Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral

8 July: Energy Institute Workshop on Reducing demand, increasing efficiency - Institute of Directors, London. Garry to participate. For more details: Jacqueline Warner,Events Manager
t: +44 (0)20 7467 7116/ m: 07810 553973/ f: +44 (0)20 7580 2230
e: jwarner@energyinst.org.uk and http://www.energyinst.org.uk/

22nd May: Our vicar, Brian Perkes presents to Chester Diocesan Rural Ministry Group (about 25 rural parishes).

9th May: Garry to attend CPRE low-carbon rural settlements meeting for volunteers, in London.

28th April: Cliff Dressel and other members of Stroud Council pay us a fact finding visit.

25th April: Steve Holland films a greetings message to the Telluride Film Festival Audience in California, USA. We've been invited to attend and introduce our film, but we are doing this to keep our carbon footprint (and costs!) low.

25th April: Garry Charnock and David Robinson attend EPPlus training session in Winsford on the use of an infra red camera to detect heat losses in houses. The plan is to borrow the camera from EPPlus to help residents to reduce energy losses from their houses.

23rd April: Roy Alexander gave a presentation at the launch of Climate Friendly Communities Northamptonshire. The event took place at the Sixfields stadium (Northampton Town FC's ground).

23rd April: Roy Alexander had a useful interview and discussion with Dee106.3. We are planning to do a regular slot on their Breakfast show during the summer featuring their 'Breakfast Kids' and their families (plus Roy!). They are also working with Delamere Forest to encourage people to use the train.

Left to right: Alicia Burgum, Cara Peers Gemma Morton, Lee Davies
17th April: Team meeting for AHGCN members. 8pm Garry's House. We hope to meet the students (above) from the University of Chester who are carrying out the 2008 survey. Preview of our new film 'Our Footprint, Our Journey...the next steps'.

14 April: Chipperfield Parish Council Annual Parish Meeting. Garry to address the meeting about the Ashton Hayes project. Chipperfield is a parish of similar size and structure to Ashton Hayes and is located in Hertfordshire in the borough of Dacorum (Hemel Hempsted) just north of Watford. Further details from Dr Mike Bradshaw. Email: bramleymail-council@yahoo.co.uk

10 April: Goostrey Annual Parish Meeting: Speaker from Ashton Hayes to address the meeting about the progress of the Going Carbon Neutral project. 7.30pm in the Village Hall, Goostrey. Email parishcouncil@goostrey.fslife.co.uk of more details.

23rd April - Roy Alexander gives presentation to "Climate Friendly Communities in Northants".

20 March: Lynn and Richard May to join Low Carbon Communities Group second meeting in Bristol.

17th March: Road to Mouldsworth station to close for 4 weeks to complete our 'Carbon Neutral Footpath. If you'd like to know about the footpath construction plans, here is a link to the Cheshire CC site that describes the plans.

17th March: Christine Robinson to speak about our project to Montgomery Energy Group in north Powys, Wales.

12th. March: Kate Harrison to speak at the St Margaret's Village (Near Dover - Launch of its Going Carbon Neutral Project, 7.p.m. More details from Brenda Pau,l Chair of the St Margaret's Parish Council. (Near Dover).

11th March: Garry Charnock gives presentation to students at Frodsham College on their Global Awareness day.

10th March: Our new display cabinet arrives to house our Clarion and EI awards (Parish Rooms)

6th March: 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 was helping them to build refuges on higher ground and also providing some basic facilities. But she would dearly love a solar panel to power lights to enable children to study in the evening. Ashton Hayes schoolchildren probably went home tonight wondering how our lifestyles and living conditions can be so different

We are now hoping to keep in touch with the village via the GCN project and the school and see how we might work together to help them and spread the word about the impact climate change is having on the poorest people in the world. For information on the Oxfam project contact cworrall@oxfam.org.uk.

6th March: Heyday Magazine and Chester Chronicle join us for a photoshoot.

5th March - Roy Alexander gives presentation to Bedford Council Sustainability Meeting.

March: Construction of our new footpath to Mouldworth station should be completed, enabling residents to walk to the nearby railway station safely and providing an opportunity to leave their vehicles at home.

3rd March - Roy Alexander gives presentation at LGIU Seminar "Becoming an ethical town - from fairtrade to plastic bags" Local Government Information Unit, London.

3rd March: Rural Advocate's report which published. Ashton Hayes gets a good mention so we're incorporating a quote into the paper Prof. Roy Alexander written for the Journal of Local Economy.

3rd March: Ashton Hayes PC monthly meeting. 8pm Parish Rooms, West End.

1 March: Christine Robinson to present at ECO DAY from 10 - 2pm at Burcot village hall, near Bromsgrove.

1 March: Manchester Climate Forum conference: Climate Change: how do we prepare?.
There will be a series of workshops and discussions and debates around that theme. Roy Alexander will speak on behalf of Ashton Hayes on lessons learned, challenges ahead. Contact conference organiser Marc Hudson
0161 232 8177 or visit www.manchesterclimateforum.org.uk. Update: An audience of about 40 attended.

28 February: Roy Alexander and Mary Gillie to attend Carbon Connections conference, RIBA building, Portland Place in London.

28 February: Localeyes meeting in Bristol - we have been invited and are trying to send someone along. Contact Oliver Bramford (07905 093894). To find out more visit their site

27th February: Roy Alexander gave a live interview on City Talk Radio (Liverpool) about Energy Saving Day (E-Day), energy saving, carbon saving and the example of Ashton Hayes.

