TWO eco-friendly Essex companies have teamed up to build what they term “the sustainable business park of the future”.

Clacton-based Dura Composites is supplying its Dura Cladding product for Lanswood’s Lanswoodpark project at Elmstead Market, near Colchester,

The 87% recycled wood plastic composite cladding is a main feature of the two-storey office unit which forms phase one of the development, designed by Lanswood to be as environmentally-sound as possible.

Dura Cladding will also feature on the offices, restaurants and retail units planned for phase two.

Stuart Burns, a director at Dura Composites, said: “We are extremely proud to be supplying Dura Cladding for the Lanswoodpark development.

“As a world leader in the design and manufacture of sustainable building materials, it made absolute sense to join forces with the team at Lanswood Ltd for this project. The result is a cutting-edge, eco-friendly business park that Essex should be proud of.

“Many people think that a wood plastic composite product can’t be as ‘green’ as a timber product, but they are wrong. The truth is that our full range of wood composite products, including Dura Cladding, meets the highest sustainability specifications and actually outperforms timber in service. It has a carbon footprint lower than wood and a significantly lower overall lifetime cost.”

Darin Shaikly, managing director of Lanswood Ltd, said: “The use of high-end, eco-friendly and sustainable building materials has been at the heart of this project right from the very beginning.

“That’s why we were so pleased to hear about Dura Composites and team up with a local supplier with such world-leading sustainability credentials right on our doorstep.

“We were originally planning to use wood cladding boards, but once we became aware of the benefits of Dura Cladding it was the obvious choice.

“The fact that Dura Cladding does not suffer from colour fade like wood made it a natural choice over timber for a phased project like this. Dura Cladding is an exceptional product that will serve Lanswoodpark well for many years to come.”