Open House
Open House is your opportunity to visit eco homes, houses and a range of other building types across the region to see how people have realised their dream designs, reduced their fuel bills and radically greened-up their homes and offices.
Listen to owners and designers sharing their experiences on how to create an eco home or building, develop new builds to a high code of sustainability or retrofit a historic building!
Many of these buildings are privately owned or functioning buildings so booking is required. Full address details will be given to you when you book your place.
Cassop Primary School Cassop, DH6 4RA
Event type: Pre-booked tour. To reserve a place please contact Susanne Lorenz (Durham County Council) on 0191 383 4901 or email susanne.lorenz@durham.gov.uk
Time: Friday 18 June, 2pm
The school attempts to integrate Education for Sustainable Development into all of its work. The school now displays and uses all forms of renewable energy- wind, solar, re-cycled wood, biomass. Heating and power are sourced through entirely carbon neutral methods. To this end the school has a 50kW wind turbine and they also generate power from photo-voltaic cells. The school is heated using re-cycled waste wood and/or biomass and the hot water is produced by solar panels.
Directions: Seven miles from the City of Durham, three miles from the A1(M) on B61291 between Cassop and Quarrington Hill. Leave Durham by A181 or leave A1(M) at junction 61 (Durham Services)
Directions: Seven miles from the City of Durham, three miles from the A1(M) on B61291 between Cassop and Quarrington Hill. Leave Durham by A181 or leave A1(M) at junction 61 (Durham Services)
Sacriston Surgery
Front Street, Sacriston, DH7 6JW
Event type: Pre-booked tour. To reserve a place please contact Susanne Lorenz (Durham County Council) on 0191 383 4901 or email susanne.lorenz@durham.gov.uk
Time: Saturday 19 June, there will be two tours for up to ten people at 11am.
Time: Saturday 19 June, there will be two tours for up to ten people at 11am.
This building is often mentioned in the North East when people talk about ‘green’ buildings being built on the initiative of the client. The building provides a dental suite, speech and language suite, community nurse, children’s centre, pharmacy, podiatry, district nurses, health visitors as well as consulting rooms and supporting accommodation for the surgery. The final building incorporates a green energy generator in the form of a ground source heat pump, a sedum roof, sun pipes and intelligent lighting system.
Directions: Take either the A691 or the A167, 3.5 miles North of the centre of Durham City take the B6312 to Sacriston. The surgery is right in the centre.
Directions: Take either the A691 or the A167, 3.5 miles North of the centre of Durham City take the B6312 to Sacriston. The surgery is right in the centre.
Langdon Beck Youth Hostel
Forest-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle, DL12 0XN
Event type: Drop-in
Opening hours: 9am till 12noon (Please note a member of staff will be at reception during 9 -12noon but visitors are also welcome to have a look around the youth hostel outside of these hours)
The hostel showcases a number of environmental efforts: a reed bed installed to deal with waste water and effluent in a sustainable way, a small scale, grid-connected wind turbine, a small scale wind and solar system, solar PV panels, a series of energy efficiency improvements including double glazing, thermostatic controls and upgrade of heating systems and a series of recycling initiatives, including a trial of plastic packaging compressor.
The hostel showcases a number of environmental efforts: a reed bed installed to deal with waste water and effluent in a sustainable way, a small scale, grid-connected wind turbine, a small scale wind and solar system, solar PV panels, a series of energy efficiency improvements including double glazing, thermostatic controls and upgrade of heating systems and a series of recycling initiatives, including a trial of plastic packaging compressor.
Directions: On B6277, 6 miles from Middleton in Teesdale towards Alston
Lanchester Road Hospital Lanchester Road, Durham, DH1 5RD
Event type: Pre-booked tour (maximum 12 people). To reserve a place please contact Susanne Lorenz (Durham County Council) on 0191 383 4901 or email susanne.lorenz@durham.gov.uk
Time: Saturday 19 June, 10.30am
The hospital includes a number of important features: the atrium has a sedum sloping roof - the low growing plant which covers the roof helps keep it warm in winter and cool in summer, rainwater is collected in small tanks and then used for watering garden areas. A ground source heating pump, which takes energy from the ground reduces the need for fossil fuel heating.
Directions: 2 miles north of the centre of Durham. Take the A691 North towards Consett
The hospital includes a number of important features: the atrium has a sedum sloping roof - the low growing plant which covers the roof helps keep it warm in winter and cool in summer, rainwater is collected in small tanks and then used for watering garden areas. A ground source heating pump, which takes energy from the ground reduces the need for fossil fuel heating.
Directions: 2 miles north of the centre of Durham. Take the A691 North towards Consett
National Railway Museum Shildon
Soho Cottages, Shildon, DL4 1PQ
Event type: Drop-in (free entry)
Event type: Drop-in (free entry)
Opening hours: 10am till 5pm (daily)
Locomotion showcases many sustainability and renewable energy features. The museum produces its own electricity by utilising a Solar PV array and a small wind turbine, which powers the water pump for the trains. In addition, parts of the building are constructed using gabion walls, which greatly aid to increase the efficiency of the building. Locomotion also benefits from a rainwater collection. The museum also has an educational facility that shows how much electricity is being used.