22nd February - Roy Alexander gives presentation to staff at Manchester Airport

22 February: Meeting with Nick Burton, Headteacher, Merton House School, Chester to discuss how the school might extend its eco-activities. (Sorry - we had to postpone this meeting)

20th February - Roy Alexander gives presentation to University of Chester Sustainable University Network as apart of its Perspectives on Sustainable Development series.

31st January: Change Productions to visit Ashton Hayes around midday to meet residents and discuss film ideas. Meet in the Golden Lion just after noon. This project will be running independently of the going carbon neutral project.

28th January: Chester Food Conference: Garry to speak about carbon neutral cuisine! Grosvenor Hotel - Pulford.Contact Conference organiser, Stephen Wundke, Scwirrel MAS, 29 Grosvenor St, Chester, CH1 2DD, 01244 350 298 for details.

24th January: United Utilities to take interested people from Ashton Hayes to its Ellesemere Port plant to see a small scale methane digestion/power plant. More details in timing to come soon. Evening visit is planned courtesy of UU. UPDATE: UU has kindly sent us their presentations for the evening. The files are up to 4MB each but they can be downloaded here file 1 - file 2 - file 3

27th December: Final newsletter of 2007 issues to residents of Ashton Hayes. Thanks to Lynn and Richard May of M&M Communications for the design and layout and help with distribution.

22nd December: Rob Blackhurst writes a half page update on the project in the Financial Times Saturday magazine.

18th December: Cheshire Life phones for a project update for its February 2008 issue.

6th December: Garry Charnock supports the Crichton Carbon Centre's meeting to engage the community of Dumfries, Scotland, in climate change activities. Robert Burns Centre, 7pm.

5th December: Chester Chronicle phones to get a 'Christmas Carbon Neutral Update'.

5th December: Rob Blackhurst of the Financial Times calls to get an update on project activity.

4th December - Roy Alexander gave an interview to Industry UK magazine for an editorial article to be published in conjunction with an announcement of the Energy Institute Awards for 2007. The article will appear in the New Year.

3rd December: Ashton Hayes Parish Council adopts terms of reference for the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Sub-commitee and votes unanimously to support the 'Carbon Connections' bid for funding by The University of Chester and EA Technology who wish to help us examine the feasibility of installing a renwables microgrid in the village.

1 December: Margaret, Alison, Cathy and David put up carbon neutral christmas tree outside the Golden Lion. Well done guys!

29th November - Roy Alexander gave a presentation about the project to 80 planners from across the North West Region at the Royal Town Planning Institute's North West Update Event, "A Greener Future for Planning" held at Chester Racecourse.

28th November - Roy Alexander gave a presentation about the project and CREd Chester at the "Development and Climate Change" event, sponsored by the Chester World Development Forum and the Department of Geography and Development Studies, held at the University of Chester. Audience about 25.

27th November: Team meeting at Garry's house to discuss new Terms of Reference with Parish Council as part of our drive to become a Quality Parish Council.

20 November: Hugo Deynem to address Uttlesford District Council and give a personal perspective on the project.

15 November: Ashton Hayes shortlisted for EI awards (Community Initiative) at the Sheraton, London. 10 people associated with the project are attending. WE WON THE COMMUNITY INITIATIVE AWARD!

On Thursday 15th November 2007 Ashton Hayes Parish Council won the 'Community Initiative' prize for its Going Carbon Neutral project from the Energy Institute (EI) at an awards dinner in the fabulous art deco dining room at the London Sheraton Park Lane Hotel. Will Carling OBE, former England Rugby Captain (second from right), presented a series of awards which are run in partnership with Deloitte. Garry Charnock (third from left) and Professor Roy Alexander (fourth from left) received the award on behalf of the Parish Council. The Community Award was sponsored by Hindustan Petroleum Company. For more details visit the EI website.

6 November: Roy Alexander spoke about Ashton Hayes at a Good Practice Seminar on "How to do Sustainable Economic Development" at LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) in central London to an audience of about 30 representatives from various councils around the country. In the evening he spoke to Zero Carbon Bedford which is a community carbon reduction initiative in Castle Ward, Bedford. Audience was about 30 again.

Possible 22/24 October: CPRW Youth Conference, North Wales - Post Peak Oil Scenario.

23rd October: Garry presents at PLANED launch of their energy network in South Wales at Narbeth. see here for more.

16th October: Roy Alexander gives presentation at Green Suffolk conference (see www.greensuffolk.org)

10 October: Kate Harrison gives talk on Ashton Hayes to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales.

10/11th October: Tracey and Garry attend Ruralnet meeting in Sutton Coldfield. Garry to address the delegates.

3rd October: Garry to meet with Good Energy representatives in Wiltshire to discuss Ashton Microgrid plans.

2nd October: Garry to address Wootton & East Hunsbury parish council (Northampton) meeting at 7.30pm (on way back from Norwich!)

Top: Local councillors at Wootton and East Hunsbury are full of great ideas - good luck with the project!
Thanks also go to Neal Prescott (2nd from right) for organising the meeting (Garry is on right below)

2nd October 2007: Garry to attend meeting at UEA with Cred and Carbon Connections.

29th September: Tracey attends all day conference in the Peak District, Lady Manners, Bakewell.

28th Sept: Team to attend the Clarion Award Ceremony to see if our shortlisted film 'Our Footprint, Our Journey, has won!

27th September: Garry Charnock to speak at the Herts County Council AGM, 6pm for 6.30pm at County Suite, Herts County Council, Hertford. SG13 8DN.

