;)
Located in rural Cheshire, Ashton Hayes is a well knit community of about 1000 people that is aiming to become England's first carbon neutral community. We started our journey in January 2006 and since then we have already cut our carbon dioxide emissions significantly - by working together, sharing ideas and through behavioural change. We now have our community owned renewable energy company.
This website encapsulates our journey towards carbon neutrality and offers free advice and guidance. Please feel free to use anything from our website (we'd like a credit if you can).
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 10:13AM Kate Harrison is a finalist in the Observer Ethical Awards Great Energy Race and is doing her best to reduce her energy with gizmos and gadgets provided by B&Q, who are supporting the Race. She has done an analysis of how much energy she uses around her house and sent us this amazing table.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 12:28PM ASHTON HAYES CELEBRATES EARTH HOUR
SATURDAY 29TH MARCH 2014
Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company are holding a special event to celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday 29th March. Earth Hour is now an annual event when communities around the world are encouraged to switch off lights and electrical items for an hour between 8.30 and 9.30pm.
Last year many people in the village did the big switch off and the difference was shown on Scottish Power Energy Network’s monitoring of village power use.
This year we would like to do a bit more. Cheshire West and Chester Council are planning to install new LED lighting along Church Road – you can see an example on the corner opposite the Golden Lion. These lights will be much cheaper to run and will help towards our carbon neutral aims. They can be controlled remotely and could be switched off for the hour. It won’t affect the rest of the lights in the village. (Update: Lights are being installed - see photo)
Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company will be holding a special event at the Recreation Field and Pavilion. All are welcome – from babies in buggies to people with walking frames!
Serving hot chocolate from 8 till 8.30.
Countdown to Earth Hour
Free glo-sticks to light your way as we parade round the track.
Don’t forget to bring your torches for the route home.
Solar or wind-up torches would be good!
DON’T FORGET TO SWITCH OFF BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME
If any children would like to decorate a torch or lantern it would be a great addition to the event.
If you have any questions, please email Kate Harrison
Kate.harrison2@btopenworld.com
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 12:29PM ;)
For all those who like social media, we have set up the @AshtonHayesCEC twitter feed to give you news/updates/ideas while you are on the go. Please follow us and tell your friends.
Friday, January 24, 2014 at 3:44PM 
If you are ever sceptical about how much energy can be saved by behaviour change and efficiency measures have a look at these four graphs. They show how Kate Harrison's never ending drive to cut her energy costs has reduced her gas and electricy use over the past 9 years by about two thirds. Kate now sits by her cosy log fire and contemplates how big her bills might have been had she not followed the advice of the Going Carbon Neutral Project.(Here is a recent gas graph in KwH
Kate also features in this month's edition of Cheshire Life (with Lisa and Debs) for their work in the amazing Ashton Hayes Community Shop. She was also featured in Ethical Living in The Guardian in 2007.
Friday, January 24, 2014 at 2:53PM On Monday 27 January the Department of Energy & Climate Change will release its long awaited Community Energy Strategy (CES). This document has been put together with advice and comment from many practitioners in community energy across the UK, including Ashton Hayes. Garry Charnock, instigator of the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project, is a member of the Community Energy Contact Group which meets every month in London to give informal comment to DECC teams and Ministers responsible for developing the CES.
It is hoped that this document will result in a step change in the uptake of community energy initiatives and that many villages will follow the lead of places like Ashton Hayes in reducing their energy consumption and setting up a community energy company and other social enterprises. We are pleased that the 8 years of pioneering effort by the Ashton Hayes community is highlighted by DECC.
The CES will be available for download on Monday 27 January after 10am. We will provide a link to the CES from this website once the embargo is lifted.
