Biodiversity Survey

Urgent: CEC’s biodiversity survey closes on 14 June and it would really help to have as many people as possible completing it, in their own words. To help you make sense of it, here is a submission made by a member of the Cheshire East Climate Alliance: he suggests concentrating on question 10, but please also complete the rest if you can. This is our opportunity to stand up for insects and wildflowers. https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_information/media_hub/media_releases/consultation-launched-on-cheshire-east-council’s-biodiversity-plan.aspx

Thank you!

There’s also a petition from a local resident about the need for a crossing on the Altrincham Road near King’s Road/Lindow Common

https://www.change.org/p/speed-limit-altrincham-rd-wilmslow-a538

and another one about plastic grass

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/585520

Next meeting Thursday 17 June, 7.30pm, hope to see you there. Email for Zoom Link

We thought you might be interested to know the views of the four candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioner Election 2021 on 20’s Plenty:

Tonight’s (16 March) talk by John Handley will include reference to the Landscape Character Assessment. For your info, it is here:

We all know now how valuable our peat bogs are in absorbing carbon, so it is really important we don’t buy peat. In previous years we have been depressed by the response “there’s no call for it” from garden centres when asked for peat free, but this year there seems to be much more peat free compost available, and some suppliers are at last growing their plants in peat free compost too. One of our team went out last weekend to try and find out what peat free compost is available where. This list of course may not be exhaustive, and you need to check prices and availability before you set out, but this at least gives you an idea of where you can find peat free compost locally. Words like “eco friendly” and “green” may just be hogwash: check it really is completely peat free when you buy.

List of peat free composts close to Wilmslow area

Listed in no particular order:

1. Parker’s garden centre, Lees Lane, Mottram (3.6 miles): they have very accessible stand devoted to only Peat free Composts in the carpark near the entrance. Access is excellent (they do sell composts with a lot of peat in as well)
2. Hadfield’s since 1755 in Macclesfield: check collection times on line. They stock Dalefoot and a host of other things!
3. Westland New Horizon 50L (3 types): Tomato, fruit & veg & shrubs, plants & trees:£6.99 or 2 for £12 
4. Miracle-Gro 40L (New range this year: 4 types): fruit & veg, azalea ericaceous, moisture control & All purpose: £6.99 or 2 for £12. (NB on Amazon 40L of Miracle-Gro peat free compost is £12.05!)
5. Woodford garden Centre (Nottcutts):  (4.7 miles) very keen on peat free composts and have not sold 100% peat for 10 years. Have to go right through to the back to access the composts.
6. Miracle-Gro 40L all-purpose peat free £6.99 (3 types)
7. Westland New Horizon 40L £5.99 peat free 
8. Melcourt Sylvagrow 15L £5.49 (3 types but waiting for new stock)
9. Happy Compost (3 types) 50L £6.99 2 for £12
10. Wilmslow Garden Centre (Strikes): Do not sell much peat free compost and definitely do not promote it
11. Westland New Horizon 50L peat free with coir (one for all plants and one for vegetables) £7
12.  Bud garden centre (budgarden.co.uk): small & privately run, in Burnage (11miles) is completely peat free in all their potted plants and all the compost they sell. They sell Dalefoot in a bag for life.
13. B&Q Stores are committed to becoming a peat free retailer: bedding plants are grown in peat free medium & peat free composts sold at the same price as peat composts (see their website for their peat free policy) 
14. Verve peat free multipurpose peat free compost £2 for 50L; poor reviews on this one 
15. Miracle-Gro peat free multipurpose compost 50L 2 for £10 a mix of recycled green compost and forest by products! Now reduced online to £1 for 50L; good reviews.
16. Westland New Horizon £4.55 (also at Homebase, Wickes & Amazon)

       F  Booths supermarket Hale Barnes (5.4 miles)

• Dalefoot Wool and Bracken peat free compost £7 for 30L see www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk for their range of 5 peat free composts.

NB the Wilmslow garden centre have got  mountains of bags of peat (mostly not peat free) ready for the spring rush of gardeners, but the vast majority of people will not know why putting peat compost on their gardens is releasing CO2 to the atmosphere and damaging fragile peatlands. Importantly the price of peat free composts is mostly about the same price as peat containing composts, depending on where you go e.g.:- 

• £6.99 for 50L bag of Westland Gro-sure (50% peat)  
• £5.99 for 50L bag Westland Jacks Magic 50L (100% peat) plus a little seaweed, all-purpose compost
• £6.99 for 50L Westland new Horizon peat free coir compost 

The Melcourt Sylvagrow and the Dalefoot composts are all very highly rated by gardeners. They are as good as, or better than peat. 

PS Pumpkinbeth.com has an interesting website and she has done comparison trials on different peat free composts.

The tree and woodland group at Transition Wilmslow are looking for more sites for their tree planting projects-helping make Wilmslow a more pleasant place to be, encouraging biodiversity, mitigating floods and air pollution, and reducing global heating. If you share our aims and own, or know an individual or organisation who owns a site where they might like to see trees planted-we can help. 

            We are working with Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the councils to help develop projects on verges, in parks, at schools and on council land, and would like to see more projects on land privately owned by individuals or organisations. If you can help please email: jonathanprice91@icloud.com

We have been informed that urgent engineering work will begin on the Moss on Monday January 25th. Full details are here:

Transition Wilmslow has supported the campaign for safer streets for nearly a decade. Cllr Suzie Akers-Smith, our cycling and walking commissioner, is proposing a vote for 20mph limits in residential streets (subject to local consultation) next Wednesday 16th December so we need you to act now!

If you could put some supportive comments on this FB page we would be grateful:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1932437730418344/permalink/2756831097978999/

and please write to your local councillors. All details are on http://www.transitionwilmslow.co.uk/transport-2/

If you write to Cllr Goldsmith you will receive a reply that we do not think interprets the evidence correctly. We have posted a fact check of his response on the above page. If you haven’t signed our petition, please do so and circulate to your friends!

https://www.change.org/p/cheshire-east-20-s-plenty-for-cheshire-east

and remember: please do this before Wednesday so your Councillors know that you want safer streets in Wilmslow.

Thank you

Want to know more about the proposed restoration? What’s happening to the water levels? What’s happening to the ecology?

Tuesday 8th December, all welcome, 7.30pm Zoom meeting. Email transitionwilmslow@gmail.com for link.

Our Community Market Garden group wants to get more of us growing fruit and veg; certainly for ourselves but also perhaps for others. Download our flyer, spread the word and please join us: growing your own is good for you, good for the community and good for the planet. What’s not to like?