STEP Partner Visit - November 2011

Last November Hautbois hosted a visit from representatives from the Broads Authority and STEP - Sustainable Tourism in Estuary Parks, which sees the Broads working in partnership with the Biesbosch National Park in the Netherlands and a protected area around Kruibeke in the Schelde Estuary, Belgium. The visit was part of a trip to the Norfolk Broads to see the co-operation between tourism businesses and the Broads Authority. Below is an extract about Hautbois from their report:

'Hautbois Residential and Activity Centre is a residential and activity centre owned and managed by Girlguiding Anglia, a non-profit making organization. The 28-acre private estate is located in the north-western corner of the Broads, seven miles north of Norwich and just outside the Broads Authority area. Rachel Jarman, Business Manager, showed us round their outside facilities and pointed out some of their environmental innovations. Hautbois sleeps a total of 42 people in the main house, plus 7 separate campsites. The estate has a private cut onto the River Bure, which offers the perfect location for water sports, including kayaking, canoeing and raft building, as well as a number of landbased activities. All activities are run by fully qualified instructors, some of whom are trained on-site at Hautbois at the beginning of the season. Hautbois opened its purpose-built environmentally friendly training suite/dining room in 2007. This has enabled it to add to its substantial involvement with the youth market by offering facilities for small conferences, meetings and activities to the corporate sector. The training suite was built using Beco blocks, an insulation concrete framework left in place permanently as thermal insulation. The building has a sedum living roof and rainwater is harvested from this and from an adjoining part of the house and is used for flushing toilets. A ground source heat pump was installed and underfloor heating, w hich uses floating condensation for maximum energy efficiency.

Building on the development that took place in 2007, Anglia Region of the Girlguiding UK made the decision in April 2008 to go green and make a conscious decision to be environmentally aware in all its activities. This is seen as a perfect fit w ith the ethos of the organisation, preparing young people to take their place in society as confident and thoughtful adults. Hautbois has taken new steps in this direction each year. The catering offer has been completely revised, with menu development based on healthy eating and use of local produce. They are working with Natural England to encourage children to discover the outdoors. Schools can visit Hautbois and take part in lots of on-site and off-site activities from environmental studies to milking cows to canoeing on the River Bure.

The latest project, which is ongoing, is the ambitious design and self-build Eco Hub teaching space. This stand along building is located in a field some way from the main house. The eco hub is made from recycled and natural materials including old car tyres that would otherwise end up at rubbish tips and in landfill. Large holes were dug 1.2 metres w ide, the tyres rammed with gravel and stacked high to make the strong foundations of the building and then the holes were back-filled with the soil. The walls were made of over 175 straw bales, piled high and compressed into loadbearing walls which will be topped by a sedum roof .

Hautbois w as one of 24 properties which took part in CPRE Norfolk's Green Buildings Open Day, which offered visitors the chance to learn from, and ask questions of, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and impartial ow ners of environmentally-friendlybuildings in Norfolk. With so many environmental initiatives and practices in place, Hautbois is now considering joining the Green Tourism Business Scheme.'