Sustainable Sidmouth and the Transition Town movement

The start ……

It was in 2008 that the Vision Group formally took on ‘Transition Town’ status: Sept 2008 News

It was felt by VGS members at the time that environmental and sustainability issues should be addressed in the local neighbourhood – such as:
transport and cycling; aiming to make the Sid Valley self-sustaining in energy; and retaining the character of Sidmouth while developing it sensitively:

The Futures Forum report of 2015 gives information in depth.

The Transition Town movement

So, why does the VGS have to be part of a larger organisation to realise all of this?

From the Transition Town network website:

Transition is a movement that has been growing since 2005. It is about communities stepping up to address the big challenges they face by starting local. By coming together, they are able to crowd-source solutions. They seek to nurture a caring culture, one focused on supporting each other, both as groups or as wider communities.

In practice, they are reclaiming the economy, sparking entrepreneurship, reimagining work, reskilling themselves and weaving webs of connection and support. It’s an approach that has spread now to over 50 countries, in thousands of groups: in towns, villages, cities, Universities, schools.

Transition Network

And from Horst Köhler, former German president and former president of the IMF:

“I see [Transition] as a wonderful combination of civic local engagement and a worldwide network. In many towns throughout the world people get together, finding community, enthusiastic about the idea of together envisioning a future model for their town that will make it worth living in.”

Former German President waxes lyrical about Transition

The Network has just updated what its about:

https://transitionnetwork.org/news-and-blog/transition-network-our-new-purpose/

A local network

Sustainable Sidmouth is officially part of the Transition Town network along with other Devon and neighouring towns:

Transition Exmouth – plus Transition Exmouth Facebook

Bildergebnis fÃ¼r Transition Exeter

Transition Exeter – plus Transition Exeter Facebook

Turn Lyme Green

Sustainable Crediton – plus Sustainable Crediton Facebook

Bildergebnis fÃ¼r transition Town devon logo

Transition Town Totnes – plus Transition Town Totnes Facebook

Sustainability issues

The Neighbourhood Plan is a part of how we will achieve sustainability in Sidmouth.

Food, the production and delivery of and the contamination of, is obviously a sustainability concern. How to keep soils fertile and avoid our food actually poisoning us instead of nourishing us has been a problem since man began farming. We now have the problem of ‘food miles’ to address too.

The VGS was instumental in forming and running the Farmers’ Market, and starting the Sidmouth Food Festival, it is now run by Kennaway House. ( although there has been little activity since 2018)

Other strands are Energy, Transport, Building and protecting the environment, including Recycling.

With a view to protecting the environment VGS is supporting Sidmouth Plastic Warriors in their campaign to reduce plastic use in Sidmouth.