news

Press Release - Restoring the balance at Great Bow Yard

Ecos Homes, is celebrating the news that nearly £600,000 of funding has been approved for the next stage of sustainable development at Great Bow Yard in Langport, Somerset.

A Grade II listed warehouse, situated on the banks of the River Parrett, will be sympathetically restored by the end of the summer next year, using sustainable building techniques. The use of existing, local building materials will be a key element of the project, which will complete the Great Bow Yard development.

The South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), Somerset County Council and South Somerset District Council have provided funding to allow the warehouse to be renovated from a state of dereliction to a working building that will become an integral part of the local economy. The old building has an important historical past, formerly used by a firm of influential merchants 250 years ago, Stuckey and Bagehot, whose families individually and respectively went on to become founders of Stuckey's Bank, now part of Natwest Bank, and The Economist magazine.

Paul Buchanan, Somerset County Council Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, said: “The Partnership with the Somerset Trust for Sustainable Development is a key part of the County Council’s Sustainable Development Strategy and we are very happy to be working with such a forward-thinking organisation and look forward with great interest to the successful completion of the project.”

The aim of the eco-renovation project is to provide a multi-functional space alongside the 12 newly completed eco-homes, which have been heralded as shining examples of sustainable development. The restored warehouse will be an asset to the residents of the eco-homes and the wider community of Langport. The warehouse will also encourage economic regeneration by offering serviced office space for growing businesses, providing space for training, exhibitions and support facilities. There will also be a pontoon to promote leisure and recreational use of the River Parrett, which used to be the trading artery for this part of the world. Seen as a central point in the warehouse, a restaurant-café serving 100% local or organic food will double up as a gallery with local art on display.

The South West RDA has invested £350,000 in Great Bow Yard. “We believe this exciting development will raise business productivity, support business growth and key sectors such as tourism. It’s an excellent example of sustainable economic regeneration,“ said Carl Budden, the agency’s Somerset Head of Operations.

Sustainable reconstruction techniques will be used to gradually restore the warehouse, bringing the old building as close to its original state as possible. Carrek, a local company that specialises in the conservation of old buildings, has been contracted to start the project. All features will be carefully restored or rebuilt, using materials such as re-claimed timber, and bricks collected from the site during the development of the eco-homes. Of the three main sections, the Old Store has the most distinctive architecture, with oak lintels at the windows, brick arches and lime mortar. The entire roof will be restored and it is estimated that over 80% of the original tiles will be re-used.

Once finished, the warehouse will complete the picture at Great Bow Yard - with brand new eco-homes built using state of the art design and sustainable construction techniques, and the warehouse, carefully restored with as many of the original materials and features preserved as possible. This pioneering project is seen as an opportunity to engage the public and the private sector by showing sustainable development in practice.