Zero Carbon Home Bid Put On Hold

[Herb Fellow]

An eco expert's hopes of building a pioneering zero carbon house will have to wait a while longer. Paul Bourgeois was seeking to construct the family home on a plot of land leased by the Norwich diocese at Little Melton.

The house would have a host of environmental features including locally-sourced hemp and straw bales forming the outside walls, solar panels, a wind turbine and a reed bed to treat recycled rainwater. It would also be open to visitors 25 days a year and include community and educational training space.

However, South Norfolk Council's north-west area planning committee refused consent on Tuesday because it is a rural location and they considered the access and parking provision to be unacceptable. But the councillors voted to approve the home in principle subject to an alternative site being found.

Mr Borgeois said: “I am pleased that they supported the principle of the project and they there were keen to work with me in looking for a suitable site in the south Norfolk area.”

The three-bedroom property would look like any other normal modern home, but is likely to be the first occupied and constructed zero carbon house in the country. For a home to have zero carbon status all the energy it uses has to be produced on site.

Source: The Wymondham and Dattleborough Mercury
Copyright: 2008 Archant Regional
Contact: Staff
Website: Wymondham and Attleborough Mercury - Zero carbon home bid put on hold