Environmentally-friendly week

Electric bikes, lunchtime walks and the Head of Planning and Strategic Housing cycling to work will all feature in activities at South Derbyshire District Council designed to make people more aware of ways they can help protect the local environment.

The week-long campaign is timed to coincide with  #WorldEnvironmentDay which is on Wednesday, June 5.

Work started very early on Monday (June 3) when the Council’s Environmental Protection Officer Heather Foster toured the Council premises on an electric bike.

She was at the Operational Services base on Hearthcote Road, Swadlincote between 5.30am and 7am, and then moved to Green Bank Leisure Centre for 8am, at the Civic Offices at 9am and finished at Rosliston Forestry Centre from 11am.

Staff at each location will be able to try the bike for themselves and ask questions about it and the Cycle-to-Work scheme.

Lunchtime walks have been organised for staff during the lunch break periods on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and a challenge to get members of staff to walk, cycle or car-share to work has also been organised.

One of the employees to accept the challenge is Head of Planning and Strategic Housing Tony Sylvester, who plans to cycle to work from his home in Burton-on-Trent on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The environment week programme comes to an end on Friday, when the Council is hosting a Sustainable Travel Delph Day on Friday, June 7 between 11am – 1:30pm on The Delph, Swadlincote.

This will give people a chance to see bicycles and electric bicycles courtesy of ASA Cycle, an independent cycle shop in Woodville, Swadlincote as well as electric vehicles courtesy of Continental Engineering Services and Drive Electric.

There will also be information about how to help the environment and your own wellbeing at the same time. 

Subjects covered will include walking and cycling, public transport in South Derbyshire and Active South Derbyshire.

Information about the activities and the environment will be posted on the Council’s social media accounts throughout the week, find SDDC on twitter @SDDC and Facebook @southderbyshiredc

3 June 2019