Northleach residents have won a £700 award from Cotswold District Council for their efforts to create a green community. At the heart of this is a new initiative known as Streetbank, see a UK-wide movement of people who share with their neighbours boosting local communities.
People are tapping into a new kind of wealth – a greener, friendlier kind, where borrowing is the new buying. Set up in January, the Northleach Streetbank community quickly grew to some 60 members. Within a month they had entered and won a prize worth £700 in a gRRReen Awards competition which was run by Cotswold District Council in conjunction with their waste service provider Ubico Ltd and the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Partnership.
The council’s competition challenged local communities in the Cotswolds to come up with ways to reduce, reuse and recycle to decrease the amount of waste being sent to landfill. And this is exactly what the Streetbank group in Northleach is doing. Using a free website, members share within their community. Be it lending ladders, borrowing buggies or swapping sewing machines, they’re borrowing not buying. The result? Less waste and less clutter.
Northleach resident and Streetbank champion Jenny Moss is confident this is just the beginning:
“It all started when I needed a roof box, and it occurred to me that rather than buy a new one, maybe one of my neighbours would have one I could borrow. And that maybe there was a way of finding out if other people in my community would want to borrow and lend things to others in the town. I did some digging around online and discovered streetbank. Very quickly I set a group up in Northleach. It’s really easy to join and use and is a great way of bringing a community together.”
Cabinet Member for the Environment and Communities at Cotswold District Council, Cllr Sue Coakley, was full of praise for Jenny’s initiative:
“When the Streetbank group applied for the GRRReen competition we had no hesitation in awarding them a £700 prize because they had such impressive plans for increasing the recycling and reuse of everyday items, while also reducing consumption of new goods. We also felt that this was a good model which could be replicated across the whole District. People are buying more items than ever before and an increasing number of quality goods are being thrown away. This is why it was so heartening to learn that the Northleach Streetbank group has been connecting with local groups and businesses such as the Town Council, Northleach Primary School, Fosse Lions Club and the church to raise their profile and attract more people to share resources. I also understand that they are working towards a Streetbank Day which will showcase their achievements and encourage even more sharing.”
Across the country 1500 people are exchanging through Streetbank every month. There are over 60,000 members and it’s the largest website of its kind with 38,000 things and 12,000 skills worth a total of £1.5m listed so far and it’s now come to Gloucestershire. Using the fund won in the gRRReen Awards, Northleach Streetbank plans to expand not only in their community, but also within Gloucestershire, helping others set up their own groups. If you are interested in getting involved or would like more information please visit www.streetbank.com(opens in a new window) for more information.