The possibility of Chiswick becoming the first eco-village was discussed by Chiswick residents at St Michael and All Angels church last Thursday.

Suitably called Green Night, those attending heard from a number of speakers dedicated to turning Chiswick green.

David Shreeve, director of the Conservation Foundation and environment adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury was first to the stage to stress the responsibility of all faiths for protection of the environment.

He revealed that the Church of England was the cause of 1.3 million tonnes of carbon released annually into the environment, putting it on par with the large supermarket chains. He said that St Michael’s had to make a change.

One idea aired at the meeting to make St Michael’s an environmental forerunner was to place a solar panel frame on the roof.

Chiswick architect Oliver West reassured listeners that the frame would not be visible from the outside of the church and although costing £5,584.50 would provide the church with 60 per cent of its own hot water.

He said: “It is very encouraging to think we can do something at St Michael’s. Trying to reduce the output of carbon is our first responsibility, if we can save money as well that’s a bonus.”

The revolutionary plan to turn Chiswick into an eco-village was proposed by Eco, the new shop and consultancy in Chiswick High Road, owned by the actor Colin Firth, his wife Livia and her brother Nicola Guiggioli and the financier Ivo Coulson, who were the last speakers of the night.

Nicola explained the three initial steps he hoped would bring about Chiswick’s transition to eco-village; to replace all plastic bags with environmentally friendly ones, to get shops and residents around Bedford Park to switch to a green energy supplier and to work with the council to create a better recycling programme.