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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).
Sunday, March 5, 2017 at 9:50AM The Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company held its AGM at the parish rooms on Thursday 2 March and the Chair, Professor Roy Alexander, gave a review of the year and David Wilson ran through the finances. Plans for the coming year were discussed with the Board and members of the public. 
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:48AM Everyone is welcome to come to our AGM on 2 March in the Parish rooms at 7.30pm. You can chat to the directors of the Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company, hear stories about activities in the village and volunteer to help. Hope you can make it.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:35AM St John's Church in Ashton Hayes is raising money for the Lamb Hospital in Bangladesh that is supported by Tearfund. Our village has a long standing connection with Bagladesh, having hosted a special climate change delegation brough to the village by Oxfam around 9 years ago. At that time we agreed to provide support for PV arrays that will power solar lighting to help children and others study after dark. The Community Energy Company is now in a position to provide £250 of funds towards this excellent cause.
Here is our report from 2008:
6th March 2008: We had an extremely interesting visit today from Oxfam who brought along two people, Sahena Begum and Farid Hasan Ahmed, from Bangladesh. They wanted to know what we are doing as a village to help stem climate change but the most interesting part of the visit occurred at the Primary School where they told the 5-7 year olds about life in flood stricken villages where they live. The children were enthralled and asked some very insightful questions (through an interpreter for Sahena - Fariyah Rahman), for almost an hour. They were amazed to hear that Sahena and fellow villagers had no electricity, gas or lighting and had their houses completely destroyed by freak floods every three years or so. Sahana, who prior to this trip had never been on a bus, plane or train, told us that things were getting worse each year and that Oxfam
Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:32AM We are delighted that Maria Lindley has agreed to become a director of the Ashton Hayes Community Energy Company, taking up the place left by Dr Mary Gillie. Maria is and active member of the community and has accountancy and other skills that will be really useful to the team.
Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 11:02AM 
The Going Carbon Neutral team were delighted to welcome Duncan and Ellen King from from Mono Lake in California, USA. The couple are members of the local Mono Lake Climate Action Group that aims to educate people about climate issues and hopes to inspire progress toward a sustainable future that protects the climate of their alpine environment, snow dependent economy and the quality of life for humans and wildlife in the Eastern Sierra. It was great to share ideas.