24th September: Garry gives short talk to the Restaurant Association of Chester and Cheshire about Going Carbon Neutral. Duke of Portland Pub, Lach Dennis, Cheshire.

24th September: Tracey gives presentation at the Community Futures event in Preston, Lancs.

18th September 2007: Ashton Hayes teams up with NEA to host village 'walkabout' of carbon neutral initiatives.

14th September: Tracey attends launch of Mold Going Carbon netural and gives press interviews.

12th September: Team members speak at the 21st Century Village meeting in Middlewich, Cheshire, 7pm. Roy/Tracey

11th September: Presentation by Tracey to councillors and representatives of the Sustainability Group of Stockport Council

11th September: Team meeting at 8pm Ashton Hayes Parish Rooms: To discuss the next steps.

3rd August: HES completes three free energy audits of Ashton Hayes houses - Thanks HES!

13th July: Richard May will give a presentation to Voluntary Action Cumbria’s 21st Century Village event in Penrith.

18th July: Rural Advocate Stuart Burgess visits Ashton Hayes to hear the views on the community on adopting a low carbon lifestyle - Golden Lion at lunchtime and then a walkabout to meet residents. Garry and Roy have also been invited to dinner to discuss ideas with local leaders at Willington Hall.

13th July: Garry Charnock will be in Petersfield, Hampshire meeting an invited group of County, District and Parish Councillors, and members of the public from across Hampshire, who are interested in our project.

11th July 2007: 6:30-9:00pm. Bank of America (MBNA Europe), Chester Business Park Light (locally sourced) refreshments will be provided. Linda Williams - Tel 01244 402364. The choir of Ashton Hayes Primary School will open the event by singing their “Carbon Neutral Rap”.

2007 EVENTS COMPLETED (chronological)
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11 July: Freelance photographer Neil White spends three days in the village preparing a photo-journalism piece. If you wish to buy high quality photos of our project, contact Neil directly on 07984 430753 or visit www.neil-white.co.uk.

10th July: Ashton Hayes GCN team meet Frodsham Forward team to discuss ways of inspiring Frodsham and Helsby and other locations in Vale Royal to adopt low carbon liefestyles.

9th July: Janet Gullvåg, vice chairman of Nøtterøy Arbeiderparti (Nøtterøy Labour Party) is working with the island called Nøtterøy with a population of approx. 22,000 inhabitants to inspire it to follow the Ashton Hayes example. They have asked for support for their idea but have agreed that we are not aligning politically with the project.

9th July: Ashton Hayes to take part in day of workshops for schools and local businesses at Chester Grosvenor Park (check the blog for more details soon)

8th July: Come and meet residents from Ashton Hayes at the Only One Earth Festival in Chester’s Grosvenor Park

(top) Barry Cooney awaits our interview with Graham Norton with a degree of trepidation! Below is a studio shot of 'our pal' Graham and Zac Goldsmith (right). A fun if rather surreal day!

7th July: Live Earth concert features 7-minute film on Ashton Hayes. Audience of 2 billion expected.

5th July: Garry Charnock to represent the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral project in Whittington, Staffordshire.A great meeting and lively audience at Whittington. Good luck with the banning of incandescent light bulbs!

4th July: Garry Charnock and Roy Alexander discuss work at The University of Chester.

3rd July: We will be entertaining a group working on a project at Middleton-in-Teesdale “one of our aims is to reduce the carbon footprint of the village. We have like yourselves have completed a baseline study and have commissioned a company to do a full feasibility study to "map" the types of renewable technologies which could be appropriate for the village. We have just had an open day to invite local residents to see what technologies are available and how they operate”. Says organizer Lorraine Robinson

17th June: Congregation at Frodsham Methodist Church watch “Our Footprint / Our Journey”

15th June: Second feature on Ashton Hayes appears in The Big Issue.

14th June: Johanne Mygind visits Ashton Hayes from Denmark to report on our efforts for daily newspaper “The Information”.

12th June: Representatives of Ashton Hayes meet with Frodsham Forward to discuss plans to make Frodsham the first Carbon Neutral Market Town.

The Daily Telegraph runs a feature on Wolvercote in Oxford. Members of the Wolvercote team came to our conference in April – read what they say about Ashton Hayes: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/ashtonhayesth.php

6th June: Garry & Anne Charnock give presentation at the Juice Bar, Chester, to local residents.

1 June2007: Student team completes 2nd year survey. Thanks for an excellent effort. Results will be analysed by the University of Chester and published in summer.

31st May: German TV viewers find out about Ashton Hayes. This is the link to the little internet site that NDR (North German Radio and Television) set up on the piece, and if you click the film roll symbol on the top left you should be able to see the movie. http://www3.ndr.de/ndrtv_pages_std/0,3147,OID4030512_REF2482,00.html Thanks to Björn Staschen and the rest of the team.

Garry Charnock chats to Bjorn and the crew
1 June 2007: German TV team visit Ashton Hayes to find out more.

Tracey Todhunter (left) and Yvonne Dowan (right) talk to Mike and Meridith Allan about energy savings.

29th May: Visit from Mark Allan, General Manager Project Planning and Design from Australia's 'VicUrban' - the Victorian Government’s sustainable urban development agency. We shall be taking 'tea' and sharing ideas!

Mark's organisation is committed to providing excellent public outcomes for the State of Victoria. VicUrban works in partnership with the public and private sector and carries a diverse portfolio of projects including: Melbourne Docklands; new suburban communities; urban renewal projects; and Transit Cities. The organisation works in urban developments across metropolitan and provincial Victoria.
The following sustainability objectives underpin delivery of VicUrban projects:
Community well-being;
Environment;
Commercial success;
Urban design excellence; and
Housing affordability.

