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Green-spiration
November 15th, 2007 - Source Magazine
Hip hideaways
Spirit & Destiny - November, 2007
Green-spiration
November 15th, 2007 - Source Magazine
Natural Retreats
Matthew Spence set up his company Natural Retreats with the aim of putting luxury holiday homes on the doorsteps of national parks. But he quickly realised sustainability was the way forward for his grand scheme.
"Seven years ago I went to Yellowstone National Park for my honeymoon and struggled to find accommodation. We wanted to stay in a nice place but there really wasn't anything. When we came back I thought 'wouldn't it be nice if you could stay in high-end accommodation in our own national parks?' and that's where the concept came from.
I'm from a farming background and we had 55 acres of rough scrubland near Richmond in the Yorkshire Dales, just 500 metres away from a national park. It was crying out to be the site for five star luxury accommodation, which is different to the usual boring B&Bs and campsites you get.
Unfortunately we were being told that land could only be used for hill farming but in this day and age, that's no existence at all. You have to work longer hours than you can imagine and can't make any money from it.
It took three years to persuade the local community in Richmond that we should get what we wanted. There was huge opposition from groups like the CPRE and English Nature who didn't want to see any development on green belt land but our point was that we couldn't make anything from farming that land. That meant we had to find a way of moulding our development around everyone's concerns.
The way to do that was to make it green, to make it sustainable and help the local community. Rural communities are dying and we were very keen to make sure our development would benefit the local community. And what we have found is that if you start with sustainable principles, the environmental elements will follow.
We have no facilities on site, forcing people to use local shops and pubs. That's sustainability, and on the back of that we have been able to build on green principles.
Once we got the support of the local community we had to build our cabins in a way that would satisfy the planners. That meant using sustainable, local resources such as timber, building them on site with little impact on the local environment.
The point is that we aim to give more back to the environment than we take out, which is partly why we have been awarded Zero Carbon Footprint status. As well as sustainable buildings, each cabin operates entirely off renewable energy and we even take our water from a local spring rather than having mains installed. We're not experts in the environment but we are learning and doing what we can. Our business model is all about doing the right thing, whether for the environment or for local communities who need help.
We have wonderful wildlife in Britain and we think people should be holidaying here more. There's no need to jump on a plane to the Costas. I think people are starting to see that too, because our occupancy levels are well above the national average.
We can't save the world but we can save our National Parks by encouraging more people to visit them and in turn help the communities in those areas. We are now looking at further sites but the plan is to expand the company globally."
Hip hideaways
Spirit & Destiny - November, 2007
With huge picture windows, stylish contemporary interiors, oak flooring and cedar decking, Natural Retreats' new eco-friendly residences make beautiful bolt-holes. The eight retreats are made from sustainably sourced timber and roofed with evergreen sedum plants. Standing in 54 acres of glorious isolation just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park, they use 100 per cent renewable energy, woodchip boilers and natural spring water for drinking and showers. Each residence sleeps up to six people, and prices start at £250 for two nights.