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October 2025 In these newsletters we share with you how Horsham District Council and our partners and communities across the District are working to reduce carbon emissions and improve the local environment. Look out for updates on Council and community initiatives and events, national campaigns, plus suggestions on how you too can make a difference. If you have any comments or suggestions please email communications@horsham.gov.uk |
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Contents - Our NEW online tool supports home energy saving ambitions
- Centre for Sustainable Energy: Free energy guidance for community buildings
- Our Nature Recovery Award opens again to support your biodiversity project
- Read our Wilder Horsham District Annual Report 2024-25
- Happy National Apple Day!
- Bramber Brooks Nature Reserve - now enhanced
- Sustainable Energy at Home event - Monday 27 October
- Carbon Literacy training for communities - save the date!
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Our NEW online tool supports home energy saving ambitions |
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We have been working with Chichester District Council and Parity Projects to develop a free online tool called Energy Saving Plan Builder to help householders learn about the home retrofit options available to them. This tool can help you to understand the changes you could make to your home to reduce the amount of energy you use, make your home more comfortable to live in, reduce your carbon emissions, reduce your bills, and potentially increase the value of your home too. Simply put in your postcode, choose your address and your goal, and suitable energy-saving measures will be suggested for your specific property, along with average costs for the works.
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Centre for Sustainable Energy: Free energy guidance for community building managers |
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The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) is a national charity that offers an independent, impartial and bespoke service to help managers of community buildings know where to start and what type of funding they could apply for to help make their buildings energy efficient, more sustainable, cost less to run and more comfortable for their users. If you run or use a community centre, find out how CSE can offer information and guidance to help improve your community centre. This includes a template for a free DIY energy survey and a bespoke service to help community buildings become more energy efficient and cut bills. |
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Our Nature Recovery Award opens again to support biodiversity projects |
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New applications now welcomeWilder Horsham District’s grant scheme is open once again to support practical schemes that improve and connect habitats for wildlife in the Horsham District. Community groups and charities, as well as individual landowners, can apply for funding up to a maximum of £5000. Site visits are also available to help support and develop your project ideas. In a recent Sussex Wildlife Trust blog post, Amberley Museum’s Director, Katrina Burton, reports on how her funding is helping this local visitor attraction improve habitats for wildlife. The Nature Recovery Award is a fund set up with the Sussex Wildlife Trust to complement our Wilder Horsham District initiative. Applications close on Friday 28 November 2025. |
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Read our Wilder Horsham District Annual Report 2024-25 |
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The Wilder Horsham District initiative was set up in 2020 in a pioneering partnership with the Sussex Wildlife Trust. The objectives of this project are to: - Help wildlife thrive across Horsham District.
- Create networks of land that are protected and improved for wildlife. This will allow habitats to expand and species populations to increase, helping them become more resilient to change.
- Increase awareness of the benefits wildlife provide and the actions communities can take to enhance nature locally.
- Maximise the opportunities for climate change mitigation and adaptation through nature restoration.
You can read all about the project's amazing achievements to date in our most recent Annual Report (2024-25) linked below, or read it as a flip book. |
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Happy National Apple Day! |
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To celebrate National Apple Day on Tuesday 21 October we are celebrating Mayes Park Farm in Warnham which is using the Council's Wilder Horsham District funding to help actively restore and plant Sussex apple orchards as part of a wider nature recovery effort. In November 2024, a work party started planting an orchard of native Sussex apple varieties at Mayes Park Farm, with an additional 70+ new fruit trees planted in early 2025. The goal is to bring long-term biodiversity to the site. The orchard initiative is part of Mayes Park's nature-focused management style, away from its former use as a dairy farm, to restore and increase wildlife habitats across the farm. The work at Mayes Park is supported by a Nature Recovery Award from the Wilder Horsham District project, a partnership project between Horsham District Council and the Sussex Wildlife Trust. |
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Bramber Brooks Nature Reserve - now enhanced |
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Following the purchase of Bramber Brooks Nature Reserve by Horsham District Council in 2024, we have been working closely with the Environment Agency to create a number of wetland ponds and shallow pools, providing varied wetland habitat for birds such as snipe and green sandpiper, as well as dragonflies and fish. A key sustainability feature of the project was the re-use of soil excavated during the pond creation to provide raised earth walkways to improve public access. This approach has ensured a materials neutral site, with no need for imported or exported materials. The new raised walkways and pedestrian bridges offer a much-improved experience for walkers, and the biodiversity gains will help us meet our climate goals, underlining our commitment to become carbon neutral as a District by 2050. |
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| Sustainable Energy at Home eventMonday 27 October, 7-9pm. FREE |
| The Rock Horsham (craft house) 38 East Street Horsham RH12 1HL Look out for Neil Sephton, our Sustainability Manager, who will be speaking at a Horsham Home Energy event this month. This will be an evening of two parts, starting with short talks about our new “Energy Saving Plan Builder” tool (see top article in this newsletter) and “A Retrofit Journey” from Sustain Change. These talks will be followed by the opportunity for informal discussions with the above, and with local homeowners who are using the technologies. Speakers on the day include: - Neil Sephton (Horsham District Council)
- Amy Isted (Sustain Change)
- AND local homeowners
This free event is organised by Transition Horsham Energy Group. |
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| Carbon Literacy training for parishes and communities - SAVE THE DATE |
| In April 2024, we started our Carbon Literacy journey by training Council staff to become climate champions for Council services. This dedication was recognised this year by the Carbon Literacy Project with the receipt of our Bronze Carbon Literacy Award. In a bid to reduce the region’s carbon footprint, protect the environment and become a net zero district, we will soon be offering this free training to parish and neighbourhood councillors and community leaders. Save the Date: 10 November 2025 We will be running a Community Leader course on Monday 10 November, with a course for parish leaders in the early new year. If you are not able to make that date but are interested in learning more, please do get in touch at climatechangeaction@horsham.gov.uk |
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Albery House, Springfield Road Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 2GB
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