The prize for one self-builder who’s included energy-saving features in their new home is £5,000 cash. The competition is open to non-N&P mortgage customers and ends on 31st December 2004.
Annually, an estimated 20,000 people “self-build” their own homes every year. With the effects of global warming, such as increased flooding, making the headlines on a daily basis, the aim of “green” mortgage lender, N&P’s competition is to raise awareness of how these homes can be built in a more environmentally-responsible way.
N&P’s competition is open to anyone who has undertaken a “self-build” that is kinder to the environment. The winner(s) will be the entrant(s) whose property has, in the opinion of the judges, made the most positive impact on the environment.
There are many energy-efficient features that can be incorporated into a brand new home including:
- Building on a “brownfield” site (thereby not building on virgin countryside)
-Water recycling systems that re-use household water
- Super-efficient insulation and/or double-glazing
- Energy-saving central heating/water heating systems
Anyone interested in entering the competition can pick up a leaflet from any N&P branch, or telephone the Society’s Contact Centre on 0845 300 2522.
Last year’s winners, Lincolnshire architect Jerry Harrall and his family made environmentally-friendly features a priority in their wonderful “teletubby” home near Spalding. Jerry and his partner Kay Woods describe their four bedroom, single storey, earth sheltered home as a 21st century low-carbon dwelling. Jerry, a Chartered Architect with Sustainable Ecological Architecture Limited, (SEArch), occupies Europe’s first and only earth-sheltered architect’s office on the same site.
Graham Wood, managing director of N&P’s surveying arm Hockleys, and one of the judges of the competition, said at the time: “This is one of the most exciting residential developments I have seen in my 36 years as a surveyor and a very worthy winner – truly a grand design! The aim of the competition was to raise awareness that including more energy-efficient features in house-building is really an option for everyone, from major developers down to the individual. Making homes energy efficient saves people money and helps the environment – everyone wins.”
