In Lincolnshire one of the most eco friendly office buildings in the Midlands has been launched by local farmer Henry Wilson, who was looking to diversify.
His creation is Eco One, an office building which is not only green, but is helping to create employment in a rural community.
Henry Wilson used the flexibility of rural Lincolnshire to build the eco commercial office. He said: “Lincolnshire has so much space, it needs developing sympathetically to generate more jobs and grow the local economy. I spent months researching diversification projects which would suit the farm. And being just eight miles north of Lincoln, and not far south of Scunthorpe and Grimsby, we hit on the idea of an office building – and the Eco One was born.”
Eco One will be in the top slot of the BREEAM ‘excellent’ status sector thanks to its pioneering design. Its photovoltaic solar panels allows Eco One to produce clean renewable energy, whilst its wood burning stove will cut heating costs by 50% year-on-year. Other features include highly insulated walls, a rainwater drainage system, and automated temperature controls which open windows in warm weather.
Not only is there the highest spec in green technology, but there is superfast broadband. The broadband capacity runs between 10MB and 100MB, it rivals that seen in some of the UK’s biggest cities.
Henry said, “The capacity of the broadband has been picked for heavy business use including high performance media work, internet hosting, offsite storage or synchronisation, high capacity communications and video streaming. It’s ideal for tenants that need media rich environments.
“It’s been the case for some years that farmers are diversifying,” says Henry. “As farmers, we are looking in all aspects of our work to be more eco friendly, and so we decided to make this a green build. I like working with new technology and so became really interested in environmentally friendly builds. You could not do this sort of green building in the city.”
“This time last year we had planning but no grant. It’s all happened in a year. It would not have been possible without the grant money; the grant from Defra allowed us to go that extra mile with the green credentials. We worked with a local expert Brown & Co to make sure it all went through OK.
“We don’t know anyone who has done anything like this before – it is a first in Lincolnshire.”
Building started in March 2011 and lasted 29 weeks. The contractor was local builder Trent Valley Construction. Eco One is 12,000sq ft of office accommodation, available from 1,500sq ft to 3,000sq across two levels.
What is immediately apparent when looking at this building is the number of huge windows. And windows bring in natural light – so there is less need to flick on the light switch. They are double glazed and gas filled to aid insulation.
At the centre of the building’s green credentials is its wood burning heating system. Willow chips are used to fuel the heating of the building. The only waste produced is a tray of ash which needs emptying once a week. The ash is used as a fertiliser for soil. By using the willow there is absolutely nothing left at the end of the process.
In the future the Wilson’s hope that they will be able to use willow from their own farm for the wood burner, which cost £15,000 to install. This is expected to save 50% on their annual heating bills alone.
Each of the four spacious offices is individually heated and has separate electricity consumer units. Rainwater is used to flush toilets, and if they fall too low, only then are they topped up with mains water. Showers are also available for those who want to cycle to work. The solar panels on the roof generate power for the buildings.
Joint agents Pygott & Crone and PPH Commercial are marketing the building. William Downing, from Pygott & Crone, said: “This is an office building which could attract a range of businesses. Each office will take around 25 people – although one company may wish to take the whole building. It will give people the choice of working in the countryside, not too far from Lincoln, Grimsby or Scunthorpe. Being on the A15 it’s easily accessible and especially so because it is near to the M180.”
Charles Atkinson, from PPH Commercial, said: “This is a tremendously exciting instruction for us. It is the first time, in this area, that any agent has had an opportunity to market an eco building. Eco One is ideal for companies with an interest in renewable energy such as an architecture practice, but it may equally suit a company which wants a bright, airy space to work – and low running costs.”
Anyone wanting to take a closer look at it can attend an open day on Friday 20 April, 9am to 12 noon.
