Lammas Ecovillage (Welsh: ''Tir-y-Gafel'') is a low-impact, off-grid

ecovillage An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community that aims to become more socially, culturally, economically and/or environmentally sustainable. An ecovillage strives to have the least possible negative impact on the natural environment ...

in Glandwr, near Crymych in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, West

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, comprising nine households and a community hub on a site. Buildings are constructed of natural materials and energy obtained from renewable sources. Planning permission took some years to obtain, but has established a replicable template for similar future developments in Wales.

Development

The project was the first ecovillage in the UK to attain prospective planning permission, and this was achieved in 2009 after a three-year planning campaign culminating in a public hearing. The project had applied under an innovative local planning policy designed to support low-impact development. The policy required residents to live a sustainable lifestyle and substantially support themselves from land-based livelihood.

Concept

The ecovillage is centered on a Community Hub, from which courses, conferences and open days are run. It was constructed using local timber, straw bale insulation and locally sourced aggregate as well as incorporating various green technologies (such as a masonry stove, passive solar heating and a wood-fired kitchen). Funding for the Community Hub came from the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

. The project has been designed as a replicable template - with each household purchasing a 1000-year agricultural lease from the organisation which provides them with autonomy and security. Each household has access to approximately of land from which they derive food, fuel and income. One resident utilises

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using Systems theory, whole-systems thinking. It applies t ...

techniques for managing the land, and electricity is generated by solar panels and a micro hydro turbine. The nine

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

s demonstrate a range of natural building techniques though there have been challenges over compliance with building regulations which led to some of the residents being taken to court by Pembrokeshire County Council. These issues have since been resolved. The site is listed by

RCAHMW The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...

and featured on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''

Grand Designs ''Grand Designs'' is a British television series that has broadcast on Channel 4 since 29 April 1999 and is presented by Kevin McCloud. Format Episodes generally follow a regular format, with small variations depending on the progress of t ...

'', Series 17, Episode 6 in 2016.

Post-establishment

Since Lammas, the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

introduced a national low-impact policy, "One Planet Development", which creates a framework for land-based smallholdings and ecovillage projects to be established in Wales. One house, built at a cost of £27,000 over several years, was destroyed by fire in January 2018, with a total re-build estimate of £500,000. The house was not insured as construction had not been completed.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Sustainable buildings in the United Kingdom Sustainability in Wales Villages in Pembrokeshire Ecovillages

Development

Concept

Post-establishment

See also

References

Further reading

External links