Wye Adapts

This a catch-all project to integrate climate emergency measures, decarbonisation and community resilience across the Parish Council's general work areas, and its current projects. Foremost of which are its Wye Neighbourhood Plan Review, Design Code and Climate Action Plan.

The Parish Council is now free from the long term electricity contracts that it inherited from Ashford Borough Council. When these expired the Parish Council switched to a 100% renewable energy supplier. Going forward, purchases and projects will aim to minimise carbon emissions.

Having picked off quick wins opportunistically, the next step is to adopt a structured approach. This involves collecting carbon footprint data and running it through a new environmental calculator developed by the Kent Association of Local Councils to establish the base line for future action plans.

The purchase and renovation of the former Methodist church in Wye provides the Parish Council with new opportunities to integrate practical decarbonisation measures in its Wye Revives project.

The EV charging point initiative dovetails with the emerging Wye Highways Improvement Plan, and the Wye Breathes air quality monitoring study undertaken by the University of Kent in 2019-2020. This study identified that air quality in Wye's Conservation Area is poor, and comparable to busy Elwick Road in Ashford town centre.

The Wye Conservation Area has a narrow medieval street layout with narrow burgage plots and a high residential density. Consequently, many residents rely upon on-street parking. As a gateway to the AONB Wye also attracts many visitors. These characteristics combine to generate parking and air quality problems.

Electric vehicles are one part of the solution: charging points at the Village Hall for residents and visitors is one practical option under consideration.