A GREEN holiday village, which could attract affluent holiday makers to Richmond, is on the drawing board.

The scheme involves building environmentally-friendly timber lodges and creating a woodland conservation area for plants and wildlife.

The venture planned for 24 hectares at Aislabeck, above Hurgill Road, is already seen as a blueprint for other similar developments elsewhere in the UK. It has been designed to bring ecological, social and economic benefits.

If the scheme wins planning permission, work in the £2m village could begin late next summer, following the bird nesting season.

The development, on land owned by the Spence family, follows a year of detailed planning by architects, surveyors and conservationists.

The family set up a company, Eco Build, and the idea is to create five-star lodges by a wooded valley on three hectares of the site. The rest of the land, currently ecologically poor, would then be enhanced and maintained to create a conservation area.

While welcoming holidaymakers, the site would also be available for residents to enjoy, with ten per cent of the annual profit ploughed back into community projects through an advisory panel.

"We estimate that will be amount to about £50,000 in the first year and would rise significantly in the future," said Eco Build chairman Matthew Spence.

All materials will be found locally, down to wool insulation for the lodges and welcome hampers for visitors, something the company claims is worth £250,000 to the local economy.

Local contractors only will be invited to submit tenders for the £500,000 construction project and all staff will be recruited locally.

About 130 species of bird have been noted in the area and all work on the site will avoid disturbing them. Special bird and badger hides will also be created.

"We have worked hard on this and we believe it is a winner for Richmond and not just ourselves," said Mr Spence.

"The whole area will be boosted economically and environmentally. The idea is to put things back into the community, not take from it, and help it to build for the future."