A NEW eco-friendly house will complete the transformation of a former commercial dog breeding site in Colwall.

Mick and Carol Claffey, who own the Perrycroft Estate, want to replace agricultural sheds that used to house the dogs with a new three-bedroom carbon-neutral property.

The Claffeys purchased the estate in 1992, and have since restored the grounds and converted several dilapidated listed buildings into residential properties.

Before their time Perrycroft was the subject of widespread public protest, eventually closing after an incident in 1989 when 60 beagles bred for experimentation suffocated aboard a truck heading to the continent.

Mr Claffey hopes removing the dog sheds will be the final step in a healing process for the once infamous site.

"It cannot have been very pleasant for the beagles here in the past, and this will get rid of the last reminder of that," he said. "It's such a lovely location, but when we got here parts of it were more like looking around Colditz."

The couple hope to move into the house, which will boast renewable energy systems and minimal electricity use, in 2010. Mr Claffey said making it environmentally-friendly was always a major concern.

"We saw this as a trend when we started out two years ago, and it has almost become an obsession now," he said. "It's something close to our hearts, and something I think most of us would do given the chance."

The plans have already found favour with Colwall Parish Council. Planning committee chairman Phil Browning said the Claffeys work at the estate had already made it something to be proud of.

"This latest development will bring to an end a chapter in the life of Perrycroft Estate which a lot of local people found unacceptable," he said. "There's a lot of stigma attached to breeding animals for experimentation, and we're all delighted to see something that is going to move this site forward."