Whilst developing West Acre to a 5 star accommodation venue, we have tried to incorporate as many features and elements as we can to reduce wastage and energy output whilst still maintaining a high level of luxury.

Minimising our Energy and water usage.

• Our heating and hot water is generated from our ground source heat pump, the entire garden area has hundreds of meters of pipe buried over a meter deep, these pipes take energy via heat transfer from below the ground and significantly reduce the electricity required to heat West Acre
• Our hot tub was chosen due to its insulation levels. The hot tub is filled with hot water heated by the ground source heat pump
• We have solar panels that enable us to generate our own power, this is particularly ideal for items running steadily all through the day such as the hot tub and the heat pump system
• West Acre is brick built and has double glazed windows throughout, we also have additional insulation in the roof and the walls that was installed over and above the building regulation requirements
• We have a rainwater harvester that collects all the water from the gutters which is then used to flush all of the toilets
• All the lightbulbs inside and out are low energy LED bulbs. Our outside lights have light and motion sensors to only come on when there is activity in the area
• Whenever we can when it comes to replacing our electronic goods, we use the lowest energy rating we can source. This year we replaced our tumble dryer with an AAA rated air source tumble dryer and our washing machine and fridge freezer with similar low rated energy usage products

Minimising Travel

• Holidaying in the UK is one of the most sustainable ways to take a break. Whilst we all enjoy a trip to foreign parts every now and again, there is nothing more sustainable for getting together than hiring a large Holiday accommodation in the UK
• We have an EV charging point
• There is a nearby railway station and a bus service in the village
• We use local contractors and local materials wherever we can, our cleaners live in the village, our electrician and plumber live in the village, and we use local suppliers wherever we can

Eco-Cleaning and Toiletries

• We use the environmental provider ‘BIO D’ for all out main cleaning products: floor cleaner/all purpose cleaner/bathroom cleaner/ toilet cleaner/multi surface cleaner/hob cleaner etc. We use re-usable dispense containers and the products come in either 5L or returnable 20L Containers
• We provide a basket of spare eco toiletries and sanitary products, if guests run out or forget anything, we do not use single use toiletries in the bathrooms. We also supply our guests with ‘BIO D’ cleaning products as well as ‘Bio D’ washing powder, conditioner, dishwasher tablets and handwash
• We use reusable colour coded microfibre cloths for our cleaning process (All washed and re-used after every clean), we also use ‘Ecover’ limescale remover and ‘Go green’ sponges and scouring pads

Our Sustainable Gardens

• We use a local tree surgeon who also drops off the chippings from local jobs that we use in the garden. Wherever we can we use our own logs to burn on the wood burning stove
• We do not use any chemicals in the garden, we use horse manure from the village livery, locally sourced chippings and our own compost
• We try and recycle whatever we can, we ask our guests to do the same
• We use a ‘Grind’ coffee pod machine as Gring coffee pods are combustible, we ask our guests to put the used ‘grind’ coffee pods in the compost bin
• We try and encourage and support our local wildlife, from the bird feeders and numerous bird boxes you will see in the garden to the piles of wood and hedgerows we keep to protect hedgehogs and similar small mammals. We specifically cultivate flowers and plants in our borders that are particularly attractive to bees and butterflies. We purposely keep some nettles in our less accessible areas of the garden to allow caterpillars to grow and thrive

What our guests can do to help us even further

• Please recycle your waste whatever you can and ensure you put any recycling materials in the correct bin (A refuse summary of what goes where is left in the kitchen
• Please put compostable materials in our compost bin, we will use this in the garden. Details of what is compostable are on a sign on the wall and in the refuse summary. Please only put compostable items in the compost bin or we will not be able to use the compost you leave
• If you empty any of the ‘BIO D’ containers, please do not throw these out with the refuse, please leave them out for us to re-fill and re-use
• We find that when we have large groups of 12-16 in the house, with our high level of insulation and multiple people in the house, the house even in winter can sometimes feel quite warm, we therefore set our heating to a level to compliment this. However if you find this either too warm or too cold, just ask us and we will gladly adjust the thermostats accordingly. If you are too warm and feel you need to open the windows, we would much rather reduce the temperature for you, if so please let us know and we will gladly turn the heat thermostats down
• We ask that the lid is kept closed on the hot tub when not in use and that the power to the sauna is always switched off when not in use
• We ask everyone to try and switch off lights and turn off appliances that are not being used

Please help us provide you with a luxurious and sustainable environment