Construction of first eco village gets under way
The new village will be built on a 67-acre site.
Work on access roads and other infrastructure costing €5 million has been completed, and building is set to commence on the 130 dwellings on the site.
Along with 130 homes, the village will provide its own renewable energy for heating, land for growing food and trees, an enterprise centre and community buildings.
Maria Fleming, spokesperson for the ecovillage project, said: “People from all walks of life, young and old, families and single people, are working to create a beautiful and enriching place to live. There is a strong sense of community, knitted closely to the town of Cloughjordan. With playgrounds, pathways and acres of woodlands and farmland to explore the ecovillage is a wonderful place for children.”
The sites of the houses are south-facing so that residents can benefit from free passive solar heating. Each home will contain its own rainwater harvesting system and will benefit from heating that runs off hot water supplied by the community heating system.
Ms Fleming said: “The ecovillage homes will be surrounded by an edible landscape of fruit and nut trees, vegetables and herbs. A tree nursery has been established to nurture hundreds of trees for planting along the pathways and in the community gardens that are dispersed throughout the residential area.
“Larger community and personal allotments have been established to provide more space for growing food. The remaining ecovillage land is dedicated to farming and woodland.”
Launching the build stage on Saturday, environmentalist Duncan Stewart said: “This timely project is much more than a housing development. It leads the way in real sustainable development. Why? Because it brings together cutting-edge technologies found in green building techniques, renewable energy production and natural systems and links them to both sustainable enterprises and the latest in community design.”
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