Join our electric car club

We are the first community in the North West to have our own all-electric Nissan Leaf zero emission vehicle – recently voted World car of the Year. It has an impressive performance with high equipment specification (including 5 seats, satnav, a/c and MP3 socket) and covers 85-105 miles on one charge. The vehicle also has top safety ratings. Anyone in the village with a clean driving licence* aged 18 and over can hire this fantastic car for short periods by booking over the internet or by phone. Current hire costs are £4.25 an hour plus 5p per mile (no fuel charges) with no annual membership fees. We are reviewing the costs based on feedback from members.

To ensure we run a professional service, Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral has teamed up with

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Volunteers surface our car park in a sustainable way

Left: Richard Ashworth is providing the plant for free to surface the car park while Andrew Garman (right) makes the edging tidy with stone donated by Ken Hartley.

The car park at the new recreation ground is being resurfaced with recycled road materials with the kind help of local people especially the Farrell family for materials. Geoff Newsome, a local farmer, is providing the recycled tarmac and Richard Ashworth is providing the yellow metal to lay and roll out the surface in time for Sunday's opening - see below. Andrew Garman has donned his work clothes to sort out the edges. Thanks also to Tommy Donnachie for supplying the gravel area in front of our new pavilion. Community effort indeed!

Low carbon pavilion opens this sunday 3rd July, 3pm

Ashton Hayes Sports and Recreation Association has great pleasure in attaching the programme of events and a map for this Sunday’s formal opening, starting at 3pm, of the village’s recreational field, play area and low carbon pavilion. Links here for programme and map. Come and see our new Nissan Leaf too!

Ashton Hayes in 'Villages of Britain'

Country Life editor, Clive Aslet, has added Ashton Hayes to his latest book of the villages that make Britain. Here's what the Book People say.

"Villages of Britain" is the history of the countryside, told through five hundred of its most noteworthy settlements. Many of Britain's villages are known for their loveliness, of course, but their role in shaping the nation over the centuries is relatively untold, drowned out by the metropolitan bias of history. A consummate storyteller, Clive Aslet deftly weaves the worlds of agriculture, politics, the arts, industry, folklore, science, ecology, fashion and religion into one irresistible volume. It covers: the Bedfordshire works that a century ago manufactured half a billion bricks a year; the Cheshire municipality, striving to become the country's first carbon-neutral community; the Derbyshire estate where the cottages represent the gamut of European architecture; the Gloucestershire community founded by Tolstoyans...(more on website)... All these are places that have made a unique contribution to the narrative of this country. Follow Clive Aslet in visiting all five hundred villages, and you will have experienced the history of these islands from a uniquely rural perspective.



Official: Electric cars have lower carbon footprint

Paul Clark at the Green-Car-Guide.com supports Ashton Hayes and has sent us this report...

Electric and hybrid cars create more carbon emissions during their production than standard vehicles – but are still greener overall, according to a new report.

The report highlights the increasing importance of accounting for whole life carbon emissions to compare the greenhouse gas emissions of low carbon vehicles. The report was prepared by Ricardofor, and in collaboration with, the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) that includes major vehicle manufacturers and oil companies.

The study found that some of the CO2 savings made during the use of low carbon vehicles is offset by increased emissions created during their production, and to a lesser extent disposal. However, overall electric and hybrid vehicles still have lower carbon footprints than normal cars.

For example, a typical medium sized family car will create around 24 tonnes of CO2 during its life cycle, while an electric vehicle (EV) will produce around 18 tonnes over its life. For a battery EV, 46% of its total carbon footprint is generated at the factory, before it has travelled a single mile.