Newbury Town Council's Mission & Strategy
NTC has 4 primary goals:
- Help make Newbury a unique, welcoming, safe, and well cared for town
- Foster a real sense of community
- Take actions to address the climate emergency
- Provide focused support for young people, the elderly, minorities, and the vulnerable
1 – Help make Newbury a unique, welcoming, safe, and well cared for town
Provide outstanding parks, playgrounds, and public spaces
Run vibrant charter and farmers’ markets
Run thriving allotments
Provide well-kept and peaceful cemeteries
Ensure our public and historic buildings are properly cared for and well-used
Provide a strong voice for Newbury to push the following with WBC, Newbury BID, and others:
- Provide ongoing input to the Newbury Masterplan 2036
- Provide a suitable permanent home for Newbury Football Club in the parish of Newbury
- Deliver permanent pedestrianisation in the Market Place and within major new developments
- Explore delivering a Neighbourhood Development Plan
… and more
2 – Foster a real sense of community
- Inspiring Civic events and Mayoral calendar
- Enjoyable and inclusive community events
- Celebrate and recognise individual and community achievements
- Encourage and support contributions to our public and community life
- Celebrate and encourage appreciation of public art and Newbury’s heritage
3 – Take actions to address the climate emergency
- Ensure the activities of the Town Council are carbon neutral by 2030 or before
- Actively encourage and support actions that will make Newbury as a whole more environmentally sustainable
NTC, so far, has:
- Upgraded the heating & lighting in the Town Hall and our two cemetery chapels to reduce CO2 emissions & reduce costs in future years
- Launched a Climate Fund to support local environmental groups with projects that will reduce CO2 emissions in Newbury
- Re-designed the new Community Café for Victoria Park with target BREEAM Excellent for the construction and to be carbon neutral in operation
4 – Provide focused support for young people, the elderly, minorities, and the vulnerable
Support youth work for Newbury
Support initiatives to make Newbury a more inclusive town
Work with local organisations which support the homeless in Newbury
NTC, so far, has:
- Launched a new fund dedicated to delivering much needed youth work for Newbury. This fund will form part of the budget for the next 4 years to enable our partners to plan effectively and deliver the best possible outcomes
- Is exploring options for the best location, and then install a specialist hoist in at least one public toilet in Newbury that will enable carers to change older children/young people on the changing table when needed rather than on the floor
Year 1 – Significant Delivery Despite Challenges of COVID-19
NTC has successfully delivered several key objectives in Year 1:
- Major upgrade to the City Recreation Ground, and playgrounds at Skyllings and Walton Way
- Significant progress on proposed new Community Café and public toilets for Victoria Park
- Redesigned to be carbon neutral in operation and target BREEAM Excellent in construction
- Detailed plans submitted for planning approval in November 2020
- Started a new 3 year partnership with Berkshire Youth to provide outreach youth work
- Significant steps on sustainability:
- Reduced carbon footprint by 25.8 tonnes vs target of 7 tonnes (which equates to 37% of our directly generated emissions)
- Held 2 climate conferences and launched a new Climate Grant
- Significant tree planting and new wildflower meadow
- Began a much needed programme of maintenance to ensure safety of our buildings and our trees
- Consultation/planning responses on LRIE (including NCFG), Sandleford, the Local Plan, Newbury Town Centre Masterplan 2036
NTC has successfully maintained core services during lockdown restrictions:
- Kept the Thursday and Saturday markets open throughout, and they’re now really thriving again
- Allotments at 100% capacity
- Tennis court membership and usage increased dramatically post 1st lockdown
- Awarded grants to local organisations who are providing support to residents during COVID-19
- Ongoing support for Citizens Advice, town centre CCTV, and Christmas Lights
- Mayoral support for and appreciation of our residents and businesses
- Officers safely and effectively working from home; council meetings all remote via Zoom with full public participation
Key Strategic Projects for 2021/22
- Open the new Community Café and public toilets in Victoria Park, as soon as we can after planning permission
- Expand our support of youth work with new funding for:
- The Community Youth Project in the Nightingales
- The Riverside Community Centre in Clay Hill
- Further actions to address the climate emergency:
- Further reduction in our carbon footprint of at least 7 tonnes
- A new wildflower meadow for Victoria Park
- Biodiversity survey for the public open space at Wash Common
- Carry out a detailed consultation on improvements to the public open space at Wash Common
- Support for key community groups:
- Community United, Greenham & Crookham Common Commissioners, Friends of Speen Moor, the Newbury Lido CIC
- Provide a strong lobbying voice for Newbury residents, in particular into:
- Newbury Town Centre Masterplan 2036, including permanent pedestrianisation of the Market Place
- London Road Industrial Estate development plans, including Newbury Community Football Group
- Continue our programme of maintenance to ensure safety of our buildings and our trees
Summary of Key Strategic Actions 2019-2024
The full strategy can be found on the NTC Strategy page.