CAG 2023-24 Chair’s report
CAG continued to flourish with strong growth in our membership across all our projects. We continued with online monthly meetings via Zoom and an annual social.
At Bridge Street Garden, further grant funding was secured by our project officer. Tila’s tireless enthusiasm for the project of engaging with many local community groups has resulted in more garden volunteers than ever before and several community groups have adopted a raised bed and are growing food in it. Several plant and seed swaps have been held throughout the year to engage with a wider group of growers. Tila also published a guide to encourage other groups to setup their own community gardens.
The Browning Road Orchard struggled to find coordinators after Colin moved North. We would very much welcome some from the local community to step forward and continue this project.
Our Banbury Active Travel subgroup brought in many new members interested in promoting walking and cycling in Banbury. Finally, after tireless campaigning and lengthy delays, a reduction in speed limits across the town as part of the 20s plenty campaign was achieved.
Three Give & Take and Repair Cafes were held ruing the year with substantial volumes of goods diverted from landfill. There are plans to hold more of these in the coming year.
Cook Together Eat Together (CTET) ran several events during the year and is collaborating with local larder projects.
CAG collaborated with Extinction Rebellion Banbury, and other local groups as part of the Banbury election hustings.
The Newsletters have been published regularly throughout the year, connecting us with Banbury CAG membership. We also secured an experienced editor for the newsletter who has increased readership.
We now have 325 (+17%) mailing subscribers (245 (+16%) of these are voting members). The Active Travel newsletter goes to 111. The Garden newsletter goes to 231. The CAG Facebook page has 1,300 (+9%) followers (77% female) and the Bridge Street Garden page has 976 (+22%) followers (84% female).
Banbury CAG is part of the wider Oxfordshire CAG network and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for the support and financial assistance we have received throughout the year.
Both Banbury Town Council and Cherwell District Council have supported us this year both financially and support from officers for which we are extremely grateful.
Finally, I want to thank all the volunteers and CAG officers who have made our success possible this year – without their volunteer hours we would simply cease to exist and Banbury would be all the poorer for that.
Regards
Jim Smith, Banbury CAG Chair.
Banbury CAG Financial Report – April 2024 – March 2025
TSB Bank Opening Balance 1/4/24. £26,082.94
Summary. Grants and Donations brought in £46,601.79
Expenditure £31,433.04
End of Year Balance at 31/03/24. £41,251.69
Virtually all of this balance is allocated to specific ongoing projects. See Spreadsheets for details of transactions. Bank Balance much healthier than predicted due to securing a lottery fund £20,000 which arrived at the end of March to train future community garden teams over the next few years.
Balance not allocated to specific projects. £2,444.28
The accounts are being audited.
The number of Projects Banbury CAG is running/supporting has increased – 22 in the year with 13 carrying balances over to the new year.
CAG (non project) total spending 1st April 2024 – 31st March 2025 £636.59
Costs towards hire charges, equipment £302.66
Insurance. £258.34
Website. £75.59
Naseem Hussain
Treasurer April 2025
💚🌿 Bridge Street Garden Annual Report 2024/2025
We’re pleased to share that the Bridge Street Garden PlayBook is now complete and available to download for free:
Thank you to everyone who shared information, quotes, and photos to help shape this resource.
🌼 Highlights from the Year
Bridge Street Garden has continued to develop as a shared space for people in the community.
This year’s activities were made possible by the involvement of visiting practitioners, wonderful volunteers, and the consistent support and coordination of our Garden Officer ✌🏽
Here are some of the sessions and events that took place:
Patrissia Cuberos led singing circles, including one just before Christmas.
Hira Faisal ran drawing and painting sessions with a focus on wellbeing.
Batool Haidari conducted wellbeing workshops for local residents and refugees.
Joe Attlee, Millie Spencer, Tamzin Plummer, and Chris Elliot delivered nature-based workshops for families during the February half-term.
Chris Elliot also led walks in and around the Garden, highlighting useful wild plants.
Jo Milton delivered a fermentation workshop exploring traditional methods for preserving food.
Elly Crowther ran dance sessions for parents and young children.
Lynne Cheetham read nature-themed stories with children and families.
Rhiannon Evans offered planting and art sessions.
Nasreen and Zainab organised a Pakistani cultural session around food and wellbeing.
Sophie Bird led gentle yoga sessions.
Adam Lacey ran a Tai Chi session for the local community.
James Stevenson delivered music workshops that welcomed people of all ages and abilities.
These sessions brought together people from different backgrounds, ages, and interests.
Attendance varied from small groups to over 70 participants, showing a steady level of engagement with the Garden as a place to meet, learn, and take part in something local.
🌿 Growing Together
We also collaborated with various groups and organisations who contributed to growing food, flowers, and ideas in the Garden.
These partnerships helped keep the space active and open to all:
Aspire
Modern Art Oxford
MultakaOxford
The Banbury Larder
The International Tree Foundation
The People’s Theatre Collective
Woodcraft Folk Banbury
Home-Start
Cherwell District Council
Sunrise Multicultural Project
Restore
Age UK
The Hill Community Centre
Chinese residents from Tim Tim Restaurant
SEN students from Activate Learning
Saint Leonard’s School
Oxford Doodle Club
Nothing But Footprints
These groups contributed time, skills, and ideas to help keep the Garden running and rooted in the local community.
📰 In the Press
Bridge Street Garden was featured in a few published pieces this year, two of them written by Joe Attlee:
Stranded by floods, grounded by community: How Banbury won me over
In Pictures: Voices of Resilience: International Women’s Day at Bridge Street
Banbury primary school pupils create buzz in community garden with bee hotels
Additionally, Banbury BID has created this video featuring our Garden Officer:
It’s good to see the work in the Garden reaching a wider audience and showing what’s possible when people work together.
💚 With Gratitude
Thank you to everyone who has supported Bridge Street Garden over the past year.
Whether you attended an event, helped out behind the scenes, or shared ideas, your involvement has kept the space thriving.
We would like to express our gratitude to a few individuals in particular:
Jim Smith for consistently checking on the Garden.
Lynda Smith for her practical and encouraging support, as well as for keeping track of the vegetable seeds.
🌷 Funding
Bridge Street Garden is hugely grateful for the support of Cherwell District Council, The International Tree Foundation, CAG Oxfordshire, and The Well Together Programme. The Well Together Programme is delivered in partnership with OCVA and CFO and is funded by the NHS Integrated Care Board.