Environment Week: Okehampton Business Centre sets green standards

Okehampton’s prize-winning Business Centre is an example of what can be done when local councils have the will to think environmentally.

Developed and managed by West Devon Borough Council, the Centre, which provides 16 starter business units for new firms, won the Project of the Year for a building over £3-million in the Michelmores and Western Morning News Commercial Property Awards.

The Centre is the first development on the 26-acre Opportunity Okehampton site, alongside Exeter Road.  It's green credentials are key to its success as it’s one of the most sustainable and eco friendly buildings of its type in the region. The development is expected to save up to 50 tonnes of carbon emissions each year - about 80 per cent less than using conventional energy sources - through the unique way it has been designed.

Cllr James McInnes, Leader of West Devon Borough Council, said: “We’re delighted with the quality of the building which has proved to be a first class environment for businesses. This is a significant project for West Devon Borough Council and demonstrates how economic growth can be achieved in an environmentally sustainable way.”

The centre’s other green features include building materials chosen for low environmental impact, windows designed to increase natural lighting and conserve electricity, solar panels to provide a significant percentage of the buildings’ energy needs, a wind turbine which provides 6KW of power, and a boiler fuelled by wood pellets.

The starter unit offices have natural ventilation, rainwater will be collected and reused in toilet facilities, and the buildings have energy efficient fittings.

Since it opened, the centre has won four major building awards.  These include the South West Green Energy’s Best Small Renewable Energy Scheme, the Local Authority Building Control’s Best Sustainability Project, an award of excellence from the Institution of Civil Engineer’s Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme and the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method Award.