28th May: Mark Lynas (second from left) debates climate change with David Milliband and Jeremy Leggett (far left) and suggests to the audience that they check out the Ashton Hayes project! Thanks Mark.

24th May: Bjørn Westlie, Norwegian journalist visits the village to find out more

18th May: Rory Cellan_Jones interviews residents about energy savings in preparation for broadcast on 22nd May when the Energy White Paper is launched.

14th May: Ashton Hayes gains coverage across Canada. CBC spent a day in the village talking to residents and finding out about reducing energy consumption in British homes. Read the response about us on this Canadian blog http://www.onedaybowen.ca/

14th May 2007: Ashton Hayes to address the deanery synod - respresentatives of upto 21 parishes from around Chester - at St Philip's church in Kelsall 7.45 p.m.

10 May: Ashton Hayes is visited by a multinational team of Generals keen to learn more about the environmental committment of our community. Thanks to the Golden Lion for an excellent lunch.

4th May
Kate Harrison speaks to Settle Chamber of Trade about our project. Thanks for the positive feedback Steve.

1st May: Jason Teasedale visits Ashton Hayes to write a report for The Big Issue in the North Environment issue

MAY 2007: Second university survey starts in Ashton Hayes to assess how our actions have cut our emissions. The survey will tak about 5 weeks.

28th April: Ashton Hayes is main feature in the Environment Issue of the Financial Times Saturday magazine. Garry is featured on the cover and members of the team and community are interviewed in an excellent 6-page interview by Rob Blackhurst. The article has drawn interest from around the world.

19th April: Ashton Hayes features in Sweden's Dagens Samhalle newspaper (page 14). Thanks to Sven Cahling for visiting the village and joining in with the pub quiz!

18th April: We get another mention on Treehugger – read about us and a similar project in Bollington: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/ashton_hayes_th.php

17th April 7.30pm: Ashton Hayes appears in ITV 'Making a difference' programme on climate change. Thanks to Fred Talbot and Jon Mitchell and the crew for such a great programme.

A word of thanks. The 2007 Calendars of Climate Change were supplied to our Conference by eco-publishers Flipside Vision. www.flipsidevision.com. Thanks to Diana Korchien for becoming a sponsor..

Run up to conference: Too busy to list all the activities (!) but a big thanks to all the team and press for support and a really huge thanks to Tracey Todhunter for all the conference planning.

Tracey Todhunter (right) talks to delegates at the Warwick District Council 'Climate Change - Our Challenge' event in Leamington Spa on 5th April. The meeting was organised by Encraft and inspired lots of innovative ideas. Garry Charnock gave the keynote address.

5th April: Ashton Hayes to speak in Leamington Spa at the Pump Rooms 10.30am . Tracey and Garry attended. Thanks to all the folk who turned out - interesting day full of innovative ideas..

3rd April: Roy Alexander invited to speak to a group of Cumbria County Councillors in Kendal on climate change.

3rd April 2007: Garry carries out live interview for BBC world service radio at 2.30pm in Manchester.

2nd April 2007: Ashton Hayes Parish Council receives second tranche of DEFRA grant for 2007/8 communications support (Note: This money cannot be used to finance village projects). Thanks to DEFRA Climate Challenge fund for the £12,700.

2 April: Dr Roy Alexander features on Bay Radio, Morecambe, talking about the climate change meeting in Kendal on 3rd April.

2 April 2007: Garry visits Glasgow University to discuss the development of the new Carbon Centre at Crichton in Dumfries, Scotland.

30th March: Garry Charnock presents to BRAF Conference 2007 "Rural Action: Can it Make The World of Difference?" Rufus Centre, Flitwick, Bedfordshire.

29th March: Garry Charnock & Roy Alexander Talk to Barrow Woodland group on tree planting/carbon sinks.

Pub spirit!: Barry Cooney (centre), landlord of the Golden Lion pub in Ashton Hayes, is pictured here selecting the winning ticket in a raffle for people who assisted Ged Edwards (left) with his research in the village. The prize, dinner for two at the Golden Lion, kindly donated by Barry and Diane Cooney, was won by Mrs Kathryn Bryant of The Meadows. Congratulations!
Ged is in his final year of an MSc in Climate Change and Sustainable Development at De Montfort University in Leicester. His research is independent of the project and has the full support of the Parish Council, with Ken Hartley representing on the right. Ged is examining the factors that may prevent people from taking part in environmentally-friendly behaviour and initiatives like the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project - and what motivates people. The results will be out later this year.

Sunday 25th March: Ashton Hayes features in The Observer newspaper. Thanks Juliette!

23 March 2007: Tim Brownlow (Lecturer in Environmental Science) and students from SAC Auchincruive, Ayr, Scotland drop into the Golden Lion to discuss the project.

Thursday 22nd March: Team meeting, Lane End Farm, 8pm plus Granada filming in Ashton.

Wed 21st March: Michel R Tin Sive informs us that we have appeared in "Le Mauricien" - the top evening paper in Mauritius with a readership of around 40-50 K. The story alerted him to our project.

Wed 21st March: Ashton Hayes feartures in Ecologist magazine (April issue), along with other cool communities!

Weds 21st March 2007: Roy Alexander invited to give a lecture on Community Carbon Reduction at Liverpool John Moores University.

17th March 2007: Tracey Todhunter presents our project to the MARGJIN Climate Change Conference in Liverpool.

