Plans for ‘ground-breaking’ sustainable health, leisure and residential scheme put forward
A sustainable health, leisure and residential scheme is being put forward for a major health and wellbeing centre in Market Harborough.
Harborough Solar Rise is part of the Green Neighbour Project which is the brainchild of husband and wife team Alec and Stella Welton, owners of the Archway Health and Wellbeing Centre.
The project is the culmination of several years of planning and ongoing consultation and support from architects Zedpower, Market Harborough Planning Department and Lubenham Parish Council.
The ecological venture would expand the health and wellbeing services that Archway can offer.
The plans include designs for supplementary consulting rooms, a coffee shop/multi-functional community space, guestrooms with ensuite bathrooms for health stays, and dedicated studios for a wide range of classes including Yoga, Pilates, Nia and Barre.
The scheme would also enable the creation of additional office space and eight self-build/custom-built homes.
“We are acupuncturists by profession, practice owners by consequence and business owners out of necessity. We have never built anything and are definitely not property developers – but we are passionate about sustainability and we care about the world we live in, which is why what we create and how has such enormous personal significance for us,” said Alec Welton.
“Managing climate change is everything, as global warming is the greatest crisis of our times. We have already passed the point where all new buildings should be sustainably built and able to generate their own electricity and heating. We also need to aim for community micro-energy generation schemes in which households produce more sustainable power than they need, which they can then share with their neighbours. This is why we coined the phrase Green Neighbour Project.”
The scheme aims to be one of the most sustainable projects in the UK.
The couple are keen for the local community to be involved and have their say on the plans, as well as raising awareness around the importance of sustainable planning and building locally.
Alec Welton said: “We see this as the only socially responsible way to build, and an investment for future generations. We are aiming for transparency and so all the plans for this project can be found online at www.harboroughsolar.co.uk, including all the documentation that was recently submitted to Lubenham Parish Council and Harborough District Council. We hope that people will take a look at the project and share their thoughts with us, the planning department or their local councillor using the contact details on the website.”
The Weltons established their business in Market Harborough in 1997 and then relocated Archway Health and Wellbeing from its town centre site to the Lubenham Hill premises in 2010, transforming the building from a run-down pub into one of the largest health centres of its kind in the UK.
