BUILDER Townsend Timber has completed a green project for the Kingcombe Centre at Toller Porcorum.

Staff at the centre tell visitors about the environment and conservation.

Improvements were carried out to its visitor facilities in a major project to mark its 20th anniversary.

But the scheme has also resulted in a reduction of the centre's carbon footprint with the introduction of innovative and green technologies.

Townsend Timber, based at Pulham, extended a brick and flint barn, called the Cowshed.

It added a two-storey green oak and glass structure which blends with the original building.

The materials Townsend Timber used will age to match existing wooden structures at the Kingcombe Centre.

Martin Biss, a trustee of the Kingcombe Trust, said: "We were really pleased to be able to work with local businesses on the upgrading of our accommodation and learning facilities.

"Townsend Timber constructed a heavy post and beam extension in green oak that, through the addition of modern, low-emission glazing, enables the refurbished building's occupants to make the best possible use of natural light and benefit from passive solar heating."

"Rather like an iceberg, the extension constructed by Townsend Timber is the visible signature statement of our sustainability project, with a number of green features incorporated into the completed building."