Welcome to SPJARA!
Here's the latest news from our part of Cheltenham
More colourful utility boxes
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above two replacement BT Open Reach boxes before decoration (above) and after (below)
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Graffiti tackled too
Rhys has also been clearing up two boxes that recently got the graffiti treatment. Below (left) before the clean up and (right) after
Rhys has also been clearing up two boxes that recently got the graffiti treatment. Below (left) before the clean up and (right) after
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BEWARE THE BOX MOTH CATERPILLAR!
(it's back again)
Gardeners throughout Cheltenham - including many in the SPJARA area - are battling with a plague of caterpillars that are eating their box bushes with a terrifying ferocity. Here is the villain, the caterpillar of the box moth, or Cydalima perspectalis.
Box Tree Caterpillars are greenish-yellow with black heads and once fully grown the caterpillars reach up to 4cm in length and will have thick black and thin white stripes along its body. In the spring, the moths appear and there can be up to 3 generations of caterpillars a year. Box Tree Caterpillars over-winter as caterpillars rather than as moths, so it is essential to kill as many of the caterpillars as possible before the temperatures drop in the autumn. The caterpillars, hidden between leaves that have been spun together with silk, over-winter, and will then emerge in the spring as moths which produce the next generation of caterpillars.
The moth came from East Asia and has no natural predators here. Wherever it goes, it destroys box bushes very quickly, reducing them to an unsightly skeleton. It’s really bad news.
You can control it though, using a biocide called XenTari. We have sprayed this on the box bushes on the Norwood Triangle. We won’t be able to get rid of the caterpillar for ever, but we are pretty sure we wil be able to control it.
There are some pretty strict rules about using this treatment, but used carefully it should be safe. Wear a mask and gloves, and don't spray in windy weather. There are other forms of control, notably nematodes which prey upon the caterpillars.
Sadly it seems as if this new pest will be with us now for good and will only be controlled, not removed entirely. So, many people are thinking of planting alternatives. There is lots of good advice here https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/box-tree-caterpillar
(it's back again)
Gardeners throughout Cheltenham - including many in the SPJARA area - are battling with a plague of caterpillars that are eating their box bushes with a terrifying ferocity. Here is the villain, the caterpillar of the box moth, or Cydalima perspectalis.
Box Tree Caterpillars are greenish-yellow with black heads and once fully grown the caterpillars reach up to 4cm in length and will have thick black and thin white stripes along its body. In the spring, the moths appear and there can be up to 3 generations of caterpillars a year. Box Tree Caterpillars over-winter as caterpillars rather than as moths, so it is essential to kill as many of the caterpillars as possible before the temperatures drop in the autumn. The caterpillars, hidden between leaves that have been spun together with silk, over-winter, and will then emerge in the spring as moths which produce the next generation of caterpillars.
The moth came from East Asia and has no natural predators here. Wherever it goes, it destroys box bushes very quickly, reducing them to an unsightly skeleton. It’s really bad news.
You can control it though, using a biocide called XenTari. We have sprayed this on the box bushes on the Norwood Triangle. We won’t be able to get rid of the caterpillar for ever, but we are pretty sure we wil be able to control it.
There are some pretty strict rules about using this treatment, but used carefully it should be safe. Wear a mask and gloves, and don't spray in windy weather. There are other forms of control, notably nematodes which prey upon the caterpillars.
Sadly it seems as if this new pest will be with us now for good and will only be controlled, not removed entirely. So, many people are thinking of planting alternatives. There is lots of good advice here https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/box-tree-caterpillar
SPJARA commit to tackling climate change and reducing our emissions to net zero by 2030
SPJARA has signed up to the Borough Council’s CheltenhamZero Agreement. This means we recognise “the climate emergency and acknowledge the unacceptable risks it poses globally and also locally to the future of our environment, our livelihoods, our homes and our town”.
By joining CheltenhamZero, SPJARA has committed to tackling the climate emergency head on, doing our part with our organisations and working collaboratively to support the shift to net zero emissions as a town by the year 2030.
