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Isle Of Wight Could Be Home To UK's First Net-Zero Holiday Village

Plans for what is claimed to be one of the first net-zero holiday villages in the UK have been unveiled for Gurnard.

A development of 40 eco lodges and an eco-cafe at Gurnard Green, has been proposed by ZED Eco Homes, for a field next to Gurnard Pines.

A public meeting is being held later this month for residents to find out more.

The energy-efficient holiday lodges would each have two bedrooms and an electric car charger.

They would also be equipped with integrated solar panels, which are said to have the capability to generate enough electricity to meet the unit’s demands, with enough surplus to power a small electric car around 5,000 miles a year.

While the lodges would be connected to mains power, ZED says they would only take power from the mains in the deepest of winter or at peak times when demand is unusually high.

ZED say the pre-fabricated lodges are designed to last a minimum of three generations but can be easily moved, leaving no permanent impact on the site and having a net-zero carbon footprint.

The eco-cafe will also house two single apartments, one for a caretaker and the other as a holiday let.

Access to the site will be via Cockleton Lane but the lodges would be screened from the road and Gurnard Pines by the existing woodland.

A public meeting will be held to discuss the development and a forthcoming planning application, on Tuesday, May 31, at 6pm in the Gurnard Pines Cafe.

It will include a talk from Bill Duster, the lead of the ZED Power architectural team.

The ZED spokesperson said more information about the development will be given at the meeting and wanted people to be involved.

If the application was favourably received, they said, a planning application could be submitted in a month but feedback from local residents would be taken on board so changes could be made.

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