15th March 2007: Ashton Hayes project features in Science Week at The University of Chester, 7.30pm.

Monday 12th March 2007: Ashton Hayes featured by AFP on Yahoo News and in Quebec and on the French Batiweb - thanks Elodie for the story and to Alison Ambrose for spotting them! Just noticed Kerala's and China's interest!

Weds 7th March 2007: Roy Alexander to show DVD and speak at Bosley VIllage Climate Change Meeting.

Tuesday 6th March: Meeting with EA Technology in Capenhurst to discuss the micro-grid.

FEELING THE HEAT: After the anniversary event people were invited to the Golden Lion public bar to view infra red images of houses that illustrated areas of heat loss from our buildings. Thanks to Channel 4 TV for helping with this. The images stimulated much discussion (programme to be broadcast on 5th March).
5th March 2007: Channel 4 Dispatches TV programme, with George Monbiot, feature Ashton Hayes in a 50-minute programme (around 8pm we think!).

1 March 2007: Agence France Press visits Ashton Hayes. Thanks to Elodie for a great day.

28 February 2007: Ashton Hayes presents to Hyndburn Energy Forum, Accrington, Lancashire. (01254 380675)

23 February: Parish Council awayday to discuss plans for achieving 'Quality' status.

Weds 21st February 2007: Dr Alexander gave a lecture about the project and showed the DVD, Our Footprint: Our Journey, as part of the Perspectives on Sustainable Development series at the University of Chester.

21 February 2007: Ashton Hayes invited to speak to students at the Imperial College 'Ethical Careers' seminar in London.

18th February 2007: Steve Holland produces low resolution version of our new video that you can watch online. Click to view the video (broadband recommended).

18th February 2007: Tracey Todhunter reports that tickets for our April 14th conference are selling out fast. Please apply soon if you wish to come!

18th February 2007: Team members erect our new 2m x 1.5m notice board on Church Road. This will enable us to display A0 maps of village carbon neutral acivities provided by RSK's mapping facilities. Thanks to Colin Todhunter for making such a wonderful job of this and to the Dobson family for allowing us to attach the board to Village Farm barns.

15th February 2007: Windsave turbine erected on Primary School. The unit will provide power to the school but also serve as a demonstration unit for the entire community.

14th February 2007: Ashton Hayes participates in seminar on Personal Carbon Allowances at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in The Strand, London. Thanks to the UK Environmental Research Institute for inviting us. We have volunteered to trial PCAs at some time in the future.

12th February: Ashton Hayes Parish Council meeting. Monthly report on project activity.

7th February 2007: Ashton Hayes and Chester CRed team invited to House of Commons (Portcullis House), Westminster to celebrate CRed's growing success in the UK, USA and China. Thanks to Marcus Armes and Trevor Davis for inviting us.

5th February 2007: Reports from Berlin and Frankfurt newspapers visit Ashton Hayes on a fact finding mission.

31st January 2007: Interview with 'Dealing with Climate Change - Whose Responsibility Is It?' for The BBC World Service's Turkish Section - thanks to broadcaster Ebru Dogan.

31st January: Ashton Hayes presented evidence at Cred/House of Commons Event, organised by DEFRA at the University of East Anglia. 'Climate Challenge - Citizen's Agenda' . Event is recorded on video and in Hansard.

29th January 2007: Ashton Hayes presents at Cheshire County Council's Climate Change Scrutiny Meeting at the meeting room at the Verdin exchange, Winsford. 1300 to 1715.

26th January 2007: Hugo Deynem interviewed by Chris Evans on BBC Radio at 6.20pm.

26th January 2007: Dr Roy Alexander interviewed by Radio Lancashire about the project.

26th January 2007: Garry Charnock interviewed by World Service radio 'Europe Today'.

26th January 2007: The Guardian runs a 1/3 page story on our project, page 15. Thanks to David Ward for coming to the village.

25th January 2007: George Monbiot congratulates Ashton Hayes on its community efforts.

25th January 2007: Barry Cooney at the Golden Lion reports that he's now saving over £200 a month from his energy bills by taking simple actions associated with switching off kitchen equipment and beer coolers, computers, cigarette machines and changing light bulbs. He is now looking into waste composting.

25th January 2007: WORLD PREMIER OF OUR PROJECT FILM (Our footprint, our journey), plus Anniversary Celebrations at the Primary School, Church Road. Around 300 people turn out on another cold night - what support! Thanks to everone for coming and the Brownies for the popcorn, WI for doing the drinks and all those who brought stands and participated. As usual, a huge thank you to the schoolteachers and children. The English bubbly and popcorn went down a treat!. Contact us if you'd like a copy of the film.

The LAST STRAW: AndyFosterArchitects presented this idea for insulating our old 'mobile' classrooms at the primary school. Adding straw bale insulation (orange blocks) to the walls and a well insulated pitched roof would prevent a lot of energy escaping.

24th January 2007: Talk to the Weaverham Trust (local organisation) about the project by Dr Roy Alexander.

24th January 2007: Legat Owen make a further donation towards the project. Many thanks to Peter Johnston and his Partners.

24th January 2007: Colin Todhunter completes contruction of large public display board for our village maps.

24th January: Eurotree Services make a £100 donation to the project and Haworth's Fruit farm provide bottles of local apple juice for the anniversary event.

23rd January 2007: Golden Lion reviews energy use and carries out survey. Media visits and meeting with NEA team who plan to host a 'conference delegate' visit to Ashton Hayes on 18th September 2007. This will involve a pub lunch and tour of our carbon neutral activities.