Meanwhile we can learn from other parts of town. For example, the Hesters Way Forum has developed a very good, simple green living guide - here http://hesterswayforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Green-Living-Plan-Draft-27-11-20-.pdf
By joining CheltenhamZero, SPJARA has committed to tackling the climate emergency head on, doing our part with our organisations and working collaboratively to support the shift to net zero emissions as a town by the year 2030.
Meanwhile we can learn from other parts of town. For example, the Hesters Way Forum has developed a very good, simple green living guide - here http://hesterswayforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Green-Living-Plan-Draft-27-11-20-.pdf
local residents, SPJARA committee members and Chris Chavasse of CBCB planting trees at Mellersh House, on 27 November 2021
TREES AND MORE TREES - SPJARA MAKES
OUR AREA GREENER!
We planted ten more trees around Mellersh House on a chilly November morning. They are all rowan or mountain ash trees (Sorbus aucuparia). They were purchased by SPJARA from the Cheltenham Tree Nursery.
John Paterson organised the event. He was helped by Diana Pollock, Roy Arnold, Andrew Bishop (local resident), and Adrian Phillips. Chris Chavasse, Borough tree officer was on hand to help and advise.
PS Now that summer is coming we have been watering the saplings. They are all in good shape.
another shot of the SPJARA tree planting party at Mellersh House on 27 November 2021
An invitation to join our committee
From Clair Chilvers, Chair 2011-2023
The SPJARA Committee is looking for new members.
We want ‘doers’ – people who will help us to organise events, social media or take on a particular Committee responsibility.
The Committee meets three times a year in the evening.
If you are interested please contact me by email initially clair_chilvers@hotmail.com
Street cleaning-
December 2023
December 2023
Here are the dates when UBICO will clean our streets before Christmas.
PLEASE COOPERATE BY NOT PARKING YOUR CAR IN THESE STREETS ON THE DATES SHOWN
December7/12 Edward St, Brandon Place Tryes Road, Suffolk St
8/12 Painswick Road ( Suffolk Road to Grafton Road), St James Place,Casino Place
12/12 Painswick Road (Grafton Road to Shurdington Road)
13/12 Grafton Road
14/12 St Philips St and Norwood Road
15/12 Park Place, Tudor Lodge Drive, Tudor Lodge Road
19/12 Gratton Road (Shurdington Road to Norwood Triangle)
20/12 Ashford Road ( Gratton Road to Tivoli Road)
21/12 Andover Road ( Norwood Triangle to Andover Walk) Andover Walk, Andover St (Ashford Road to Suffolk Road)
SPJARA visit to Javelin Park
Javelin Park is that immense structure just south of Gloucester beside the M5. It generates electricty from the waste that it burns. SPJARA set up a visit there on 14 August. We were a small party and given a full tour of the facility, from the loading bays where our rubbish arrives through the prepartion store and the furnace that generates the steam that drives the turbines. The power generated is enough to meet the needs of some 25,000 homes.Living as we do downwind from Javelin Park, it was good to see the effort made to ensure the air that emerges after the process is clean. You can see more here UBB (ubbgloucestershire.co.uk). Above is a photo of us all, kitted out for the tour.
Many thanks to Vanessa Angelo-Thomson for organising this outing for us.
Javelin Park is that immense structure just south of Gloucester beside the M5. It generates electricty from the waste that it burns. SPJARA set up a visit there on 14 August. We were a small party and given a full tour of the facility, from the loading bays where our rubbish arrives through the prepartion store and the furnace that generates the steam that drives the turbines. The power generated is enough to meet the needs of some 25,000 homes.Living as we do downwind from Javelin Park, it was good to see the effort made to ensure the air that emerges after the process is clean. You can see more here UBB (ubbgloucestershire.co.uk). Above is a photo of us all, kitted out for the tour.
Many thanks to Vanessa Angelo-Thomson for organising this outing for us.
Latest planning news
We have commented on the plans to convert the former Lloyds Bank in Bath Road into a "community church, proposals for two new houses behind 16 Upper Bath Street and a plan to modify 14 Park Place.
