好色先生TV

When the Benedictine nuns of the Conventus of Our Lady of Consolation moved to Stanbrook Abbey, their Feilden Clegg Bradley-designed eco-nunnery on the Yorkshire moors, earlier this month, they turned to contractor NG Bailey to supply their wood fuel.

The 4,000-strong, 拢600m turnover M&E specialist is well known for work on projects such as the refurbishment of Great Ormond Street Hospital. Now it has taken its business in an unexpected direction: forestry.

NG Bailey has built up a 拢150,000-turnover business supplying woodchip for biomass boilers to 14 local consumers from its 2,600-acre estate, Denton Hall on Ilkley Moor. Among the business鈥� customers are Bradford university, council libraries and now the abbey.

James Bush, Denton Hall estate manager, said the business was 鈥渘on-core鈥�, but he鈥檚 serious about it. Bush supplies 400 tonnes of wood annually from the hall鈥檚 600 acres of woodland, but has agreements with other landowners in the area to supply 4,000 more, for which it will pay 拢30 a tonne.

Location is vital: if woodchip travels more than 35 miles it loses its 鈥渃arbon benefit鈥�.

We鈥檙e looking to develop a woodchip supply operation nationwide

James Bush, estate manager

Woodchip is one of a number of agricultural enterprises that NG Bailey runs from its neoclassical country headquarters; it is also home to 500 cattle, 2,000 sheep and clay pigeon shooting.

The company is now developing relationships with wood fuel bodies and suppliers around the UK. Bush said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to develop a chip supply operation nationwide.鈥�

Part of the plan is to use the business to help sell the installation of woodchip boilers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a chicken-and-egg problem,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f people don鈥檛 have confidence in supply, they won鈥檛 install the boilers. We鈥檙e trying to put confidence in end users so they can see it鈥檚 a quality product and so they鈥檙e more likely to take a boiler.鈥