Ashton Hayes Parish Council
What’s it all about?
Ashton Hayes Parish Council wants to help put the brakes on global warming by reducing the village’s greenhouse gas emissions. So we’re aiming to be England’s first carbon neutral village.
We know it’s a bold statement but we’re doing this because we want future generations to know that we recognised the dangers posed by global warming and took community action. We hope that you will support this initiative.
In January 2006 we’d like to invite you to an open forum where you can comment on a proposed village action plan that we are now developing. We won’t be asking you for money and we’ll not be expecting you to make any superhuman efforts. But we will be asking you to think about how your lifestyle is affecting global warming and take part in a household survey.
We’ve received a lot of interest and support from people in the village. In addition, the University of Chester is helping us to develop our action plan ideas and has offered to send survey teams into the village to help us assess our current level of emissions.
The local support unit of the Energy Saving Trust is providing free advice and will guide us in driving down emissions over the coming years. They’ll also be informing farmers about new types of energy crops that act as carbon dioxide sinks. Already, several landowners have offered sites for tree planting. And Chester City Council, which has already pledged to take actions on climate change, is giving us full support.
We look forward to discussing ideas with you in the New Year. If you are motivated to take action in the meantime, ask your electricity supplier to switch your house over to green energy that is obtained from wind or solar power. It takes one phone call (have your bill handy!) and your tariff should stay the same. This simple action puts pressure on suppliers to develop more renewable energy supplies and sends a clear message that we want to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
Ashton Parish Council
If you’d like to learn more or offer comments or support, please call our project coordinator, Garry Charnock, on 01829 752714 (email: charnock@t-e-s.co.uk)
18/11/2005
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