Solar-powered house 'follows the sun'

A home equipped with solar-panels has been designed to rotate on wheels to follow the sun.

The £500,000 environmentally-friendly building will use tyres and railway tracks to turn, said inventor Robin Hamilton.

He plans to add wind turbines and use recyclable materials to build the three-storey structure on a former quarry near Snelton, in Derbyshire.

The rotation is not a gimmick and will help create more energy than the 700-tonne home will use, he insisted.

Mr Hamilton said: "I'm really looking forward to starting work on this dream home. I've been developing the concept for many years and am delighted that planning permission has been granted.

"This property will certainly boast some rather distinctive features, not least the fact that I hope it will become the most energy efficient, cost-effective 'green' design in the UK.

"Its features can then be applied to other domestic and commercial buildings."

Rural property surveyors Fisher German helped with the development.

Head of the planning team Kay Davies said: "Usually, you can't create new dwellings in the countryside unless they are for agricultural purposes.

"But there is some national guidance that says if the dwelling is so exceptional in terms of its architecture and sustainability it can stand over these normal rules.

"That's what we were able to do, because it was so cutting edge in terms of the technology."

Mr Hamilton said the only problem he could envisage would be that a revolving building could confuse his cats when they tried to get in.

He hopes the project will be finished within two years.

Copyright Press Association 2007.

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