Woking

Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, South East England. It functions as a dormitory town of the London commuter belt and is located 23 miles (37 km) south west of Charing Cross in central London. Woking town itself, excluding the surrounding district, has a population of 62,796, and the civil parish, which covers part of the urban area inclusive of Sheerwater and Knaphill, has a population of 30,403. It should be noted that this population should not be confused with the local government district (the borough of Woking), which has an approximate population of 90,700 (2006 estimate).
=== Energy policy ===
Woking council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies. Several combined heat and power stations provide district heating and electricity, and electricity is also provided by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells dispersed throughout the borough. These are linked via an innovative private electricity distribution system operating completely off the public power grid.
In order to do this the local government laid new power lines to all locations on the Woking sustainable community energy system (due to Department of Trade and Industry regulations). Should the public power grid fail, central Woking would continue to have an energy supply. Woking shines in providing renewable energy, The Guardian, 2004-01-26
The cost for providing this is approximately UK£0.01/kWh less than for public electricity. It has been reported that the borough saves UK£974,000 a year in energy costs if the installation costs are ignored. By March 2004 the initiatives had also cut the borough's carbon emissions by 17.24%, and those of the council by 77.4%.London Climate Change Authority Press Release
=== Places, projects and networks ===
*Woking Local Agenda 21
*Agenda 21 on 'Window On Woking' community web site 
=== News Surrey 2010 ===
Environment Agency gives Goldsworth Park Lake – which is situated in the middle of a housing estate in Woking - a boost. 26-Jan Environment Agency, 26-Jan-10 The Environment Agency was approached by the Goldsworth Park Angling Group with the aim of making further improvements to the lake through new fishing platforms and habitat for wildlife such as dragonflies, damsel flies and frogs also wildfowl such as grebes, ducks, coots and moorhen. Fisheries officer, Adrian Bicknell from the Environment Agency: “We are very pleased to be able to help the park achieve even more for not only the environment but for the local community too. Several years ago we installed a disabled angling platform which has proved a huge success and attracts regular wheelchair bound anglers. We hope the new enhancements will encourage even more people to use the area and attract wildlife.” Further improvements carried out at the lake to improve habitat include planting of native species of marginal plant and the introduction of an eco island which provides a refuge for fish and wildlife. The angling group has also successfully received further funding from the “River Wey Fisheries Action Plan”, which supports local projects to improve fisheries and habitat.
=== Related topics ===
*Local Agenda 21
=== Related Wikipedia content ===
*Energy policy of the United Kingdom
External links
*Woking Borough Council
* Climate change and sustainability - Woking Borough Council. Information about the Climate Change Strategy, Woking's green initiatives, the Council's approach to sustainability, links to Woking Local Agenda 21 and the latest environmental news.
*Guardian article: Woking to teach London to be a world leader in tackling climate change
* Solar canopy is 'gateway' to town, BBC NEWS
References
category:Surrey