23 January 2007: RSK Group plc donates a further £500 towards the project. Many thanks to Dr. Alan Ryder and all the team. Also to Craig Scott at RSK for doing the computer plotting.

22nd January 2007: New sponsor, Earthborne Paints surveys Parish Rooms to prepare for sponsored paint with their non-VOC emitting paints. One small step for climate change!

22nd January 2007: OrganicFair in Chester have offered us free soft drinks for Thursday night's event and the Brownies offer to make and serve popcorn. The WI team volunteer to serve the champagne!

21st January 2007: New sponsor Earthborne Paints surveys Parish Rooms before carrying ou free re-painting with non VOC paints. More soon.

21st January 2007: Sponsor Solartwin of Chester offers £100 and support at anniversary event on 25th January.

20st January: Ashton Hayes agrees to talk to their neighbours in the Barrow Tree Planting group on Friday 23rd April.

19th January: Mark Lynas of the New Statesman agrees to talk at our Grass Roots Conference on 14th April. Thanks Mark!

18th January 2007: High winds postpone team meeting to Sunday 21st January, 8pm, Lane End Farm. The team has now extended to 27 people.

18th January 2007: BBC 24 News TV crew to visit Ashton Hayes and ask people about the Government's new offsetting plans. Five live broadcasts from Garry Charnock, Hugo Deynem, Claire Lewis and Barry Cooney and Tracey Todhunter and Michelle Deynem. Sadly the hig winds cut off village power and we were unable to cover the school event. Thanks to Nick, Debbie and David and the rest of the team for spending a day with us in tough weather conditions.

15 January 2007: Ashton Hayes shares experiences with Bollington Carbon Neutral Group in Bollington, Cheshire. Church House Inn, 7.30pm.

11 January 2007: Chester Chronicle carries two-page feature on the project to announce our anniversary celebrations, promote CRed Chester and offer energy saving tips.

2006 EVENTS ARCHIVE(chronological)
========================================================

9th December: First carbon clinic at the Ash-Worth Timebank Coffee morning on Saturday morning.

7th December: Ashton Hayes Participates in recording of BBC Radio 4 programme on Climate Change at the Royal Society of Arts, The Strand, London. 7-9pm.

6th December: Ashton Hayes joins Sustainable Cheshire Forum, Chester Town Hall, morning event.

30th November: Tree Planting at Ashton Hayes Primary School. Click here for details.

25th November, Chester Climate Change Awareness Raising Event with CRed.We are collaborating with a number of agencies to stage an awareness raising event on Climate Change to take place probably in the Quaker Meeting House, Frodsham Street.

25th November: Ashton Hayes project to be presented to Eco-Congregation Sterling, Scotland. Going Carbon Neutral: Launch Event - an initiative facilitated by Stirling Methodist Church in association with Stirling Council and the Community Carbon Reduction Programme. 10am - 4pm , Council Chamber, Viewforth, Stirling. Click here for press release

18th November: John Pearson of Cheshire County Council and Ged Edwards of De Montfort University carry out first Eco-survey of the Go;den Lion pub with Barry Cooney, Landlord.

17th November: Local Area Committee gives the Ashton Hayes Parish Council/Carbon Neutral project £350 out of the second round of the 2006/7 budget. This is to be used to provide project notice board. Thanks to Anne Lancaster for the support.

17th November: Garry Charnock presents the latest project news to a Chester Labour Party Meeting in Vicarage Road, Chester. It is made clear that the project has no political affiliations.

16th November: Meeting with the Ash-Worth Timebank to discuss collaaboration on our carbon clinics programme.

13th November: Parish Council Monthly report on the project. We learn that Cheshire Highways has allocated funding to construct a 400m long safe footpath to the nearby Mouldworth Railway station. So we can now use rail travel to go into Chester and towards Manchester. A great success for the project!

10th November: Ashton Hayes project visits Philippa Goodrich at BBC TV Centre in Shepherd's Bush, London, to discuss particpation in BBC Radio 4 programme with Ed Sturton of The Today Programme.

9th November: Team meeting to form 5 new project groups. The expanded project team has now reached 20 volunteers and we have formed 5 key action groups. Carbon Clinics, Conferences and Exhibitions, Technology and Design, Carbon Sinks and Press and Community Communications. We also agree the 'Big Rules' of the project. Click here for these details.

27th October: Heather, Neil and Greta Barrett from Castlemaine, Australia, pay a 4-day visit to Ashton Hayes to share experiences and cement our twinning relationships between the community, school, pub and football team. They make a video on our community effort and plan to send a video back to Ashton Hayes from Castlemaine.

Neil, Heather and Greta Barrett take a stroll on the Peckforton Hills during their
visit to Ashton Hayes.

26th October, UEA CRed Annual Report, Norwich. Garry Charnock thanks the CRed team for their support for the Ashton Hayes project and congratulates the team on its record of achievement.

24th October: Video interview with VC of the University of Chester as part of our documentary film for DEFRA - postponed.

17th October: Meeting with MD of EA technologies to discuss their offer of carbon offsetting support for Ashton Hayes. Here is the statement from Robert Davis, MD expressing support for us and a plan to investigate a renewables micro-grid for the village. Click here for statement

12th October: Chester Launches CRed system to give all its 160000 residents a personal pathway to carbon neutrality. Ashton Hayes has been a driving force behind this event, linking the UEA CRed team and finding main sponsor RSK ENSR.

26th September: Talk to Westminster Park Residents Forum (Evening): Details to come.

