emptied
regularly.
5. Introduce a community womble
scheme (i.e. picking up litter).
6. More recycling points for individual
items.
7. Remove eurobins from church
entrance.
8. Education program both in schools and
of adults (by local publicity) on litter.
9. Look at work of Richard Rogers and
action accordingly:
Piazza, Cafe
Culture, Sculpture, Architecture.
10. Research to establish what street
furniture is required.
11. Look at work of Ben Hamilton-Bailey
and action accordingly.
Ensure dog waste is dealt with
appropriately.
Provide clear, appropriate and
interesting signage and notice
boards within the town.
Identify areas of the town that
are currently neglected/ not
attractive and organise for them
to be maintained/ improved.
12. Provision of more dog waste bins.
13. Education program both in schools and
of adults (by local publicity) on clearing
of dog waste.
14. Deal with dog waste on Pentylands
Country Park.
15. Put in place suitable and interesting
signage on the approaches to
Highworth.
16. Historical icons on welcome to
Highworth signs.
17. Better directional signpost: Parking,
Facilities, Attractions.
18. All footpaths to be clearly marked.
19. Have educational sign/notice boards:
wild life signs e.g. for flora and fauna,
historical etc.
20. Instructional signs: dog poo, litter.
21. Tourism notice board - see Economic
Development/ Culture and Heritage
themes.
22. Notice board for locals e.g. what's on/
Town Council
23. Upgrade Gilbert’s Alley:
- Immediate Goals –Flowers, Tidy up,
Repaving,
- Long term goals - Small businesses,
cafes, Specialist shops. Rebuild/pull
down derelict buildings, pave areas.
24. Tidy up The Elms and make it a feature
of the town's past.
25. Persuade the companies locate on the
industrial estate to improve the
appearance of the estate (make it a
feature of the town instead of
appearing to be run down.
Strategic plan for managing all areas of
the built environment within the parish
boundaries.
Be proactive in conservation/
preservation of buildings.
Ongoing projects to maintain and
26. Encourage owners of properties along
the High Street to improve their
appearance
by
carrying
out
appropriate repairs and freshen up
paintwork. Similarly with window
displays in some premises. Upper
windows
also
need
some
refurbishment.
27. Identify 'lazy' or absent landlords who
own land in Highworth that is not
currently maintained, and force them
to improve it.
28. Old library toilets need renovating in a
style that is in keeping with a
conservation area, and also a method
of
keeping
them
clean
and
unvandalised.
29. Tidy up and maintain the recycling
skips in old library car park.
30. Upgrade the street lighting in the High
Street, Market Place, and Sheep Street
areas to more sympathetic and
appropriate style.
31. Improve and enhance the appearance
of the parking areas in Brewery Street
especially ‘Bog Island’.
32. Deal with Pigeons.
33. Protect burgage plots.
34. Protect other non listed areas
35. Colour scheme for buildings in
conservation area and beyond: Suggest
buildings should be traditional white.
36. Provide grants to help businesses
individuals maintain buildings/paint
37. Paving in one colour – not black!
38. Have a procedure in place to quickly
develop built environment.
39.
40.
Management strategy in place.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
Encourage ownership for the
environment by the local
community.
50.
Manage
any
future
developments
whether
residential, new build or other.
51.
52.
deal with graffiti, litter and vandalism.
I.e. make the town cared for.
Take preventative measures to stop
vandalism.
Ensure buildings are not allowed to
mar the appearance of Highworth by
falling into disrepair or being
developed inappropriately.
Co-ordinate
activities
between
different organisations.
Set up a maintenance program to keep
these areas attractive possibly under
one umbrella organisation.
Identify the tasks that require
professional employed support.
Pressure on landlords who are not
taking responsibility for maintaining
their buildings.
Encourage town council to become
actively involved.
Ensure all areas of the town are
'owned' and maintained to an agreed
standard.
Identify buildings at risk and offer
guidance for financial, practical help.
Manage building works in conservation
area.
Coordinated shop signage and
frontages.
Street Representatives to help with
promoting and implementing local
initiatives. Aim for each street to have
a representative.
Ensure infrastructure is developed at
same time as new build.
Be proactive in seeking grants and
funding to support new build.
53. Ensure all new build meets not only
the requirements of official channels
but also the aspirations of the HCPG
(or subsequent community action
group).
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY:
Aspirations
Meeting the diverse needs of existing
and future residents who are sensitive
to their environment, and contribute to
a high quality of life.
Aims
Actively seek to minimise climate
change, including through energy
efficiency and the use of renewable.
Objectives
Minimise the environmental
impact of the community of
Highworth, including reducing
CO2 emissions.
Encourage people to reduce their
'carbon footprint'.
Suggested projects
1. Work with the relevant planning
authorities to prepare and adopt
policies
for
environmentally
sustainable design and development
(both new build and alterations).
2. Reduce energy consumption to reduce
Highworth's
overall
energy
consumption.
3. Try to persuade residents to switch to
green energy.
Also see Transport theme.
See Economic development theme.
4. Encourage local garages to provide
biofuel/LPG/ hydrogen fuel options.
Protect the environment, by minimising
pollution on land, in water and in the air.
Encourage local business to
develop
ecological
sound
business principles.
Minimise waste and dispose of it in
accordance with current good practice.
Advocate and provide adequate
recycling facilities.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Make efficient use of natural resources,
encouraging sustainable production and
consumption.
Change consumption habits of
the community.
10.
11.
12.
Develop bartering and no cash
methods of payment.
13.
14.
15.
