YORK council's ruling executive is preparing to launch a major project to design a £6 million eco-friendly waste depot in the heart of the city.

The ruling Liberal Democrat group says plans for the new Hazel Court depot, off James Street, will be City of York Council's first sustainable building.

It will replace the existing Foss Islands depot, which houses the commercial service's team's fleet of lorries, along with storage space for maintenance equipment.

Atkins architects have been commissioned to come up with a study for the £6 million, two-storey building, aiming to make its design as sustainable as possible.

Possible measures for the new building include:

Photovoltaic (PV) cells to use the sun as an energy source

Toilets which use less water when they flush

Solar heaters to heat water

Collecting rain water to clean vehicles

Large solar panelled rooms

Straw bales as a building material, instead of traditional bricks and mortar. As well as being good insulation material, bales can be rendered so they look like normal walls.

Coun Christian Vassie, who is responsible for developing Liberal Democrat policy, said: "I started by considering the use of photo voltaic cells on the roof to generate electricity, but quickly realised that there are many other possible ways of reducing the environmental impact of the depot.

"Only the full study, now commissioned, can properly identify each potential way of improving the depot and reducing its whole life cost."

He said he hoped members of the public could see the building - expected to be finished by the end of 2005 - as it goes up through a series of open days.

Coun Quentin Macdonald, executive member for resources, said: "I want it to be as sustainable as possible, having the minimum impact on the environment."

He added: "We would love all the materials to come as locally as possible so they don't have to be transported very far."

Updated: 14:57 Wednesday, June 16, 2004