A BUSINESSMAN hoping to build the first of a series of eco-friendly holiday villages in the region has won the backing of the Bank of Scotland.

Matthew Spence's Ecobuild UK group has been given £400,000 by the bank's corporate division.

The money will be invested in a 50-acre complex on the edge of Richmond.

The glass and timber properties, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, will have living plant-based roofs, which will replace land lost at ground level.

The site will also feature a reedbed water treatment system, electricity from renewable sources, water from a spring and eco-friendly heating.

Work should be complete by late summer, although Mr Spence hopes more will follow around the UK.

The Bank of Scotland package consists of a £200,000 loan and £200,000 to help with development and construction.

Mr Spence said: "It is no secret that the world's resources are depleting and that Government policy and local authority planning regulations are all pushing developers to create environmentally friendly properties.

"Ecobuild is our response to this need, and working with the bank has been very easy. It has always responded to any inquiries which we have made, and helped trouble-shoot any glitches preventing us from completing the deal."

Bank of Scotland corporate banking manager Stephen Clarke said: "The Ecobuild project is an exciting, ambitious project, which demonstrates environmental design can be commercially viable.

"Behind these innovative plans are an experienced management team, a hard-working ethos and a very detailed proposal, which all helped Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking arrive at an almost immediate decision to fund the project."