So sad thatTatiana Schlossberg has died at 35. She covered Ashton Hayes GCN project for the NYT

Many people in Ashton Hayes will remember the three-day visit by Tatiana Schlossberg who was a committed climate change reporter for the New York Times. She spent several days in the village interviewing lots of people and attended our summar fair on the playing field. She also brought along a professional photographer to capture lots of images of our efforts for the New York Times. Her story ran on the front page of the NYT and International NYT on 22 August 2016 and resulted in global awareness of our efforts.

Tatiana, who was JFK's grandaughter, developed an agressive form of cancer in May 2024 and is survived by her husband George Moran and two children, three-year-old Edwin and one-year-old Josephine.

 For more on her background see the BBC website

Going Carbon Neutral Project celebrates 20 years this month

November 2025: It is now 20 years since Garry Charnock proposed to the Ashton Hayes Parish Council that it should aim to become England's first carbon neutral village. The Parish Council agreed and since then a tremendous change has happened in the village and its efforts to become carbon neutral have been recognised worldwide.

To mark this important milestone, Steve Holland, with support from RSK, has produced this graphic that highlights key events along the way.

All this could not have happened without the backing of residents and the team running the Ashton Hayes Community Energy CIC. We also give special thanks to Roy Alexander and Kate Harrison who have supported the project throughout this period. And our special appreciation also goes to Ashton Hayes Parish Council, University of Chester and the Primary School for their long lasting support.The project has never used Parish Council monies. Instead it won large grants that covered the cost of bulding the sports pavilion and financed the solar panels on the school and pavillion. The CIC revenues generated from exporting the power continue to support the school, the pub and the sports field.

Golden Lion community owned pub reopens and is once again at the centre of village activities

August saw the long-awaited opening of the Golden Lion pub in Ashton Hayes.  Many months of hard work by tradespeople and volunteers has transformed once run-down building into an attractive and welcoming place. owned by the community.  

Advice, input and financial investment from the Ashton Hayes Energy Company mean that the “new” 200 year old building has an Energy Rating of B, with generous insulation throughout, LED lighting and a large solar array at the rear of the carpark. 

The community of Ashton Hayes and beyond, including former residents in far-flung places, raised over £300,000 through the Community Shares Scheme. 

20 years ago, Garry Charnock raised the idea of a carbon neutral community in Ashton Hayes at the Golden Lion quiz night.  After 14 years of the community battling to save the pub, we have now come full circle.  A recent quiz night attracted 90 people.  Here’s to another 200 years of serving the village. 

It would have been impossible to complete the project without the generous and dedicated  work of an amazing group of volunteers, especially the A Team.  We also had the help of so many tradespeople who have gone above and beyond in many cases. 

 

Cheshire Life features amazing tree and wildlife garden in Ashton Hayes

October 2025

The October edition of Cheshire Life (pp136 -137) features an article about Kate and Martin Slack’s garden at Ashton Grange.  They moved to the property in 2015 and set about tackling overgrown area with non-native plants and trees.  With help from Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Trees for Climate they have, over 10 years, transformed the garden, with new trees and wildflower areas.

The garden can be visited on annual charity open days.

https://easyupload.us/MxeYOxu4rkCkwqP/file

AGM on Thursday 15 May 2025

We would like to invite members to our AGM at the sports pavillion on 15 May at 7:15. The Management Committee will give a review of the year and discuss plans for the coming year.