B&Q sets sights higher for next eco-store build

It will be the retailer’s second green store and represents a significant advance on the first – a 78,000 sq ft shop that opened in Halifax in April.

Environmentally friendly features include a wind turbine that will provide energy for a “signage tower” and a sawtooth roof with an area of greenery. It is estimated that the building’s CO2 emissions will be 50 per cent lower than that of a similarly sized structure.

The store will also feature rooftop photovoltaic cells converting light into energy, ground source heating and cooling, and rainwater collection for irrigating the associated garden centre, as well as natural ventilation.

Parking for bicycles and 438 cars will be provided underneath the store, with access to the sales floor provided via travelators.

There will also be 52 residential units built in line with the Mayor of London’s planning requirement for mixed-use development, to bring a residential element to a predominantly commercial area.

B&Q group property director Terry Hartwell said: “New Malden is an important test bed for us and some of these new sustainability features will go into the specification for other stores.”

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