Homes and business units which will be run on energy from wind turbines and organic waste burners are being built in Nottinghamshire.

Some of the units will also be partially buried to help keep them warm.

The Sherwood Energy Village is being developed to replace 1,000 jobs lost when Ollerton lost its coal mine in 1994.

Local residents bought the 91-acre site from British Coal for �1 and have since been clearing the site ready for the new buildings.

An artist's impression of the housing area

Construction is already under way on the first project to provide offices for the Credit League firm.

The architects and the construction company say the use of natural daylight will enhance the quality of working life for the staff.

Susan Otterway, marketing manager, said: "We have a mixture of housing and commercial development.

"The sort of industry we will have depends on who comes to us but we have certain types in mind.

"For instance, we don't want distribution companies as they take up lots of space, create relatively few jobs and mean a lot of extra traffic."

The village aims to bring back as many of the jobs lost by the pit closure as possible.

Ms Otterway said: "But we intend to do this with far cleaner industry and using renewable energy sources.

Earth insulation

"There was a great deal of scepticism when we started. It's been a long process but now the buildings are going up there is more belief. But there are still those who can't see it yet."

Power will come from wind turbines and a planned "biomass energy plant" which will burn organic waste.

Houses will also be designed to be more energy efficient including plans for earth-sheltered homes.

These buildings are partially buried with the earth piled on top to provide effective insulation.