We submitted our comments earlier in the summer of 2023. In September, we learnt that in the case of the proposed church the approved plans were amended to remove the threat to trees; and the plans for 16 Upper Bath Street have been withdrawn.
You can read all our recent submissions to the Council and other planning news here.
We have commented on the plans to convert the former Lloyds Bank in Bath Road into a "community church, proposals for two new houses behind 16 Upper Bath Street and a plan to modify 14 Park Place.
We submitted our comments earlier in the summer of 2023. In September, we learnt that in the case of the proposed church the approved plans were amended to remove the threat to trees; and the plans for 16 Upper Bath Street have been withdrawn.
You can read all our recent submissions to the Council and other planning news here.
Brightening up the Bath Road
Working with our neighbouring residents' association, NARA, we obtained a grant from the county to help brighten our favourite local shopping street.
We installed and planted two new planters on the build-outs outside the Co-op (see photos). The Co-op helps to water them. We've moved the old planters that were there before to the Norwood Triangle - see below.
Meanwhile, Rhys Cowe, our artist, is decorating new utility boxes in Bath Road (see opposite).
Working with our neighbouring residents' association, NARA, we obtained a grant from the county to help brighten our favourite local shopping street.
We installed and planted two new planters on the build-outs outside the Co-op (see photos). The Co-op helps to water them. We've moved the old planters that were there before to the Norwood Triangle - see below.
Meanwhile, Rhys Cowe, our artist, is decorating new utility boxes in Bath Road (see opposite).
Bath Road -
one of two planters next to the Co-op
....and brightening up the Norwood Triangle
In May last year we moved the old planters from the Bath Road to the Norwood Triangle and planted them anew - see photos below. Many thanks to Diana Winsor and her husband Ken for the planting advice and assistance here and in the Bath Road.
In May last year we moved the old planters from the Bath Road to the Norwood Triangle and planted them anew - see photos below. Many thanks to Diana Winsor and her husband Ken for the planting advice and assistance here and in the Bath Road.
the team that moved the replanted the planters - now the flowers are flourishing in the Norwood Triangle (below)
920021Roundabout branding repaired
Huge thanks to the Cook Shop and Lizzie Smith, its owner, for their incredibly generous funding for the repair to the Bath Road roundabout's "branding" which was damaged recently for the umpteenth time. (See pictures below of earlier damage to a panel and now repaired). We are deeply appreciative and very much hope that SPJARA residents will consider reciprocating this by supporting the Cook Shop. And thanks too to Chantal Freeman who was out doing the work at 7AM on Easter Sunday morning before the traffic.
Huge thanks to the Cook Shop and Lizzie Smith, its owner, for their incredibly generous funding for the repair to the Bath Road roundabout's "branding" which was damaged recently for the umpteenth time. (See pictures below of earlier damage to a panel and now repaired). We are deeply appreciative and very much hope that SPJARA residents will consider reciprocating this by supporting the Cook Shop. And thanks too to Chantal Freeman who was out doing the work at 7AM on Easter Sunday morning before the traffic.
The Bath Road shops
Now, more than ever, we realise what a great set of shops we have on the Bath Road. Please support them.
SPJARA: who, what and where is it?
SPJARA* is the Residents' Association that covers the roads and streets of Cheltenham shown on the map below. The name SPJARA comes from St. Philip and James Church which lies at the centre of our area. However, we have no formal link to the church.
Why not join SPJARA? It's just £5.
We look forward to meeting you soon
* SPJARA started life as 'St Philip and St James Area Residents' Association', but a name change to its initials SPJARA was agreed in 2018. Hence the rather awkward name!
Why not join SPJARA? It's just £5.
- We help to protect and improve our area -
- see Stuff we Do
- We help local people to meet and socialise -
- see Social Events
- We get things done
- We are always looking for ways to make our area better.
We look forward to meeting you soon
* SPJARA started life as 'St Philip and St James Area Residents' Association', but a name change to its initials SPJARA was agreed in 2018. Hence the rather awkward name!
THE SPJARA AREA
With thanks and acknowledgment to Diana Winsor, 2018
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