Hyde Farm (£2.5m mansion to be made out of straw)

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/wantage/9542298.__2_5m_mansion_to_be_made_out_of_straw/?ref=twtrec

£2.5m mansion to be made out of straw

11:00am Tuesday 21st February 2012 in

An artist’s impression of the country mansion made from straw bales in Baulking near Faringdon.

THE lesson learned in the fairy tale of the three little pigs is that straw is not the best material to build a house with.
However, an Oxfordshire landowner is hoping to build a £2.5m mansion near Faringdon made out of 25 tonnes of hay.
Yet any future inhabitants need not be afraid of the big bad wolf as tests have shown the straw bricks, which are covered in a lime render, can withstand hurricanes and even earthquakes.
The planned seven-bedroom home in Baulking, complete with eight acres of garden, a lake, a moat and tennis courts, has been strongly opposed by local residents because of its scale.

The application for the scheme at Hyde Farm is currently being considered by a planning inspector after Vale of White Horse District Council blocked the bid last year.
The council ruled that the size of the development was inappropriate and unnecessary.
A decision on the appeal is expected any day.
In order for the huge project to get planning permission architects are trying to prove the scheme is a worthy design.
Bath-based Nick Shipp said his was a design which would show that building with straw was possible on a large scale.
He said: “It is the very best insulator material on the market.”
Mr Shipp also said that the building would not be out of place, adding: “There are very many examples of large houses built in the English countryside.”
If given the go-ahead, the mansion would be the largest property in the UK made of straw.
However, Baulking Parish Council objected to the plan.
In a statement it said: “The scale, location and design is not in keeping with any aspects of the community and parishioners fear the development will not only harm the character and appearance of the conservation area, but also cause harm to the social fabric and life of the village.”
The idea came from landowner Jamie Lonsdale, 53.
If approved the project would use 19 inch thick energy efficient straw bales and solar panels covering 970 sq ft to makeit carbon neutral.
Heating bills in the eco-friendly home are expected to be one fifth of properties of a similar size.
Planning consultant Terry Gashe, of DPDS Consulting, said the house and grounds would be hidden from the village.
He said: “This is the 21st century equivalent of the big country house.
“It is an outstanding example of contemporary architecture.”
The district council blocked the bid in May last year and the appeal was lodged in September.
In a decision notice council planning officers said it was: “An unsustainable and inappropriate form of development that undermines the fundamental principle that countryside should be protected for its own sake.”

http://www.121move.co.uk/news/01042/Wiltshire_eco-house_made_of_straw

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1328455/Ill-huff-Ill-puff-Britains-biggest-straw-house-nears-completion.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw-bale_construction

http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm