THE Duke of Gloucester visited the Freshford Galleries to open a new plastic saving initiative – the Village Pump.

The opening at the community shop and café took place on Wednesday (Sept 26) as part of Wessex Water’s Watermark Awards 25th anniversary celebrations.

The Village Pump is a combined bottle filling and drinking fountain which is designed to reduce the need for single-use plastic bottles and reduce plastic waste.

Locals from Freshford and Limpley Stoke will be encouraged to carry a reusable bottle - available from Galleries shop - and use it to refill rather than throwing away money on single-use plastic bottled drinks.

Most of the funding for the Village Pump came from the two local villages as a big thank you to two residents, Gitte and Stephen Dawson, who were responsible for the foundation and success of the Galleries.

The Duke said: “I think it’s a lovely idea and a great public facility. I had assumed it was a water pump that you push up and down but all you have to do is to press a button.”

The installation of the Village Pump was supported by a £500 grant from Wessex Water’s Watermark grant scheme. This encourages communities to increase public access to drinking water in honour of their 25th anniversary.

The Galleries is a community built, owned and run shop and café set up in 2009 to meet the needs of the residents of Freshford and Limpley Stoke. The shop and café are staffed by local volunteers and stock a range of local products.

The Galleries is owned by FLiSCA, which distributes its profits to local projects.

Simon Coombe, chairman of FliSCA, said “We are delighted to receive a royal visit to mark the launch of our initiative to reduce plastic waste locally and the chance to mark the contribution Gitte and Stephen have made to our community.

“We are grateful to Wessex Water for their support and hope that their drinking fountains will help reduce plastic use across the Wessex area.”