Henderson Campbell branches out with green project
19th October 2010
L-R - Hotel Manager Kim Yardley, Henderson Campbell’s MD Antony Henderson and HC Project Manager Brian Drinkhall
Plans by one of the region’s top hotels to invest in sustainable energy have resulted in a project with a difference for civil engineering and building firm Henderson Campbell.
It has been charged with constructing a ‘home’ for a bio mass boiler as the prestigious 4* Gisborough Hall presses ahead with its aim to become an eco friendly country hotel.
The contract was awarded just weeks after Henderson Campbell was certified with the ISO 14001 – the internationally accepted standard concerned with environmental management.
And, having looked at how his own firm can reduce its carbon footprint on a daily basis, MD Antony Henderson is delighted to be so closely involved in another organisation’s endeavours to do so.
“Civil engineering probably isn’t an industry that is automatically considered to be environmentally aware but we can always improve and I see our ISO certification as just the first stage in us doing our bit and further reducing our carbon footprint,” said Antony.
“We already try to conserve energy in the offices and, ultimately, our aim is to ensure any new plant machinery is as green as practical too. Similarly we always aim to use sustainable or recyclable materials on our building projects.
“I really applaud what Gisborough Hall is doing and am taking a keen interest in the scheme’s progress.”
Biomass boilers are fired on biological material, usually plant-based materials such as a wood chip, which Gisborough Hall hopes to be able to provide itself.
For, although it is run by the Macdonald Hotel Group, the historic hall – built in 1856 by Admiral Thomas Chaloner - is still owned by the Chaloner family’s Gisborough Estates, giving it access to areas of forestry and fields that, in the future, could be used for coppicing and planting fuel sources.
And this, says the hotel’s general manager, Kim Yardley, is why they opted for biomass rather than wind or solar power.
“Moving to biomass is not unique in the hotel and catering industry but it is fairly uncommon because to install such a boiler you require land to house the boiler and an area large enough to carry a supply of woodchip,” Kim explained.
“Unless you are totally self sufficient - which we aim to be in the future - the area also has to be large enough to handle deliveries of woodchip which, for cost efficiency and environmental values, are large and few and far between.”
Gisborough Hall has invested £600,000 in the project and hopes to have the biomass boiler operational by December.
In the meantime, Henderson Campbell is committed to keeping disruption from the building work to a minimum for the hotel guests. The work, which is to the rear of the hotel, is only being carried out in daylight hours on weekdays only.
“The hotel also tells us when there is a function on, such as a wedding, where photographs are likely to be taken so that we can ensure that none of our excavators are trundling past or parked in the background,” said Antony Henderson
Kim Yardley said the fact that Henderson Campbell was based in the town was important to them when selecting their contractor.
“As a company they are diversifying and taking on other projects and represented themselves most professionally. The hotel is committed where possible to purchase and source local suppliers.”