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Bob Tomlinson - Founder Director -
Concept Designer |
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Bob Tomlinson has led an intriguing life, with a career ranging from professional explorer and documentary maker to his latest and most successful incarnation as the creator of Living Villages.
Bob has always been fascinated by what makes living spaces work, and began to design them as a child. He spent a year working in an architect’s office before becoming disillusioned with the type of houses and estates being churned out and running away to sea. But it was when he was working on a documentary about sustainability that he was inspired to design a modern, ecologically-sound ‘living village’.
From the first ‘visionary’ sketch in 1993 a number of people began to lend their support to the idea of actually building an ideal living environment, and The Living Village Trust was established.
Having been advised to ‘start small and grow’ by the local planning authorities, the Living Village Trust found a local patron and bought the bankrupt Six Bells pub in Bishop's Castle. They re-licensed it and got planning permission for five prototype ‘eco-houses’ on the land behind the pub. Both the pub and the houses were a success, and a local landowner who had outline planning permission for a modern estate on the outskirts of the town offered it to Bob instead. Living Villages (Bishop's Castle) Ltd was created as a development company, and in 1999 building work began on the 40-house eco-neighbourhood, The Wintles.
Living Villages now has a proven track record of developing in a way that encourages good neighbourliness and a real sense of place, as well as using building techniques that minimise harm to the environment. The Living Village brand is becoming increasingly well-known within the industry, and Bob is often quoted in the press as a leading light in residential sustainability.
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