25th Feb 07

Another day not working, and a chance to go and visit the new City of York Council 'Eco Depot' which had a well-publicised open day today. This facility has been built to replace the previous 'Foss Islands Road' council depot, and one of the buildings has been constructed using sustainable materials. So shortly after 11am, my boyos and I cycled down to the James St/Hazel Court Eco Depot and it was already quite busy. After a chat to the York Rotters team and quick look around, we booked onto the midday tour of the Depot. A film crew found me and I obliged by answering their questions. The tour was interesting, but I was disappointed that only the office building had been constructed from renewable resources, the other buildings were traditional brick and steel, although the roof water is collected and stored for vehicle washing, negating the need to use drinking water at great cost. I was also saddened to learn that the council has formed a partnership with a company connected with the military, and are therefore, in my view, not totally committed to sustainability. There is nothing less sustainable than warfare, and a sustainable society wouldn't spend so much on armed forces. I would avoid any such partnerships or collaborative working, as it signifies support for this wasteful activity. However, I'm not in charge, so my views are nowt!

I'm delighted the council has invested in offices which are built from renewable, low carbon materials, and that generate much of their own energy from solar PV panels, and have lights which switch off when not needed and windows which open and close automatically. Wouldn't it be nice if all future buildings were built this way?