The growing Ecology Building Society is putting its money where its mouth is.

For the building society, which has a Green agenda and specialises in lending for derelict properties needing renovation, is planning an environmentally-friendly building for its new headquarters.

The firm, which started in 1981, is already too big for its headquarters in Station Road, Cross Hills, where 14 staff work. It has had to acquire premises above another building in the village to house extra staff.

Now it is planning a new building on a brownfield site on the edge of nearby Silsden.

Chairman Gus Smith said: "We are not planning a grandoise palace, but a comfortable, modern and, above all else, environmentally-sound office building. We are working to a tight budget, so we will be seeking economic as well as Green solutions to our needs."

Paul Ellis, the firm's chief executive added: "We will shortly be appointing architects with Green credentials and hope to complete the building in time for our 21st anniversary in 2002.

"We are very excited at the possibility to being able to put our working principles into practice."

Marketing manager George Penaluna said the firm was looking at a number of options for building materials.

He said: "We will be looking at using materials causing minimal damage to the environment including timber and reclaimed brick or stone.

"If we need them, we will put in concrete footings rather than a huge concrete base and possibly a turf roof."

He said environmentally-friendly ways of heating and lighting would be considered including possibly using solar panels to heat water for the building and photo voltaic panels which convert sunlight to an electric current.

He stressed that these were only ideas being considered as the firm was expected to ask an architect to come up with plans which would be in line with the Ecology's thinking.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.