Property journalism ~ North Yorkshire's a natural place to retreat from it all

The Observer, 25 March 2007

The weekenders and second-home owners who upset local village folk with their Chelsea tractors, noisy parties and townie ways may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the efforts of a former farmer.

Matthew Spence spent several years trying to make a go of his parents' farm in Richmond, North Yorkshire, but without success. So he came up with another idea - to turn the 55-acre plot into an eco-park.

However, once again the young farmer faced an uphill struggle. The problem was that his land was in a green belt area on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This meant that the merest hint of any development, however worthy, would be vigorously opposed by local preservation groups and the town council.

'Today's eco and sustainability campaigns were a revolutionary concept when I first sought planning approval in 2002,' he says. 'The council, which was wary of any scheme that seemed to conflict with its environmental policies, told me the farmland could be used for grazing and nothing else.'

However, the gritty Yorkshireman was determined to get his way. He canvassed the local community and held site visits with council representatives and conservationists. Eventually, after almost three years of correspondence, drafts and planning appeals, Spence got the go-ahead to build 10 wooden eco-lodges on his land.

Now all the passer-by can see is a group of perfectly normal-looking cedar lodges, but a closer look will reveal that they sport sedum roofs - a 'living carpet' of slow-growing succulents, providing benefits to residents, in the form of energy savings, as well as to the local environment and wildlife.

Each of the lodge's walls is insulated with recycled paper, while running water comes from a nearby spring and heating from wood-chip burners. The buildings also face south to attract maximum natural light.

'We don't have any on-site restaurants, shops, entertainment facilities or bars, because we want people to use the nearby facilities and put something back into the local community,' says Spence, who named his company Natural Retreats. The eco-park is conveniently close to the A1 and about half a mile from Richmond.

Stuart Owens, who spent a long weekend there with his wife, Claire, and two small daughters, says: 'It was almost like going back to nature, as each lodge is set among bushes and trees and there are no houses or shops in sight. On our first morning we woke up to find a herd of deer by the pool next to our lodge, and each time we went for a walk we'd come across pheasants and badger setts.'

Ten per cent of Natural Retreats' annual profits are donated to North Yorkshire wildlife charities, and there are plans to reinvest the rest in three new eco-parks planned for the Isle of Anglesey off the north Wales coast, the Yorkshire Moors and the Lake District. 'We've succeeded once, so I think it will be easier to get approval for the other three sites,' says Spence.

Up to six people can stay in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom lodges for Ł75-Ł110 a night, depending on the season. In the first three months of 2007 the Richmond Lodges' occupancy rate was 55 per cent (most UK hotels average 50pc a year). However, Spence and company are aiming for a 65pc occupancy rate in the June-September high season.

'Eco-parks will certainly help to soften the strained relations between local villagers and the weekenders they accuse of buying up their properties and giving nothing back to the community,' says a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Though perhaps not entirely. For at least two 4x4s have been seen in the parking lot behind the eco-lodges.

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