Holidays in heaven

The Retreat is a environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative to the mobile home

Forget grotty caravans and cramped beach huts. Today's holiday homes are comfortable, stylishly designed, versatile and environmentally friendly.

Forget grotty caravans and cramped beach huts. Today's holiday homes are comfortable, stylishly designed, versatile and environmentally friendly.

The idea behind the new homes first came about in 2003 when Richard Buckley, a partner in the architectural practice of Buckley Gray Yeoman, was visiting a client in Devon who had a caravan site. "One evening we were having a pint in the local pub and the client turned up with a pile of caravan brochures," he recalls. "We started leafing through them and were astounded at the paucity of design. We immediately saw there was a potential to do something fresh and new, something that was eco-friendly but that also included the finish and style of a luxury house."

Buckley and his colleagues formed a new company called Retreat Homes and spent the next 18 months working on the design details before launching the first two models, dubbed H and I to reflect their respective shapes, in September last year. Such has been their success that already another five models have followed.

All the homes are single storey, can be modified to best meet client specifications and range in size from a 240sqft studio space to a 713sqft three-bedroom unit.

Prices range from just £15,000 to £61,500 and all models are National Caravan Council approved. They are also officially classified as caravans, meaning that they are VAT exempt, attract far less stringent building regulations than permanent structures and frequently require negligible planning permission.

They are a lot more comfortable than conventional caravans too and come with all mod cons including solid oak plank flooring, hardwood panelling, floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows, wool carpeting in the bedrooms and kitchens fully fitted with Bosch appliances. The entire package is impeccably eco-friendly and made from timber sourced from sustainable UK forests that are Forest Stewardship Council approved.

All of the units come with a standard three-year warranty and can be tailored to meet individual requirements: additional bedrooms, bathrooms or living spaces can be added on or swapped around as desired. Furniture can also be provided and the company has put together two packages comprising items such as beds, sofas and coffee tables. Other optional extras include energy-saving solar panelling, rainwater collection systems, dual flush toilets and eco-friendly insulation. And, thanks to the absence of bureaucratic red tape, all of the units can be ordered and installed very rapidly - typically they can be up-and-running within 48 hours of delivery.

However, there are additional costs to consider. Principal among these will be haulage from the factory in Hull to the assembly point - likely to be somewhere in the region of £2,000. On top of this the units will also require a concrete slab on which to rest as well as connection to utilities. Assembling the units is likely to cost a further £1,000.

Apart from selling the homes to individual clients wanting to install them on private plots of land, the company is targeting UK holiday parks directly and has already established a national network of affiliated sites in areas as far afield as Wales, Cornwall and Suffolk. These affiliated parks are either buying units from the company to rent out to visiting holidaymakers or else have signalled their willingness to grant permission to people wanting to install their own units, although some sites apply restrictions to the length of time owners will be allowed to occupy them within any given 12-month period.

It is still early days but all the signs suggest that these new types of holiday homes are catching on. Since the launch the company has received orders for some 150 assorted units and about 20 percent of these have already been installed. A further flurry of demand is expected following the company's presence at next month's Grand Designs Live exhibition in London.

Richard Buckley is convinced the success of the venture has to a large extent been due to its tapping into existing environmental concerns. "We are a progressive forward-looking company and are totally committed to promoting the whole eco ethos in constructing socially responsible and sustainable buildings," he says. "In putting these units together we have been acutely aware of the moral obligations we have in protecting the environment and that is why we have made such a big deal out of using sustainable and recyclable materials."

* The various models are all available in special 'sustainable' versions featuring low-energy light fittings, dual-flush toilets and solar panels for water heating.

* All the materials used in construction - glass, timber and steel frames - are recyclable.

* The timber used is sourced in the UK and is Forest Stewardship Council approved.

* All units come with a three-year warranty as standard.

* For details: Retreat Homes (020-7033 9913).

Grand Designs Live is at ExCel London Docklands from 10-12 June (tickets: 0870 906 3805).