Eco-house plan is turned down

COUNCILLORS at Warrington have refused planning consent for an innovative “eco-house” – despite praising it for its advanced, low impact design.
They agreed with planning officers that the house, while interesting and unusual, could also be described as “jarring and inconsistent.”
Cllr Sheila Woodyatt told members of the borough council’s planning committee: “It would be a fantastic house – eco-friendly and with so many features to combat climate change.
“But it would be completely wrong to allow it on a Green Belt site next to picture-postcard cottages.”
The application was for a futuristic house consisting of a pair of separate, two-storey highly insulated triple-glazed pavilions, one for sleeping and the other for living space, joined by a south facing glazed link designed to absorb and retain sunlight and store heat to be slowly distributed throughout its rooms.
The house was planned for Warrington Road, Hatton and was described by the applicant “one of the lowest impact builds in the country, paving the way for the truly environmental designs of the future.”
It won the support of environmental architect and author Sofie Pelsmakers, founder of Architecture for Change, a not-for-profit environmental build organisation which aims to challenge current design and build methods.
She said: “The environmental merits of this project are too many to mention, but its performance … indicates its light footprint on the site and the planet, acting as an exemplar scheme for the parish and its residents to be inspired by and be proud of.”
She added the house showed that low impact living was possible without sacrificing culture, history, comfort and local landscape.
But a report to the committee stated that, while some local residents supported the development, the majority were opposed to it because it did not blend with the general environment or individual look of houses in the village.
Hatton Parish Council also opposed the application.
Planning officers said the building would represent inappropriate development in the Green Belt and that there are insufficient “very special circumstances” to outweigh this.
Picture: An artist’s impression of the proposed eco-house.