Eco Bookshop / centre to combat urban sprawls

[Anonymous]

I’m a new member and was keen to read your postings. Thanks.
My plans are to build an ecohouse, and this eventually with your assistance! My views are -  rather ‘plant’ my house (bamboo, trees) and ‘harvest’ stone, straw, wool etc than use recycled materials. This is with reference to Tim Snell’s posting ‘Recycled building materials’, but it’s not a criticism. ‘Planting’ doesn’t mean having to wait until your trees grow! It means to be ahead of the game and have planting and growing as a strategy for eco construction (plus working on all specs).
PROMOTING ECOHOUSES. It’s often from the same plant that we derive nourishment, medicine and shelter. Let’s show it! Showcasing is as important as building both in terms of natural materials used and of solutions to eg water collection. Internet is okay for certain things (maybe), but ‘real’ communication is better. You may wish to read a short article (EcoShopHome) highligthing the need for a bookshop type or ecocentre that will help raise the profile of ecobuilding. It’d be like this board but face to face. See http://www.ab-uno.com under Articles and then EcoShopHome.
Finally, EcoShopHome is complemented by PlanH (for Home), a longer article first posted in January aecb newsletter. This is partly in answer to Peter Hiett (AECB’s Shout!) and the nightmare of southeast sprawls, and partly an advocacy of ‘self’-build – you build your house and you build your community at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Mario,

I've read the articles which you've mentioned, and I guess that I'm sympathetic to them. However, I can't see much chance of them being implemented unless things change radically (which they might, but then all bets are off anyway).

To take the example of self-build, the biggest problem is land. We are a small island with very many people, and accordingly, land – on which you can build – is very expensive. Since I live in Milton Keynes, which does have a policy of promoting some self-build, I have a rough idea of the cost of land here (which is probably equivalent to locations in Kent). Land here, as sold by English Partnerships (so may not be the cheapest) is advertized at about 200k for a 600metre squared building plot (admittedly the smallest they do), and I've been led to believe that they go for considerably more than this (since sale is by competitive tender).

Given that a building a house is going to set you back 150K, at least, then only a very small percentage of people are going to be able to build their own houses. And most of those people are probably not going to be into the sort of things which you'd like in your sustainable communities.

In other places, with more land and less people, something along the liens which you're interested in might work, but I can't see it working around here,

Peter.

[Anonymous]

I've been searching for a place in Essex and it's near enough impossible to find a plot that you're going to get planning permission to build on. Anything that has consent is jumped on by developers and is usually priced in millions

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