A project which has been financed by The Ecology Building Society is to star in a TV programme.

The Keighley-based mutual building society was approached by a couple who wanted to build a house in a disused quarry in Cumbria.

The house, which is Cumbria's first earth-sheltered dwelling, caught the imagination of Channel 4's Grand Designs programme.

Filming has taken place at every stage of construction, and the whole project will be chronicled by the programme early next year.

Ecology borrower Phil Reddy, who undertook the project with his wife Helen Gould, said: "We are both firm believers in the need to live in sustainable ways wherever possible.

"We want to live and work in ways which have as small an effect on the environment as we can manage.

"We believe that this is in the interests of us all. Part of the reason for choosing an earth-sheltered design is to minimise the visual impact of the workspace and house.

"We started the project, which has cost more than £200,000, in April and moved into the house in October."

Paul Ellis, chief executive of The Ecology Building Society, added: "Earth-sheltered building is highly energy-efficient and has a very low impact on the environment, visually and in terms of resource use.

"This is a form of construction which warrants wider application, particularly for housing provision, and Phil and Helen have come up with an exemplar project where every aspect of the building's impact on the environment both local and global has been addressed."

Phil and Helen have built the earth-sheltered house and a farm animal veterinary workspace at an old, disused quarry site in Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Mr Reddy added: "The veterinary workspace is adjacent to the road but is cut back into the hillside.

"The house fits into the current quarry space, making it almost invisible from the road - it disappears into the hillside so that only a glass front and some photo-voltaic tiles will be seen. It is held in the gentle embrace of 350 million year old sandstone, enfolding a living space of lightness, peace and warmth.

"Both buildings are covered with soil and planted with turf, allowing them to merge into the softness of the landscape."

The Ecology Building Society, which saw its assets grow by 6.43 per cent in the first six months of the year, aims to promote sustainable housing.

The company lends money for projects including ecological renovation, energy efficient housing and derelict and dilapidated housing. Ecology lent £4.3 million in the six month period ending June 2002.