A derelict industrial site in east Brighton is set to be transformed into a £2 million green business centre.

Westergate House in Moulsecoomb Way will be rebuilt using the latest eco-friendly technology.

The building, which will be built with materials from the demolished site, will cover almost 21,000sqft and provide space for up to 30 businesses.

It will feature walls covered with a special kind of vegetation called sedum, which grows on a thin layer of soil and soaks up carbon dioxide emissions.

A recycling system will use water from sinks and handbasins to flush toilets.

A wind turbine will produce electricity to power the building, while a solar-powered water and heating system will be also installed.

Waste materials will be recycled and concrete and bricks will be crushed and reused in the new construction.

In addition, local labour will be used wherever possible.

The project is the most imaginative and costly proposal to emerge from Government plans to regenerate east Brighton.

It is being jointly funded by the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) and eb4u.

It is hoped the scheme will create new jobs and become a benchmark for ecological and economic sustainability in the South-East.

Demolition of the existing structure should be completed by the end of next month, with the new building ready to be opened by February next year.

The design team includes architects Hazle McCormack Young, MacConvilles quantity surveyors, Blyth and Blyth mechanical and electrical engineers and Dixon Hurst structural engineers.

Brighton and Hove City Council will own the freehold and eb4u, which put £800,000 into the project, will buy a long lease on the premises.

Organisations from the Bates Estate, Bevendean, Manor Farm, Moulsecoomb and Whitehawk are being encouraged to take up workshop space.

Regeneration councillor Don Turner said: "This project is exactly the kind of vision we are looking for in this city.

"It is all about sustainability. It goes beyond the local to strike at the heart of global issues."

Peter Field, who chairs the regeneration partnership, said: "The future of the South-East depends upon foresight of this magnitude.

"It is my fervent hope Westergate House marks the beginning of a new way of seeing how businesses can run."

Angharad James, Seeda area manager for Surrey and Sussex, described the project as "pioneering", while Lorraine Bell, from eb4U, said it would be "pivotal" in turning east Brighton into a thriving business centre.

Any businesses interested in renting office space at Westergate House should call Ms Bell on 01273 296767.

Eb4u has received £8 million this year through the New Deal for Communities programme to regenerate east Brighton.

Thursday April 22, 2004