21 September: Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral project to be presented to the community of Burton at 7.30pm, Gladstone Village Hall, Burton.

11th September: Ashton Hayes project features in 'Good Practice Exhibition, Queens Hotel, Chester. 10am - 3pm.

August activity report: This is a quiet month with many of the team on holiday but we are busy working with Chester City Council on our 12th October launch the Cred 'personal pathway to reducing carbon dioxide emissions'. Every citizen in Chester is to be given pesonal access to this system, developed by the University of East Anglia carbon reduction team, and we believe that Chester will be the first city in the world to do this. We are planning a series of launch activities around the city and a mini-conference. The UK Charity Carplus, that promotes repsonsible car use (http://www.carplus.org.uk) is offering support on the day.

We are also pleased to report that we have many new offers of help and our Ashton Hayes Carbon Neutral team is now growing fast. We are assigning responsibilities and two people have offered to help organise our 'grass roots' climate change conference that we plan to host in Spring 2007 as part of our DEFRA grant objectives. Other communities with similar objectives to ours will be invited to share experiences in creating awareness of climate change issues.

BBC TV is also coming to see us on 12th September to discuss possible opportunities to film some of the village carbon neutral activities. By the time they film we hope the school will have the demonstration wind turbine.

We are also talking with our 'ecocongregation' friends in Scotland about how we might share ideas http://www.ecocongregation.org/ and we are in discussion with Matlock about how we can help them embark on a carbon neutral scheme.

Our next major presentation is on 11th September at the Chester 'Good Practice Event' that draws together community projects in and around Cheshire (Queens Hotel, City Road). We are also particpating in the LGA event at the racecourse on 13th September.

July 2006: The University of Chester completes the baseline survey for the village and sends out individual assessments for every house that completed the forms. They also make a wonderful poster analysing our current baseline and feedback from residents.

27th June: Ashton Hayes invited to speak at the public meeting of the Stratford Climate Action Group, Stratford Upon Avon

26th June: Tattenhall Parish Council (near Chester) is considering going down the carbon neutral route and wants to hear the views of Ashton Hayes and asks for permissions to use our project logo (we are flattered!).

21st June: The community of Brilley, near Hay on Wye hears about our project and shares ideas. 7.30pm.

20 June: Ashton Hayes and the University of Chester present our project at the Cheshire Show, Tatton.

Mid-June 2006: Student survey completed: After 5 weeks of hard labour our student team managed to interview residents in around 170 houses, and some village businesses. It seems like we put approximately 5000 t/yr of carbon dioxide into the air. This is a preliminary figure as the University is studying the data over summer to give us a more definite baseline figure. For more on the survey click here>>>>

25th May: RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGY FAIR AT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL 4PM - 7PM.
Public opinion on proposed renewable energy projects at the Primary School was recorded at this event and the vast majority of residents are in favour of the solar thermal panels and Windsave Turbine. The County Council now plans to proceed with planning applications. The village is eagerly awaiting these demonstration units and several families have expressed a keen interest in installing similar units on their houses.
schoolrenew

Thanks to County Planning Officer, Hannah Parish, for organising the school event - and to the school.

21st May 2006: Brownies, leaders and parents carry out tree count in specified areas of Ashton Hayes Parish.
EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO BAD WEATHER

20th May: Forest Row Eco-Footprint meeting, East Sussex. Talk on Ashton Hayes GCN project to a welcoming and lively community that is considering its own 'Going Carbon Neutral' project. Thanks to Rose, Kate and Richard for their hospitality. Great attendance including a 3 hour visit by Peter Ainsworth, Shadow Minister for the Environment (below left) who learned more about Ashton Hayes and told us that his party was keenly interested in climate change issues.

MP Peter Ainsworth listens to concerns about climate change in Forest Row, East Sussex and about our actions in Ashton Hayes

16th May: Ashton Hayes project is presented at the National Home Energy Conference in Blackpool.

15th May 2006: Helen Gibbs of The University of Chester to advise Ashton Brownies on tree counting/monitoring techniques.

12th May: Ashton Hayes project gets a mention in the Daily Express and Chester Chronicle and students are photographed for the NW Enquirer newspaper.

9th May: Talk to Cheshire Tree Wardens, Winsford. 7pm. Very interesting meeting with positive outcomes as other regions of Cheshire are interested in our approach.

8th May: Parish Council meeting 8pm Votes to twin with Castlemaine in Australia.

5th May 2006: Meeting with EA Technologies at Capenhurst to discuss the possibility of making Ashton Hayes a technology testbed for renewables technology. Rob Ford and John Person present along with others from EA and Cheshire County Council.

6th April 2006: Ashton Hayes project to be presented in Huxley Hall at the Area Committee meeting 6.30pm

5th April 2006: Ashton Hayes is given a mention in Australia by Terry White the Executive Officer of the Central
Victorian Greenhouse Alliance mentioned us on ABC Central Victorian radio this morning. He talked of the fantastic work and leadership that Ashton Hayes is doing and about the visit Professor Steven Hall made to Chester.

30th March 2006: Ashton Hayes project to be presented at the North West regional conference of the Energy Saving Trust, Blackpool.

28th March: Katie and Laura Nunnerley of Ashton Hayes Primary School feature in the Guardian's G2 supplement today -- another one for the cuttings book! Well done girls.
Katie has since had a 3 page reply from Edward Clark of DEFRA's National Climate Change Policy Division. See their letters here.

