News
Moto’s Wetherby service area, at Junction 46 of the A1(M) – the greenest motorway service area in Britain – has opened for business.
05 September 2008
It will be a bench mark for future developments of commercial buildings in the hospitality industry.
Visitors will find:
- Heat and cooling for the service area’s main building provided by ground sourced heat pumps.
- Ventilation by natural means.
- Water will be heated by heat exchangers and a highly efficient gas-powered condensing boiler.
- An extraction borehole providing water for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation.
- Wildlife “corridors” to allow badgers and bats to retain access to their natural habitats.
The ground sourced heat pumps take advantage of the natural constant temperature of the earth a few metres down – between 11° and 12° Centigrade – to produce low temperature hot water for heating in winter and cold water for cooling in summer.
The site also features swales, traditional shallow grass channels that feed surface water into two balancing ponds to help reduce the risk of flooding. The swales also provide a damp grassland habitat for amphibians.
Four hectares of new woodland, including a traditional hazel coppice, and more than half a kilometre of new hedgerow will help the service area blend with its surroundings.
In total, almost 2,300 trees, 12,500 shrubs and 6.1 hectares of grassland, will be planted and wild flower meadows covering 4.3 hectares will be created on site.
