Origin of a big green idea that’s a show stealer

Paul Walker is a man on a mission. He has just taken on the role of chairman of the Driffield Agricultural Society and he has in his sights a major eco building project.

This will bring into being the largest clear span straw bale building in Europe which is called, rather portentously, “Origin, The Venue Built From The Earth”.

It sounds more like one for the Grand Designs TV programme rather than for a farmer from the East Riding village of Watton.

But the society’s ambitious plans for its proposed new structure are deeply rooted in agriculture and the land.

It will use timber, straw, hemp and lime – materials that can be produced locally – and the idea is that the result will be a showcase for sustainable building products available from the agriculture and landscapes of Yorkshire.

“The walls will be made out of straw bales and the building will be erected on a 1.2 metre plinth of locally-sourced rammed chalk,” says Paul. “Whatever we build we will be very aware of its carbon footprint. We are going to use renewable materials wherever possible.

“We are currently looking at using hempcrete rather than lime render. We’re talking with a local specialist near Brandesburton who is also a farmer.”

One of the initial thoughts was to have grass growing on the roof of the building. “The Environment Agency insists that you don’t have a lot of run-off all at once. The idea of using grass on the roof was that rain would soak in and then be released more slowly.

“Unfortunately it is a very expensive form of roofing and would be very heavy. We have stayed with the iconic curve that we started out with, but we are now discussing other forms of roofing.

“Recycled aluminium is one, from tin cans. The advantage of aluminium is that it is much lighter. However we are also aware that we want the acoustics of any new building to be right.”

The building is intended as an event centre for everything from concerts, dances, dinners, festivals and fairs. Plans were passed 18 months ago.

It’s a big idea that would offer the East Yorkshire countryside its largest purpose-built indoor venue.

But a combination of the poor economic outlook and as yet limited resources have blunted the society’s plans to progress the budgeted £2m development.

“Prior to the demise of Yorkshire Forward we looked well-set to have the building up and running during my predecessor Tim Coleman’s tenure. But it wasn’t to be.

“We understand there is still European funding available which Yorkshire Forward was responsible for brokering. So we are still hopeful, and we are looking at every other possible source of grant funding.

“Securing what we need has been tricky so far but we’re making a concerted effort to obtain it.

“The society is a charitable organisation and while our members could stump up some of the cash we cannot do anything before we have all finances in line. To start anything ad-hoc without an assurance that we had the funding could prove to be a big mistake.

“If we don’t secure the amount we’re looking for in grant aid we will then have to change the size of the building. The good thing is that everything is in place for the building to be erected and up and running very quickly.”

The existing iconic feature of the showground, timber-built members’ pavilions with a clock at their centre, will remain. “They’ve been here since 1965 and provide a wonderful focal point for the members. We see the two buildings working hand-in-hand to bring about the society’s aims of bringing farming to the general public even more than we have so far. The society is more vibrant than ever.”

Paul is more used to growing wheat and oilseed rape and breeding pedigree Limousin cattle on his 300 acre family farm. In July he will attend his first Driffield Show as chairman. It’s an event he has supported for a long time in various capacities although he only became a committee member seven years ago. He feels the show has moved on markedly in recent times.

“We moved the livestock classes from the entrance near the rugby ground two years ago and it has worked fantastically well. It had become a headache for us having the livestock in one corner and we had to make the move for safety reasons if nothing else.

“Its new location has proved a real winner and Richard Jackson, our livestock secretary, is doing a wonderful job maintaining our high standard of entries and the public can now walk up and down the livestock lines. Our ambition is to use much more of the field.”

Paul has his own pedigree herd – started when his father-in-law gave him and his wife Penny two heifers as a wedding present. But he’s not a cattle showman.

That’s probably just as well, as it looks as though he’s got his work cut out delivering “The Venue Built From the Earth” in the coming months.

Driffield show facts

Driffield Show is one of the biggest one-day agricultural shows in the country.

The Showground covers a huge area and stands on a site of archaeological importance.

There have been a number of findings and this is one of the reasons not to disturb the the ground too much.

The building will be constructed on a plinth of rammed chalk with just the topsoil removed. This will raise it from the ground and also ensure there is no risk of flooding.

Origin, The Venue Built From The Earth will be sited near to the showground entrance.