Building for a sustainable future

Creating a sustainable legacy

We know that it is not enough to change our behaviour in the way we currently live. We need to look to the future and to how we can live better, by investing in ground breaking design and innovation. By building for a sustainable future, we are creating a legacy that will last.

The O‑Zone Laundry

Providing accommodation to over 21,000 guests a year comes at a price, in terms of water and chemical consumption. In 2021 we completed the construction of our state of the art 65sqm laundry that provides linen to Swinton Park Hotel and Swinton Cottages bedrooms, Meadow Yurts and Tree Lodges, Country Club, and staff accommodation. The O‑Zone laundry has been designed to reduce power, water and chemical consumption by 35%. Whilst most commercial laundries operate out of centralised units, with hundreds of laundry miles driven in collection and delivery, our laundry team deliver just a mile or two at a time using our electric vehicles.

Biomass

In 2005, the forestry department on the Swinton Estate began to explore how best to use their waste timber. This was at a time when engineering advances on the continent were making it possible to use chipped wood as a source of heat. In 2006, Swinton Estate’s biomass boiler was launched, and the hotel became the first hotel in the UK to have all of its heating and hot water powered by a carbon neutral biomass boiler. Since then, a second biomass boiler has been installed at Swinton Bivouac, providing heat and hot water to the Bivouac Café and camping shower block. Swinton Park Hotel’s boiler has also been replaced with one twice the size, as this now provides all the heating and hot water for it, the Swinton Cookery School, Country Club, and pools. Guests at Swinton Park Hotel can enjoy visits to the biomass plant room to see it in practise.

An Eco Destination

The launch of Swinton Bivouac in 2012 was Swinton Estate’s first opportunity to create an off-grid destination that would have minimal impact on the environment. The accommodation units (Meadow Yurts and Tree Lodges) have no conventional power at all. Guests rely on solar and wind power and log burners – and the biomass boiler provides heating and hot water in the farmhouse and barns (which were converted into a café, residents’ lounge and camping shower block). Water on site is spring fed, with a grey water system to limit consumption and a reed bed to filter waste.

Country Club and Wellness

The design of Swinton Country Club, which was completed in 2017, embraces the best of both modern and traditional materials and engineering to create a leader in its field. All the hot water and heating for the spa, including the pools and thermal suite, is generated by the carbon neutral bio mass boiler. Materials used include preserved moss and cork walls, flooring made from recycled plastic bottles and larch cladding sourced from the Swinton Estate and the kitchen at The Terrace Restaurant and Bar uses equipment from the Eco Chef range which is manufactured in the UK and uses cutting edge technology to reduce power consumption to an absolute minimum. The natural pool is completely chemical free, using bacteria to filter the water and strip it of nutrients and the UV filter keeps the use of chemicals in the lap and hydrotherapy pools to an absolute minimum. Both the products used for treatments (Bamford) and the Estate’s Borealis range for washroom amenities are paraben and sulphate free.

Solar Farm

In early 2022, we commissioned a green energy review to establish what would be available and viable on the Swinton Estate. Following research into wind turbines, CHP and anaerobic digestion we settled on solar. Partnering with Engenra Renewables a scheme has been agreed with planning application submitted for a one mega watt solar project that will generate 35% direct electricity for Swinton Park and Country Club with the balance being fed back to the grid as green electricity. More information will be available as the project develops.

For sustainability enquiries, please contact the Estate Office on 01765 689224 or email sustainability@swintonestate.com