Dates for litter picks 2026

We’re looking for local volunteers to join two planned litter picks in the Christchurch area this year. These community sessions are always productive, friendly and surprisingly good fun – and they really do make a visible difference to our streets.

The confirmed dates are:

Wednesday 2nd April 2026 from 11.00am–12.30pm 

and 

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 from 11.00am–12.30pm

We’re also hoping to add two Saturday dates, as weekends are especially popular and often attract families who like to join in together.

Our previous litter picks have been very successful, usually with around 10–12 volunteers taking part. The more people who come along, the quicker and easier the task becomes.

Areas typically covered include Shinfield Road (to Pepper Lane), Christchurch Road (to Warwick Road), Cintra Avenue and Warwick Road, Cintra Close, Whitley Park Lane, the top of Upper Redlands, Upper Redlands and around New Road, Elmhurst and Marlborough Avenue, Upper and Lower Mount, Northcourt Avenue and Wellington Avenue. The exact target areas are adjusted on the day depending on how many volunteers turn up.

We’ll meet at 11.00am at the corner of Northcourt Avenue, outside Greggs. The plan is to collect litter for about 1 to 1.5 hours.

All equipment will be provided, including litter bags, litter pickers, gloves, hi-viz vests and hand sanitiser. If you have your own equipment and are happy to use it, you’re very welcome to bring it along.

Afterwards, volunteers are invited to gather for refreshments at Happy Panda Cafe, including hot drinks, snacks, or lunch. It’s always a lovely opportunity to chat, meet neighbours and strengthen our local connections, so please do bring some money if you’d like to join us.

Simone Illger will coordinate activities on the day and remain stationed at the corner by Greggs during the litter pick to answer questions and support volunteers.

If you’d like to take part, please email:

christchurchgreenfriends@gmail.com

to register your interest. This helps us estimate numbers and also allows us to contact you in the event of cancellation due to bad weather.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on 2nd April and working together to keep our neighbourhood looking its best.

Welcome to Friends of Christchurch Green

Who are we?

Friends of Christchurch Green (FoCG) is a group of neighbours who live in and around the Christchurch Green area of Reading. Many local residents have called this area home for years – often decades. With the town centre and the Royal Berkshire Hospital close by, Christchurch Green is a much-loved and well-used part of the community.

Friends of Christchurch Green was formed in early 2020, when seven very local residents came together following another Reading Borough Council planning application meeting affecting the area. The aim was simple: to give local people a collective voice and to work positively to protect, enhance and improve Christchurch Green and its surroundings.

Our aims and objectives

Our work is guided by the following aims:

• To encourage collaboration with interested parties and stakeholders

• To preserve and enhance Christchurch Green and its surrounding area

• To strengthen the sense of community and belonging

• To help make Christchurch Green an area that the community can be proud of

• To seek suitable funding opportunities that enable improvements for the benefit of the area

The group has continued to evolve and meet on a bi-monthly basis, alongside local Councillors and representatives from the University of Reading.  We discuss and progress identified issues and improvements for the area. There have been positive changes to the area, and the group continually strives to keep the area somewhere that residents and visitors can enjoy and feel safe in.

You are warmly invited to join our future dialogue and development.

What we’ve been working on

To date, our work and ideas include:

• Website (this Blog) – fairly basic (yes!), but tells people what we are about and how to contact us.

• Heating shop: Christchurch Road (and adjacent area of land) - discouraging unsightly rubbish tipping. 
• University and Councillors engagement: Regular communication with the University Community Engagement Manager regarding improvements to the Green. Whilst local councillors and the local MP have given their support to our aims and objectives and some of the activities we have undertaken to date, the Friends take no part in Party Politics. 
• Heritage Board: The funding, design and erection of a Heritage Board on Christchurch Green, linking the University with the Community. History of Whiteknights campus and the local area, bringing a sense of belonging to the area for new residents and new students. 
• Conservation:  Receiving regular feedback from the Conservation Committee (CAAC) on areas of special interest. 
• Social activities:  Arranging social gatherings – the chance to meet neighbours and make new friends. 
• Litter bins: Planning for more litter bins, perhaps sponsored by the University (consolidating the University and the community) along the kerbside to prevent cars mounting the pavement.
• Information sharing:  Through regular meetings, sharing information that is relevant and applicable with a mailing list.A website – simple but informative, explaining who we are and how to get in touch.
• Setting up a bank account:  There isn’t a cost to joining the group, but there are incidental costs to what we do, such as printing this letter.  A voluntary contribution of £5.00 to the account will ensure that no individual is out of pocket as a result of our activities.  Our bank details are as follows:

Account Name: Friends of Christchurch Green 

Account Number: 51195089

Sort Code: 60-01-13

To make a donation, please use your surname as a reference so that we can accurately monitor payments and maintain a (confidential) record of all payments made.

 The group has also investigated and instigated: 

• Regular litter-picks in the vicinity. We continue to monitor and report on the littering. 
• Deliveries and parking bay (Christchurch Road shops) 
• Keeping Cintra Park a place that the whole community can enjoy and use
• The condition of Back Lane behind Christchurch Road shops 
• Monitoring of and suggested changes to cycle lanes, traffic calming measures
• Monitoring and responding to planning applications in the vicinity, both new and those in progress 

WE INVITE YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS - COME JOIN US! 

Many residents around the Green have lived in their homes for years - often over decades.  Newcomers to the area are impressed by the friendly community that welcomes them.  Although much has been done, there is still much to do. You may also have ideas and views that haven’t been covered in the above. 

