What's big and green and planning to take over almost 200 acres of Lincolnshire? No, not some alien from outer space, but something almost as out-of-this-world. It's a country house ”” a very, very big country house. It's remarkable not just for its size and style, but also because it's the first to be granted building permission under a rather tricky piece of legislation. And here's the knockout punch: this squillionaire's retreat is not being built by a Russian oligarch, or petrodollar billionaire, but by a Yorkshire-born housebuilder near Grimsby.

Times Online

A computer-generated image of how the Dyson house will look when finished, top left; A photovoltaic roof above the entrance hall will collect solar enegy, top right; Geothermal heating will be installed and a grass-covered roof will provide insulation. Bio crops on the estate will supply more than half its energy needs, bottom left; The roof terrace will incorporate solar-thermal water heating panels, bottom right