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Green Tourism at Home Farm Cranmer
New for 2009! 20 kw turbine installed at Cranmer Country Cottages contributing to sustainable tourism.
Gold Members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme
Carbon Neutral Holiday Cottages now available!
www.green-business.co.uk
Our Environmental Policy .pdf
We're cutting carbon emmissions by 2010 www.1010uk.org
EnjoyEngland Tourist Board
4 - 5 Star Luxury Holiday Cottages
All cottages have achieved the Visit England Gold Award for exceptional quality of accommodation in 2009/10
"Britain's first zero-carbon luxury holiday destination in the heart of North Norfolk"
Read about our Zero Carbon breaks in the EDP newspaper >
At Cranmer Country Cottages we are committed to providing our guests with good quality accommodation while taking reasonable measures to reduce the environmental impact of our business in promoting responsible travel. We are proud to announce that we now have no carbon footprint at all.
We are members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme which provides accreditation for businesses committed to saving energy and help fight climate change. The scheme encourages sustainable business practices helping to ensure the continued enjoyment of the environment around us and preserve it for future generations.
In further developing our cottages we have an ongoing plan to improve carbon saving, providing ecotourism at Home Farm. Our three new cottages Avocet Coot and the Garden House are carbon neutral with heat light and power generated through a number of sustainable energy sources. We have plans to continue with our sustainability programme with the ongoing refurbishment of the existing holiday cottages ideal for discerning guests looking for a green holiday.
Environmentally friendly measures at Home Farm include:
- Collecting our own energy through boreholes, a ground source heat pump and solar panels. For every unit of electricity used to power the heat pump three or four units of heat are produced making the pump 400% efficient. The heat pump is supplied from the wind turbine, providing more than enough energy for completely carbon free year round operation. The heating system provides domestic hot water and efficient under floor heating for the three new cottages. The geothermal heat probes are buried 90 metres underground in a series of 4 boreholes out in the farmland.
- We have erected a powerful (20 kW) wind turbine sited on the farmland beyond the holiday cottages. The wind turbine supplies electricity to the swimming pool, the 8 holiday cottages, the farmhouse.
- Any small amounts of gas and oil that we use is offset by surplus electricty generated by our wind turbine, which is sold back to the National Grid.
- The swimming pool and hot water for the showers is now being heated by a large array of tubular solar collectors which generate up to temperatures of up to 120 degrees centigrade.
- Pool water is sanitized using a salt water chlorinator. Salt is added to the pool water and broken down into minimal amounts of free chlorine ions in a process of eloctrolysis. Thus we are not pumping out huge amounts of chlorinated water onto the surrounding land – better for our swimmers particularly asthma sufferers and a whole lot better for the environment.
- Rain water is harvested on a grand scale. All water on the site comes from our own borehole deep in the underlying chalk aquifer. All gutters and terraces run off into the original Victorian drainage system and back into the land.
- Bricks and slates from the original buildings have been recycled and reused in the conversions for the new cottages. Rubble excavated in the demolition process has been crushed and reused to form tracks around the farm. Lime mortar has been used in brickwork restoration.
- All timber used in the construction of the new eco holiday cottages is from FSC sources, all oak used is norfolk grown.
- The holiday cottages’ wonderful display of planted tubs and hanging baskets are all on a timed watering system designed to save water and minimise evaporation.
- The new eco friendly- self catering cottages have been designed to maximise on energy efficiency and have been insulated beyond all regulation levels. The windows and door glazing have all been argon filled to ensure minimum heat loss.
- We have always used extremely efficient low energy light sources with speciality lighting designed by Lightwaves Ltd and these will continue to be the mainstay of our lighting installations.
- We have constructed a recycling area offering recycling bins, glass bottle collection and an opportunity to compost suitable waste materials.
Paint finishes in the new holiday cottages use environmentally friendly paints from Sweden and carry the endorsement of the Swedish Asthma Association and the Eco flower award for environmental safety. These products are water based and contain strictly limited quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and no carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances.- We use and supply our guests with green cleaning products.
- We supply Fair Trade and locally produced products in our welcome pack, and support local businesses with our local products delivery and catering services.
- The holiday cottages have been reunited with their surrounding 165 acres of farmland as part of our ongoing investment in both our business and in the immediate environment of where we live. We are participating in the Entry Level Stewardship Scheme through Natural England and looking at furthering conservation and protecting the local wildlife.
- In the 10 years we have owned Home Farm we have planted over 12000 native trees and created new hedgerows to provide wildlife corridors.
- We encourage our guests to discover the local quiet lanes and bye ways by providing cycle hire, storage and local maps. We are members of the Tourist boards Welcome Cyclist Scheme
Our future Plans
We hope to improve constantly and are looking at new ways to improve the sustainability of our business in providing a quality eco tourism destination but not to the detriment of our environment and not at the expense of our guests comfort. We will continue to work towards achieving a high level quality accolade recognised by the Green Tourism Business Scheme.
A full environmental policy is available on request by email to
lynne@homefarmcranmer.co.uk
North Norfolk Cottages - Norfolk Holiday Cottages - Self Catering Holidays