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 – see the detailed report at the end of this document.
The Browning Road Orchard did not find coordinators. 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. Further speed reductions were implemented in the centre of Banbury as part of the 20s plenty campaign. BATS has been regularly consulted by the Council for positions on Active Travel.
Three Give & Take and Repair Cafes were held during 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) completed during the year distributing remaining funds to three community food projects.
The environmental projects continued strongly in collaboration with BBOWT and other groups. A project was also run in collaboration with Bath University looking at attitudes to the Climate Emergency amongst WI members.
In April we welcomed the Banbury Litter Pickers group to Banbury CAG as a new project group. Both organisations believe the partnership will bring benefits in terms of increased visibility and membership.
The Newsletters have been published regularly throughout the year, connecting us with Banbury CAG membership. We are very lucky to have Joe, our professional editor, writing these for us.
We now have 352 (+8%) mailing subscribers (212 (-14%) of these are voting members). The Active Travel newsletter goes to 125 (+12%). The Garden newsletter goes to 226 (-2%). New groups created for Dirty Water 77, Emergency Planning 40. The CAG Facebook page has 1,414 (+9%) followers, the Bridge Street Garden page has 1,183 (+21%), BATS 79, Litter Pickers Page 210.
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 2025 – March 2026
TSB Bank Opening Balance 1/4/25. £41,451.29
Summary. Grants and Donations brought in £36,269.47
Expenditure £47,131.08
End of Year Balance at 4/4/26. £30,589.68
Virtually all of this balance is allocated to specific ongoing projects. See Spreadsheets for details of transactions.
Balance not allocated to specific projects. £2,617.14
The accounts have been independently audited.
The number of Projects Banbury CAG is running/supporting has increased – 28 in the year with 16 carrying balances over to the new year.
CAG (non project) total spending 1st April 2025 – 4th April 2026 £573.59
Costs towards hire charges, equipment £203.11
Cook Together Eat Together donations £294.89
Website. £75.59
Naseem Hussain
Treasurer May 2026
🐝 Bridge Street Community Garden Annual Report 2025/2026
🌿 In a Nutshell
2025/26 has been another busy and rewarding year at the Garden.
With the support of volunteers, community groups, practitioners and partner organisations, we improved the Garden with new rainwater harvesting systems, accessible seating and a wildlife-friendly parklet. We welcomed hundreds of visitors through wellbeing sessions, gardening activities, creative workshops, school visits, family events, community celebrations and volunteer sessions. From food growing and tree giveaways to art, photography, Tai Chi and nature-based learning, the Garden has continued to be a place where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect with nature, learn new skills and build community.
None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our volunteers, the BCAG Committee, community partners, funders and supporters, whose time, skills and contributions have helped the Garden thrive.
🌼 Highlights from the Year
This year, with the help of our volunteers, we installed a new rainwater harvesting system. We now have three 1,000-litre tanks collecting rainwater from the shed roofs, helping us keep the garden as green as possible during heatwaves.
We also installed two new wheelchair-accessible picnic benches made from recycled plastic, creating more comfortable and inclusive seating areas for visitors.
The Banbury Shed refurbished two beautiful benches and kindly donated them to the Garden. They will be installed soon. Thank you so much for these, they are truly beautiful.
Another exciting addition was the new parklet next to the canal. This area combines benches, planters and wildlife-friendly plants, creating a space that benefits both people and nature. These were installed by volunteers. Thank you so much to everyone who took part in helping this new area take shape.
Artist Mat volunteered his time to create a new Bridge Street Garden logo and other branding materials. Thank you, Mat, for your hard work. We have been using his artwork and templates on our posters.
This year’s activities were made possible by the involvement of many practitioners, volunteers and community groups, alongside the ongoing organisation, fundraising efforts, administration and practical support provided by Garden Officer Tila.
The Monday Crew continued to meet most weeks to help with practical jobs around the Garden, including watering, weeding, litter picking and general maintenance.
Several volunteers have been especially helpful during the recent heatwave, helping to keep the Garden watered and looking its best. Thank you to everyone who has given their time and energy.
🌱 Activities and Events
Here are some examples of the sessions and events that took place during the year:
Milly led monthly Wild Wellbeing sessions for adults, exploring nature connection, art, wellbeing and community building.
Tamzin and Lynne welcomed families from Home-Start to take part in creative and nature-based activities, including mud kitchen play. Tamzin also hosted visits from children from nearby Quackers Nursery, who came to enjoy the Garden with their nursery teachers through art, exploration and play. Tamzin facilitated her Play for Peace and Change Makers events with Lynne, encouraging conversation and creativity.
Tila welcomed a range of groups to the Garden, including young people from The People’s Theatre Collective, students from St Leonard’s Primary School, St John’s Primary School, Bloxham Grove, Home-Start volunteers, a Banbury Museum group as part of their local history walk, and Banbury Woodcraft Folk. These visits provided opportunities to explore food growing, connect with nature and learn about community participation.
We also delivered a number of events, workshops and sessions including:
An Eid celebration where community members brought food to share and enjoyed creative activities together. Thank you to Zainab, Zakia, Naseem, Almas, Hira, Ezz, Lynda, Tamzin, Lynne, Joy, and many more for making this Eid party possible.
We hosted one of the Community Growers Network meetings organised by CAG Oxfordshire, where over 20 people from growing spaces visited, including Oxford City Farm, Five Acres Farm, Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden, Dunmore Farm, amongst people from Kidlington, Didcot and more. Thank you, Marta, for making this event happen.
Multiple wellbeing sessions in partnership with Sunrise Multicultural Project, including planting, weaving with natural materials and making hand scrubs using herbs grown in the Garden. Thank you to Naseem, Shabnam, Anila, Zainab, Tamzin and Tila for their support.
A workshop with artist Anne-Marie, who showed participants how to create flowers from recycled materials from Orinoco for a collaborative sculpture now displayed at Banbury Cross.
A session with Issey, who introduced participants to dye plants and helped create a dedicated dye garden.
Wellbeing activities led by students from EMBS Community College, including henna painting and card making.
Coach trips to Oxford organised in partnership with The International Tree Foundation and Sunrise Multicultural Project.
Outreach sessions at The Hill Community Centre, Home-Start, Britannia Rd, Castle Quay and a local hotel.
Milly and Tamzin facilitated food growing sessions, where participants decided what they wanted to do at the start of each session.
A winter solstice dance and art workshop led by Helen from Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, in collaboration with The People’s Theatre Collective and Cherwell District Council.
A gardening workshop with Chris, who shared perennial plants and knowledge about how to grow and care for them.
Workshop with Charlotte on tool maintenance, sharpening and plant propagation.
Singing and sculpture sessions for young families led by Katy and Hayley.
The distribution of hundreds of free trees and hedging plants in partnership with The International Tree Foundation and CAG Oxfordshire.
Tai chi sessions with Adam in collaboration with Sunrise Multicultural Project.
Art activities as part of the Canal Festival weekend facilitated by Tamzin and Rhiannon (on separate days).
Two mindful photography sessions led by photographer Jo, encouraging participants to see the Garden in new ways.
A Doodle Club session led by Mat and Laura, where participants sketched and drew inspiration from the Garden.
A yoga session with Sophie.
….amongst other sessions.
Please take a look at the Garden’s social media for photos and videos documenting some of the sessions.
These sessions brought together people from different backgrounds, ages and interests.
Attendance ranged from small groups to events with over 70 participants, showing continued engagement with the Garden as a place to meet, learn, volunteer and connect with others.
🤝 Partnerships
We continued to work with a wide range of groups and organisations who contributed their time, skills and ideas to the Garden:
- The Banbury Shed (who made benches for the Garden).
- EMBS Community College (who delivered wellbeing activities as part of their college course).
- Aspire (who came to help during the Monday Gardening Crew at the start of the year).
- Doodle Club (who delivered a drawing event).
- The Haven (who visited the Garden a number of times and are in the process of planting one of the planters at the Garden).
- Quackers Nursery (who are visiting regularly).
- St Leonard’s Primary School (multiple visits).
- St John’s Primary School (33 students visited the Garden to learn about community gardening and planting seeds).
- Home-Start (currently visiting the Garden once a month).
- Banbury Museum (who are due to visit four times over the next few weeks).
- Mahindra (who came to lend a hand with watering and gardening to celebrate Earth Day).
- Sunrise Multicultural Project (who have visited multiple times for wellbeing and gardening activities, thank you Naseem).
- The Banbury Larder (who led an event to inspire people to waste less food).
- Banbury Woodcraft Folk (visiting multiple times to look after their planter and play in the Garden).
- The International Tree Foundation (tree giveaways, wellbeing activities and trip collaborations).
- The People’s Theatre Collective (lantern-making session, holiday club and after-school club with Sophie, Zainab and Tila).
- Cherwell District Council (who invited us to take part in the community sculpture project with artist Anne-Marie).
- The Hill Community Centre (outreach sessions and wellbeing walks, working in collaboration).
- Umar Centre (We donated plants propagated by Garden volunteers to them and supported them with the development of their garden area.)
These partnerships have helped keep the Garden active, welcoming and rooted in the local community.
📰 Communications
Joe supported several events earlier in the year and has been writing new text for the BCAG website and writing articles about the Garden. Some examples include:
Free Hedge Giveaway Puts Nature Back in People’s Hands
Play for Peace: How Rediscovering Playfulness Opens the Door to Justice
Thank you, Joe, for your ongoing support and contributions.
Tila has been keeping the Garden’s Facebook and Instagram pages up to date, regularly sharing photos, updates and information about activities, events and opportunities to get involved.
💚 Thank You
Thank you to everyone who has supported Bridge Street Garden over the past year.
Whether you facilitated or attended an event, volunteered, helped behind the scenes or simply shared ideas and encouragement, your involvement has helped the Garden thrive.
We would like to give special thanks to the BCAG Committee for their ongoing support, guidance and encouragement throughout the year. Their dedication, advice and commitment have played an important role in helping the Garden thrive.
Thank you also to Lynda for bringing packets of seeds and offering networking advice, always at the right time.
🌷 Funding
Bridge Street Garden is hugely grateful for the support of:
- Cherwell District Council
- The International Tree Foundation
- Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment
- CAG Oxfordshire
- The Well Together Programme
- Active Oxfordshire
- The National Lottery Community Fund
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Moreton Pinkney Gardens
- Oxfordshire Community Foundation’s Thriving in Nature Fund
- Banbury Charities
The work we do would not be possible without your support.
Thank you for helping us create a greener and more connected community.
The wheelchair-accessible picnic benches were funded through Active Oxfordshire, the parklet was made possible thanks to Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE), and the rainwater harvesting system was funded by Oxfordshire County Council.