SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION OF YORK'S ECO-DEPOT

That this House welcomes the use of sustainable construction technology for the City of York Council's new commercial services depot, including photo-voltaic cells, a 15 metre wind turbine and solar thermal and rain water harvesting; notes that the office block constructed from prefabricated local straw sections and a wood frame is the largest building of its type in Europe and will demonstrate its energy efficiency through real-time monitoring of its energy generation and consumption; congratulates the Government for making possible the use of state of the art environmental technology through its grants of £569,000 from Yorkshire Forward and £112,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry's Energy Savings Trust; believes that the depot is a good example of partnership between national and local government; and calls on other local authorities to visit York's Eco-Depot and use its innovative technology in their own buildings.