J D Wetherspoon creates sustainable boozer

If it weren’t for the rather obvious wind turbines and solar panels on the roof, this pub could be any one of hundreds of near-identical buildings around the country. However, the Kettleby Cross in Melton Mowbray is the newest pub in J D Wetherspoon's chain, and a prototype for a more sustainable boozer.

"We are going to be keeping a close eye to see how much energy each of the systems and procedures saves us. Once this has been done, we will be able to see which ones are suitable for pubs opening in the future," says new developments consultant, Chris Large.

As well as the obvious QuietRevolution wind turbine installed on the roof, solar panels from Solar Century supply 4.16 kWp and rainwater is collected and used to flush toilets, cutting down on water usage. A very clever ground-sourced heating system makes use of the relatively constant temperature 100m underneath Melton Mowbray, heating the pub in winter and cooling it down in the summer, while twice the legally required amount of insulation keeps the temperature as stable as possible.

The lighting in the pub has also been given a lot of thought; LED bulbs are installed wherever possible, which use a fraction of the power of traditional bulbs and have a much longer working life. Natural sunlight is also routed into darker areas with 'sun pipes', which use prisms to bounce light where the sun doesn't shine.

Clearly, a lot of care and attention has gone into making this building more efficient than existing bars, and a lot of clever equipment has been sourced. Obviously, the plans for the Kettleby Cross weren't just carbon-copied from the last pub that the chain built... all of which leads us to one question: why did they make it so ugly?

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