AN ECO-FRIENDLY flood solution has earned construction materials company Lafarge an award in a prestigious ‘property Oscars’.
The windpump at Finningley sand and gravel quarry, near Doncaster, took second place and ‘Highly Commended’ in the Sustainability section of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Pro-Yorkshire Awards 2011.
The awards celebrate inspirational initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors with nominations received from all over Yorkshire and Humberside.
The windpump was shortlisted down to the last eight in the Sustainability category and only narrowly missed out on the top spot to a low carbon building at the University of Bradford.
David Atkinson, Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK regional planning and estates manager – UK North, said:
“I was delighted the windpump made it to the last eight but to be awarded second place was a great achievement for the entire team involved in the project.
“As a business Lafarge is committed to operating sustainably and we work tirelessly to ensure our environmental impact is as small as possible.
“The windpump at Finningley is a prime example of our efforts to save energy and reduce carbon emissions while ensuring we resolve issues effectively.”
The Poldaw Windpump, from GB Windpumps of Axminster, Devon, was installed next to part of the quarry, now returned to agricultural land, which was prone to flooding during extremely wet periods.
Traditional pumping systems are energy hungry and account for nearly 20 per cent of global and 32 per cent of UK electricity demand.
Concerned about excessive energy usage and consequent carbon emissions and mindful any solution needed to be low maintenance and low cost in the long term, Lafarge decided on the environmentally friendly windpump option.
The 11m high unit works on a float system, pumping water from a lake next to the restored agricultural fields into new drainage dykes when the level is high and keeping water circulating when levels are acceptable.
An added biodiversity bonus has been that work on the dykes has involved creating ledges to encourage more water vole activity.
