Council office is greenest in Britain

The offices received the highest ever BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating, by scoring 41 out of a possible 42 points.

Bob Marshall, chief executive of the council, said: "All our 340 staff are now under one roof in the cleanest, most energy efficient office in the country. What is most pleasing is the public and the environment benefit from it as well as staff."

Council staff were previously located in six different offices across Chippenham before they moved to the futuristic building in December 2001.

The hi-tech building controls temperature and lighting with a series of intelligent devices.

Lights turn on and off when a room is unoccupied and dim when the sky is bright, to minimise electricity usage.

The building has no air conditioning; instead it uses 100 per cent natural ventilation. Windows open automatically when the temperature increases and the curved concrete ceilings store heat in the daytime and release it in the evening to warm up the building.

Jarvis plc developed the building funded by the Private Finance Initiative and it will provide facility management services for the next 25 years.

This includes running the catering, post, 24-hour security, a 24-hour helpdesk and building maintenance.

Andrew Sutton, chief executive of Jarvis Accommodation Services, said: "The offices perfectly reconcile the ever more urgent need for energy efficient, sustainable buildings with financial viability. In terms of heating, air conditioning and lighting costs the council will make long-term savings."

The building was made possible by a partnership between the council and the private sector and it was the first council building in the country to be funded by the Private Finance Initiative.

The offices are open plan in design to reflect the council's open door policy and to increase the feeling of an open, accountable Government to the public.