22nd March: Meeting with Chester City Management Team: Project Coordinator and Technical Advisor meet with members of the Chester Executive Management to discuss ways of sharing the experiences in Ashton with other communities in and around Chester.

21st March 2006: Presentation to Lib Dems 'Serious Social' at the Olive Tree pub, Kelsall. Open meeting and CRed team from UEA Norwich will also be presenting.

Professor Steve Hall (left) meets with Dr Roy Alexander (Centre) and Garry Charnock at The University of Chester to share ideas about project methodology.
20th March 2006: Professor Steve Hall from Ballarat University near Melbourne Australia visits The University of Chester to share ideas on going carbon neutral. See also our contact in Castlemaine, about a 1 hour drive from Ballarat (according to Heather Barratt of Castlemaine)

17th March 2006: Bibi vanderzee from Guardian G2 contacts the project with a view to interviewing schoolchildren about the project.

17th March: Ashton Hayes agrees a summer meeting (during the Hay literature festival) with Ruth Morgan and other members of the community of Brilley, near Hay on Wye, to share ideas on carbon neutrality and how we might work together.

16th March 2006: Heather Baratt of the community of Castlemaine near Melbourne, Australia is also trying to go carbon neutral and contacts Ashton Hayes in the hope that we can 'twin' with their community. We are hope our project partners will agree to this very soon. Good luck Heather and team!>>>>more

15th March 2006: Local business sponsor agrees to provide part funding for CRed project in Chester. Funds are now being sought from local authorities.

10th March 2006: Visit to Energy Saving Trust in Winsford to discuss ways of introducing community-based renewable energy into Ashton Hayes.

8th March: Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project is presented to Chester In Partnership at Chester Town Hall. This open meeting offers a forum for people and community representatives to learn more about projects in the Chester area.

6th March 2006: Meeting with Peter Bulmer at Cheshire County Council: We are delighted that Cheshire County Council is providing full backing for the project as is examining ways in which they can help Ashton Hayes achieve its carbon neutral ambition. Peter described the areas in which the County Council could help. The first step is to see if they are able to build a new and safe footpath to Mouldsworth Station. More on this soon.

3rd March 2006: Brownies receive £300 'Carbon Neutral Project' donation from Mr D. Searle of Ashton Hayes Estate and will use this to fund essential equipment costs.

2 March 2006: BBC World Service 'Warm World' radio coverage, first 6 minutes and last 4 minutes. The transmission times are 1006, 1506 and 2006 on World Service (and 0206 Fri on Radio 4) - best picked up on digital radio or tv. You can also hear the programme on demand for a week from Thursday morning at this url:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/one_planet.shtml

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20 February: Local solar panel manufacturer, Solartwin of 50 Watergate St, Chester, has offered to put a demonstration solar panel in Ashton Hayes, provide information and install panels and at reduced costs to residents. Three people have so far expressed an interest. We need to move quickly to obtain the £400 grant towards the panels (Ends 31st march) and if you'd like to know more about the offer please contact us.We are also currently making an easy-to-read document that explains the planning considerations in using renewables and we are meeting the conservation officers at Chester City Council in the week of 27th Feb.
Here is an independent comment from a user: "We had a Solartwin panel installed on our house 18 months ago and we have certainly noticed a difference in the bills during the summer. Also we are in a conservation area in Holt in North Wales and had no problem with the placing of our panel. I can thoroughly recommend Solartwin
for the installation and the panels." says Professor Cynthia Burek, The University of Chester."

20 February 2006: Sweden follows Ashton Hayes inititative, according to Mark Lynas blog! "Some more good news: taking its cue no doubt from the Cheshire village of Ashton Hayes, Sweden has announced plans to become the first carbon-neutral country." Thanks Mark!

18 February 2006: Following the presentation at Ashton Hayes Primary School, Laura & Katie Nunnerley wrote to the Prime Minister and suggested he encouraged other villages to follow suit - read their letters and his replies. Well done girls!

10 February 2006: EST announces lucky winners of HEC prize draw: Note as follows from Eric Whitworth...
"We've had a fantastic response to the mail out, over a hundred by the 31st and still coming in.
The prize winners have been notified and we will be organising a presentation and photoshoot next week. The winners are:-
1st prize - Mr D W Bowker, 5 Peel Crescent, Ashton Hayes, Chester
2nd prize - Mr J Critchley, 17 Peel Hall Lane, Ashton Hayes

8 February 2006: Project Coordinator, Garry Charnock, addresses Chester City Council Environmental Forum.

8 February 2006: RSK ENSR produce 150 copies of digital maps of village for primary school children to take home and modify.

26th January 2006: Launch features on BBC NW Tonight, Granada 'Party People' and Dee Radio 106.3.

03/04 January 2006: Project and University of Chester representatives visit to CRed, UEA, Norwich for baseline survey advice and request for support.

Helen Gibbs (University of Chester Coordinator for the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project) discusses the latest CRed software for monitoring carbon emissions reductions with Matt Taylor (Center) and Marcus Armes (right) of the CRed team at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. We are hoping to use the CRed software and advice in the village carbon dioxide monitoring and baseline computations. The software is already being used by over 4000 people/organisations across Eastern England. More>>>

Summer 2005: Greenpeace debate at the Hay Festival inspires action: The Greenpeace debate on climate change featured Dir David King and Lord Oxburgh (Shell) and was held on a very windy day which was appropriate for the subject matter! It was this debate that inspired Garry Charnock to take positive action in Ashton Hayes.

Press and community communications (Scroll to base of page to see all events)

Press and community communications
(Scroll to base of page to see all events)