Green light for Whitehill Bordon’s eco exhibition home

An exhibition home which will pilot the latest carbon-busting technology and design was given outline planning permission on Thursday night.

Approval was given for the new house which will serve as an exhibition so residents can go inside it and see how low carbon living could work.

The exhibition home will be built in the grounds of the disused MoD Fire Station – which has been bought by East Hampshire District Council to convert into a community and training facility called the Eco Station.

Planning approval was also given for solar panels on the tall existing drill tower and a biomass boiler – which will power the development in an eco-friendly way.

Now that outline approval has been given for the exhibition house, a detailed plan will be drawn up after public consultation.

The biomass boiler will serve the new two-bedroom exhibition home as well as the future Eco Station and will also be capable of providing heat to up to 25 surrounding homes.

The architects who are designing the house are Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects and they plan to make the construction of the building as much a part of the exhibition as the finished product.

The architects plan to use local products and labour, where possible, to create a state-of-the-art home.

As well as this house there will also be an international architectural competition to build four more demonstration eco-homes on this site.

A planning application for Fire Station has already been submitted.

The Eco Station will provide community and training facilities as well as being a base for information about the Eco-town and how residents can benefit from it.

There will be information about retrofitting – which is making energy-saving improvements to existing houses and buildings.

There will also be a dedicated room to chart the natural history of the town and an area for the local history society collection.

Cllr Andrew Joy, Portfolio Holder for Whitehill Bordon, said: “Now that we have outline approval for this scheme we will consult with the community about the detailed proposals.

“The house will incorporate a range of technological innovations and promises to offer an eye-opening experience.

“The aim is to start building this exhibition house at the end of this year.”