Ashton Hayes Parish Council's "Ashton Hayes Carbon Neutral Project"

The Cheshire village of Ashton Hayes is aiming to become the first small community in England to achieve carbon neutral status - an idea first put forward by tes Chairman Garry Charnock who proposed the project to his local Parish Council last November. This month the project was selected by the UK Department of Food and Rural Affairs for a £26,500 award as part of its Tomorrow's Climate, Today's Challenge project campaign.

The project is attempting to develop an easy-to-use methodology for measuring baseline emissions from a small community to assess each year how energy saving actions are helping to reduce their carbon footprint. The idea has not only encouraged village residents to rethink how their lifestyles might be affecting climate change but has also inspired communities around the world to follow suit. tes, along with local environmental consultancy RSK Group plc have been the main business sponsors for the project since the January launch. The project is also being carried out with help from a host of local organisations, including The University of Chester and Chester City Council.

The DEFRA funding will enable the village to produce a film that explains the link between climate change and carbon neutrality. A team from tes, including Steve Holland, Stacey Clarke and Nicola Beech are actively involved in supporting the project.

tes, along with DEFRA, is also supporting the coordination of a village conference or event for all similar communities working on, or interested in, the idea of carbon neutrality and explaining the links with climate change.

Find out more about tes involvement www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk

Contact:
Project Coordinator
Garry Charnock