Directions: From junction 58 on the A1, take the A68 and A6072 to Shildon. Locomotion is 1/4 mile southeast of Shildon town centre - follow the brown heritage signs.
Directions: From junction 58 on the A1, take the A68 and A6072 to Shildon. Locomotion is 1/4 mile southeast of Shildon town centre - follow the brown heritage signs.
Open House Seaton Burn
Brookside Lodge
Time: Sunday 27 June, 10am till 11:30am
Brookside Lodge is a self-build eco-friendly dwelling.
It was in February 2004 that we decided to downsize from a four-bedroom/four reception dwelling to something smaller as all our children had 'flown the nest' and we had reached retirement age.
So we got estate agents in to value the house and they looked at the size of the garden and said it was so big, it could be divided to leave a good size garden and a building plot.
We thought if someone was going to build on it, why not us? Having retired we had need of something to do, (well not quite, we were both busy with other things), but why not something of a challenge? Build a house.
Join Margie and Roger (self builders) to find out more on a tour of their home.
Public transport:
To arrive in time for the 10am start there is a bus, the 43, available from Newcastle Haymarket station at 9.30am. The bus will then arrive at Seaton Burn Bridge Street for approximately 9.47am it is then a 4 minute walk to Brookside Lodge.
There are also buses available if you are traveling from Sunderland, Durham or other areas. For more transport information please check: http://jplanner.travelinenortheast.info
Open House Weekend Durham
Friday 18 and Sunday 20 June
Open House Weekend Durham is an opportunity to visit six of the county’s most interesting eco developments.
The Open House events in Durham have been organised
by Durham County Council in partnership with
Europe Direct North East England.
Open House Belford
An ecological self-build house
Time: Saturday 26 June, 2pm till 3:30pm and Sunday 27 June, 2pm till 3:30pm
Visit an ecological self-build house in Belford, Northumberland. Construction of the house began in 2001 with design features including Douglas Fir and larch timber from the Scottish Borders to form the post and beam structure and the external cladding, Cumbrian sheep’s wool for insulation, triple-glazed windows, a sedum planted roof, passive solar energy and pot-bellied wood burning stove.
The first phase of the two phase project is completed - with timber for the second phase now on site, ready for the start of the second phase!
Since 2001 this property has attracted hundreds of visitors from all over the country through being featured in English Heritage’s annual ‘Heritage Open Days’ programme. This year the owners have decided to take a break, so this is a unique opportunity to join the architects and owners for a tour of their home to find out the benefits and challenges of self-building.
The owners will be giving visitors a free copy of ‘Out of the Woods’, a comprehensive guide to building home using this construction method.
Public transport:
Trains depart from Newcastle Central station to Berwick station. It is a short walk to Berwick bust station where services 505 and 501 depart to Belford Post office (please check services with travel operators). It is then a 4-minute walk to the destination.
There are also buses available if you are traveling from Sunderland, Durham or other places, for more information check: http://jplanner.travelinenortheast.info
Open House Blyth
Elliott Street
Time: Saturday 19 June, 2pm till 3:30pm
Visit a brand new eco friendly home on 20 Elliott Street, part of an innovative social housing development in Northumberland. The fifteen new mixed properties of flats and family housing on Elliott Street and 20th Avenue, Blyth contain a number of unique features designed to reduce carbon emissions and drive down energy costs without compromising on comfort and convenience. These features include recycled timber, new super-insulated building system called ICF Wallform, a harvesting system that collects and stores rainwater to flush toilets and outside taps and solar panels on the roof that are able to heat both the hot water system and contribute to under-floor heating.
The homes have been allocated to twenty tenants through the Northumberland Homefinder scheme and are managed by Homes for Northumberland. Elliott Street and 20th Avenue is a partnership development between Northumberland County Council, Johnnie Johnson Housing, parish councils and the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA). The properties were built by Northumberland Council and designed by South Close Developments, Ecohomes and Beco Products Limited.
This unique tour will be led by the designer from South Close Developments and the tenants of 20 Elliott Street.
Public transport:
To arrive at Blyth before the starting time of 2pm there is a bus, the X11 that departs Newcastle Haymarket station at 12.55 it will arrive at Newsham Black Diamond eastbound at 13.37. It is then a 2-minute walk to Elliott Street from this bus stop.
There are also buses available if you are traveling from Sunderland, Durham or other places, for more information check: http://jplanner.travelinenortheast.info
Other festival events that may interest you:
Wednesday 23 June, 5:30pm till 6pm
Fine Art lecture theatre, Newcastle University
Thursday 24 June, 7pm till 9:30pm
Cluny 2, Newcastle