If you are interested in joining the Friends of Christchurch Group, we would like to hear from you. We have a mailing list to keep you up-dated about the work we are doing and the issues that affect this area - your neighbourhood! 

If you would like to know more, receive updates about what we are doing, or be involved in the work of the group, please complete the contact form, and someone will be in touch.

Litter pick - Wednesday 26th March 2025, 1-3pm - please join us!

Some of the volunteers at a previous litter pick

Local volunteers are needed to help with a litter pick in the Christchurch area on Wednesday 26th March 2025 - 1pm-3pm.

Our previous litter picks have always been very successful, with around 10/12 volunteers. 

On this occasion we will be working collaboratively with the University of Reading who are also recruiting volunteers, so that between us we should have an excellent turn out.

The area covered will include  Shinfield Rd (to Pepper Lane), Christchurch Road (to Warwick Road), Cintra Avenue & Warwick Road, Cintra Close, Whitley Park Lane, top of Upper Redlands, Upper Redlands and around New Road, Elmhurst and Marlborough Avenue, Upper and Lower Mount, Northcourt Avenue, Wellington Avenue.  

The pick up area will be adjusted according to the number of volunteers who turn up.

Volunteers will meet at 1pm on the corner of Northcourt Avenue outside Greggs.

The plan is to collect litter for 1-1 1/2 hours - the more participants we have, the less time it will take. 

Litter bags, litter pickers, gloves and hi-viz vests will be supplied as well as hand sanitizer. If you have and are happy to use your own equipment, please feel free to bring that along. 

Any rubbish collected will be placed into existing street litter bins or left in tied bags next to bins. If volunteers have any space in their own wheelie bins, it would be helpful if some litter could be taken away and disposed of in this way.  Any glass collected will be deposited in the recycling banks in Pepper Lane. 

Once the litter pick is completed, volunteers are invited to get together for refreshments (hot drinks, snacks, lunch) in the Happy Panda Cafe, so please bring some money with you.  This is always a chance to meet and get to know your local neighbours.

Simone Illger will be co-ordinating activities on the day, and will stay stationed at the corner by Greggs during the litter pick to assist with queries. 

If you are interested in helping with this initiative, please could you reply to this email address by Sunday 23rd March, to get an idea of numbers and can plan accordingly.  It will also allow us to alert you if the event is cancelled on the day due to bad weather.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the 23rd.

Litter pick - Saturday 30th September 2023

Many thanks to everyone who turned up this morning for a very successful litter pick. 

There were 20 of us in total, picking for about an hour and then most stayed for refreshments and a chat at the Kung Fu Kitchen afterwards.

Northcourt Avenue seemed to win in terms of the quantity of litter, especially at the Christchurch Road end!  Unsure of whether that's as a result of students returning, or just because we've not collected for a few months.

Thank you to those folk who took away bags of rubbish to get rid of in their own household waste bins.

Next Litter Collection - Saturday 30th September 2023

We are looking for volunteers to help with a litter pick in the Christchurch area on Saturday 30th September. Our previous litter pick in March was very successful, with around 17 volunteers.  We hope that by organising this for a weekend, others unable to make weekdays can be involved.  

The area covered will include:  Shinfield Rd (to Pepper Lane), Christchurch Road (to Warwick Road), Cintra Avenue and Warwick Road, Cintra Close, Whitley Park Lane, top of Upper Redlands, Upper Redlands and around New Road, Elmhurst and Marlborough Avenues, Upper and Lower Mount, Northcourt Avenue, Wellington Avenue.

The pick up area will be adjusted according to the number of volunteers who turn up! 

Volunteers to meet at 11am on the corner outside Greggs. The plan is to collect litter for 1 - 1.5  hours - the more participants we have, the less time it will take.  

Litter bags and litter pickers, gloves and hi-viz vests, and hand sanitiser will be supplied. If you have and are happy to use your own equipment, please feel free to bring that along.  

Any rubbish collected will be placed into existing street litter bins or left in tied bags next to bins. If volunteers have any space in their own wheelie bins, it would be helpful if some litter could be taken away and disposed of in this way - especially items that can be recycled.  

Any glass collected will be kept separate and deposited in the recycling banks in Pepper Lane. 
Once the litter pick is completed, volunteers are invited to get together for refreshments (hot drinks, snacks, lunch) in the Kung Fu Kitchen, so please bring cash or card with you. 

I will be co-ordinating activities on the day, and will stay stationed at the corner by Greggs during the litter pick to assist with queries.  For those who haven't yet met me, I use an electric wheelchair, so am easy to spot.
If you are interested in helping with this initiative, please could you reply to me by Wednesday 25th September, so I have an idea of numbers and can plan accordingly.  

If the weather is against us, I'll send an email around early on the 30th to let you know whether or not it is planned to go ahead.   

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on the 30th.  

Litter collection - 9th March 2023

Friends of Christchurch Green organise regular litter picks in the area.  With equipment supplied by Reading Adopt Your Street (RAYS) - grabbers, high-vis vests, gloves and collection bags, the volunteers spend about an hour picking litter and then enjoy a social get-together and refreshments in the Kung Fu Kitchen.

Our local Councillors (Redlands & Church Wards) also regularly support these events.

Timings are usually 1100hrs - 1200hrs for the litter picking.

It's a great way to get to know your neighbours - and your area, a little better.

Contact us via the contact window on this page to let us know if you'd like to participate in the next one.

Litter collection on a rainy day - 9th March 2023