Ashton Hayes Carbon Neutral project awarded £500,000 by Government to help fuel school and village

Feb 11 2010 by Ben Coulbeck, Chester Chronicle

A PIONEERING community is celebrating after being awarded up to half a million pounds by the Government.

Ashton Hayes, already known nationally for its efforts to become the first ever carbon neutral village in England, was one of just 12 winners from across the UK to win the six-figure funding.

The money, allocated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, will be spent on a new central heating system for the village’s primary school which will also have solar panels installed on its roof.

Extra heating created by the eco-friendly boiler will be sent to surrounding houses, further reducing the carbon footprint of the community. Emission have already been reduced by almost 25% since the project started four years ago.

Project co-ordinator Garry Charnock said: “We are very pleased. We have realised we need to start to look at renewable energy.

“Scottish Power is interested in working with us and may allow us to use their lines for our power plant, which would be the first time it has been done in the UK.

“It’s all very exciting. It’s because of a lot of hard work by more than 40 people.”

Speaking to The Chronicle, Energy and Climate Change minister Joan Ruddock heaped praise on the Ashton Hayes team.

She said: “We want to help communities that can help themselves. We also want to learn from them. No community fits that criteria better than Ashton Hayes, they have made their mark nationally.”

Members of the Ashton Hayes Carbon Neutral project met Mrs Ruddock at a ceremony held in London on Monday.

Members of Sustainable Blacon joined Ashton Hayes colleagues after the Chester project won £500,000 funding in December.