Local Recycling centre(s)
Recycle timber for wood burners.
Bio degradable bags for use in bins.
Recycle contents of skips.
Get local business involved in recycling
I.e. The co-op is promoting reusable
bags.
Encourage people to source food
locally.
Promote Buy Local: Loyalty card.
Farmers market: Local, Organic. Other,
Honey.
Increase the number of allotments.
Reduce plastic bags usage.
Develop a method to enable bartering
and exchange to take place i.e. no
money transactions: Local Exchange
Trade,
Barter
card
(
16.
17.
Advocate Composting
suitable materials.
Protect and improve bio-diversity (e.g.
wildlife habitats).
Enable a lifestyle that minimises
negative environmental impact and
enhances positive impacts (e.g. by
creating opportunities for walking and
cycling, and reducing noise pollution and
dependence on cars).
Create cleaner, safer and greener
neighbourhoods (e.g. by reducing litter
and graffiti, and maintaining pleasant
public spaces).
of
all
Protect the natural environment.
Develop alternative
strategies.
transport
Create a cleaner, safer and green
environment.
18.
19.
www.bartercard.com.au),
Totnes
Pound,
Junk swap, verge side swaps.
Produce surplus swaps from gardens
and allotments.
Promote composting.
Composting service for homes that are
unable or unwilling to compost at
home (this could possibly be piggy
backed on to existing collections) and a
weekly/fortnightly collection made and
taken to a local composting point the
resulting compost can then be sold to
offset some of the costs.
See Natural Environment
See Transport theme.
See Natural Environment.
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT:
Aspirations
Protect and preserve the community’s
access to the natural environment and
the open countryside.
Aims
Enable people of Highworth to access
and enjoy the natural environment
Objectives
Develop
access
countryside.
Encourage
involvement.
to
open
community
Make people proud of their
natural environment.
Inform and educate
Create a green town
Make
all
roundabouts
in
Suggested projects
1. Develop Pentylands open space into an
area of leisure and a centre for flora
and fauna that is unique to area.
2. Improve footpaths and bridleways:
maintenance of paths, mend stiles and
bridges. Footpaths: re-establish legal
rights of way.
3. Improve, maintain signage.
4. Make some areas accessible for
parents with push chairs.
5. Open up old railway line as a path/site
of historic interest.
Cycle tracks: See Transport theme.
6. Community Garden.
7. Community Orchard.
8. Beating the Bounds: annual event
which encourages community pride,
promotes historical significance and
environmental awareness.
9. Gardening competition.
10. Report fly tipping etc.
11. Community Wombling (i.e. litter
clearing).
12. Prevent
smokers
from
using
Pentylands Country Park as an open air
smoking room.
13. Produce information leaflets
14. Encourage schools and other youth
organisations to take ownership of
natural environment
15. Educate people to take their litter
home.
16. Plant vegetation and flora displays on
Highworth a feature.
Create an attractive entrance to
town from all 5 directions.
Develop open spaces within
town.
Encourage the planting of
flowers and greenery throughout
the town and aim to become a
Britain in Bloom Town.
all roundabouts.
17. Upgrade the appearance of the
approaches to Highworth in particular
the Fox roundabout area by the
provision of a sculpture or flower
displays.
18. Avenue of trees: Entry roads to
Highworth and in Swindon Street.
19. Improve the aspect of the roads
particularly the main road leading into
the town. By managing the trees and
shrubbery at the side of roads and if
necessary paint /clean the retaining
walls on the Hill north of the town on
A361.
20. Identify the boundary points on the
approaches and provide and identity
I.e. Gates at sides of roads, welcome
sign like they have on Norfolk signs
and/or Flower boxes.
21. Refurbish memorial park and lower
walls.
22. Plant trees for aesthetic and practical
purposes (i.e. stop parking on verges,
prevent illegal camping).
23. Trees to block parking on verges. For
aesthetic purposes.
24. Brighten neglected areas by using
official routes, i.e. council gardeners,
but
also
guerrilla
gardening.
www.guerrillagardening.org
25. Plant bulbs where ever feasible. I.e.
have a show in the Spring.
26. Plant grass to lessen the amount of
concrete, to be more environmentally
friendly, and for aesthetic purposes.
Advocate a
programme
Strategic plan for managing, enhancing
and promoting the natural environment.
Green
Exercise
Promote the use of the green
spaces by both the local
community and visitors.
Create a record of ownership of
open spaces in parish.
Have ongoing projects to
maintain and develop open
spaces.
Ensure a management strategy is
in place.
27. Increase flower displays around town
28. More hanging baskets and other
flower displays to bring colour to town.
29. Upgrade the town garden making it
into a quieter more contemplative area
having scented herbs and flowers.
30. Improve and soften the appearance of
Swindon Street by planting suitable
trees.
See Quality of Life: Sport and Leisure.
31. Identify all of our green spaces
32. Reclaim those spaces back into the
community Example (Crane Furlong
and adjacent land)
33. Assess their usage in relation to local
community demographics
34. Identify other related spaces outside
the immediate community, Stanton
Park, Sevenfields, Lydiard Park,
Badbury Clump.
35. Identify potential uses for these areas
and improve facilities accordingly.
36. Bring the green spaces into local
ownership.
37. More Allotments.
38. Co-ordinate
activities
between
different organisations.
39. Set up a maintenance program to keep
these areas attractive possibly under
one umbrella organisation.
40. Encourage town council to become
actively involved.
41. Identify the tasks that require
professional employed support.
Implement
environmental
enhancement projects.