6 October 2006

Environmentally-friendly B&B is the pride of the South East!

A rural Bed and Breakfast business in Lagness, Chichester - Old Chapel Forge - has been rewarded for its commitment to the environment, having been named joint winner of the first-ever Green Tourism Award, in the prestigious Tourism ExSEllence Awards 2006 for the South East.

The new award recognises good environmental practice in tourism, including introducing ‘green’ initiatives within the business and encouraging other organisations in the local community to become environmentally aware and adopt sustainable approaches to their operation.

The prestigious Tourism ExSEllence Awards, run by Tourism South East, recognise the region’s best tourism products. Old Chapel Forge received the accolade at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 5 October.

Old Chapel Forge was named as Joint Winner in the inaugural year of the Green Tourism Awards, having renovated and increased its room numbers as a totally sustainable build project. The business utilises environmentally friendly policies throughout all aspects of its operation and has become established as a champion for sustainable tourism in the community.

Environmentally friendly alternatives such as solar water heating, low energy lighting, grey water recycling, green power tariffs with tree planting schemes to offset carbon emissions, rain water harvesting and many more activities have also provided energy saving benefits. Old Chapel Forge uses organic and fair trade products with extensive use of locally produced food.

As a ‘Business Champion’ and Gold Award winner in the Green Tourism Business Scheme, a founder member of the South Downs Green Club and winner of other ‘green’ awards, the owners of Old Chapel Forge have played a major role in the development of green tourism locally and indeed nationwide, including through lectures and conferences. They proactively encourage guests and other tourism businesses to promote sustainability and encourage environmentally-friendly policies and behaviour.

Old Chapel Forge beat off stiff competition to become Joint Winner of the Green Tourism category in the Tourism ExSEllence Awards 2006. Entrants to the awards covered the huge Tourism South East region, which stretches far afield from Kent through Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and across to North Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

Tourism South East Managing Director Bob Collier said: “Not only have the owners of Old Chapel Forge demonstrated a real commitment to sustainability, which runs throughout the business, but they have been true pioneers and champions in increasing awareness of environmental issues within the tourism industry. Old Chapel Forge has been at the forefront of introducing environmental initiatives and its progressive, proactive activity across so many areas of its operation has been rewarded through being named as a deserved winner in the category.”

Television personality Angela Rippon presented awards across 14 categories at the Tourism ExSEllence Awards, attended by more than 200 representatives from the region’s tourism industry. The Awards recognise commitment to quality, innovation and service in all aspects of different tourism businesses.

The Tourism ExSEllence Awards 2006 are sponsored by EDF Energy, one of the UK’s largest energy companies supplying gas and electricity to more than five million consumers, as well as Take One Media, the South East Food Group Partnership and The Visitor Network.