Boost for Sustainable Building

The Centre, near Blandford Forum, provides a new approach to providing information about sustainable building.

Co-located with the Dorset Centre for Rural Skills, it provides a one-stop shop for information and resources, advice and design facilities. A wide range of sustainable building products are displayed and for sale to homeowners, potential owners, builders, planners, architects and surveyors, in Dorset, South Wiltshire and East Somerset.

The Centre's reception building has been built using straw bales as a showpiece example of the technologies on offer that are low impact and energy efficient. It provides a wonderful example as to what sustainable building means in practice.

Complete timber frame and straw bale buildings can now be designed and built to order using locally sourced timber and straw, with the Centre providing advice to people planning projects using this technology. There are also registers local architects, builders and planners who specialise in sustainable building practice. This project is a shining example of environment-friendly building the government is encouraging. Environmental standards are being tightened for everything including energy, water, waste and materials.

Jim Knight MP, Minister for Rural Affairs, supports the new Centre and its aims. He said:

"The opening of the Sustainable Building Resource Centre is brilliant news for anyone who wishes to build or repair homes or business premises more sustainably. The materials are here, the skills are here, and there is the opportunity to learn more about building in a way that will produce less waste and be more efficient in the future.

"It's a win-win situation where, by taking more care in the design and construction of all our buildings, they can become more rooted in their environment, and save money for their occupiers by being more energy efficient. I wish the scheme every success."