THE Ecology Building Society has come of age - just as it is flying its nest.

The Cross Hills-based "green" building society celebrates its 21st anniversary at the end of the month, and is looking forward to moving into new bigger premises in Silsden.

And new recruit Daniel Capstick is sharing the celebrations - having turned 21 himself in February.

To mark the occasion, the annual general meeting of the society will be held at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales, on April 27.

Keynote speaker will be Green Party MEP and former Ecology director Jean Lambert.

And chief executive Paul Ellis has promised the staff - which includes long-standing member Pat Pettit, who has been at the society for the past 20 years - a party to mark the occasion.

Mr Ellis said: "Setting up a building society from scratch has taken a lot of grit and determination. Our staff, directors and members can all take great pride in our continued success."

The EBS grew out of a desire to form a more "green" attitude to finance, and was established in 1981. Twenty-one years later, it now has assets of nearly £40 million and continuing growth year on year.

The founders were particularly concerned with the spread of new housing onto agricultural land, the decline of terraced houses into slums and the difficulty of financing energy-efficient or unconventional housing solutions.

The company targets projects where a lot of "up-front" finance is needed for renovation, and particularly where dilapidated buildings can be brought into use again.

The EBS has grown into a strong financial organisation with solid foundations, but is still committed to its original ideals.

Over the years the business has grown to such an extent, that new headquarters were needed, and a state-of-the-art building has been approved for a site off Belton Road, Silsden.

The company hopes to start work on the building in the summer, and move in next year.

The building has been designed as an example of recycling in practice, using various energy saving materials to create a modern eco-friendly building.

Year end figures for 2001 showed the EBS had continued to grow at a healthy pace, and had increased its assets by 18.3 per cent, to £36,696 million, had increased profits by 6.3 per cent and cut down management expenses from 1.8 per cent to 1.74 per cent of mean total assets.