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Bradford Estates is paving the way to meeting its environmental commitment with a £1 million farm road and grain store extension constructed from low carbon cement.

It is one of two innovative products being used during a rolling programme of works across the estates – the second being ecological paint, and they are complementing the ongoing installation of air source heat pumps during property refurbishments.

The low carbon concrete absorbs carbon dioxide throughout its life, is 100 per cent recyclable and reduces carbon emissions associated with concrete by up to 35 per cent, while the ecological lime paint is helping to create healthier and more sustainable homes through its graphene technology.

Alastair Hollands, construction director at Bradford Estates on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, said: “We are putting in a new farm road at our main farming enterprise, Woodlands Farm. The road is using 295 cubic metres of concrete and we are just about to do the grain store extension which will take about 4,000 square metres of concrete. We are talking about an overall development at Woodlands costing more than £1 million.

“Shifting to Hanson Eco Plus concrete will cost us more but the fact that it absorbs CO2 over the course of its life means it is the right thing to do and goes hand-in-hand with our ongoing commitment to the environment. It is more difficult to get hold of than normal concrete but we will keep using it as we embark on future projects

“The Graphenstone paint is again more expensive than what we would otherwise use but its ability to absorb CO2 over its lifetime has actively encouraged us to make the shift as part of our planned maintenance and general refurbishment of properties – fitting in with the estates’ wider remit in terms of reducing our carbon footprint and becoming generally more sustainable.

“We are currently using the paint on a first property, a Grade ll listed building, Church Farm House and cottage. We will then be moving on and using it on another farmhouse as we make the shift to this product over time. It will be used on any future refurbishments and we have plans for two more, possibly three, this year.

“This is all alongside the installation of air source heat pumps during refurbishments and increasing levels of insulation. We have now installed seven air source heat pumps at our properties, we are about to start on another one and have a further two or three properties lined up beyond that.

“It all means that as well as reducing the carbon footprint, we should see a reduction in utility bills over the course of a year – something which is even more important as energy costs continue to rise. In basic terms the pump is about three times as efficient as using fossil-burning fuel.”

Shropshire Star Business and Farming Editor.