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Read our judge's green questionnaire on Titanic Spa

A green hen weekend — how on earth did they sneak that past the chief bridesmaid? Go to Huddersfield, turn left and you will find Linthwaite, home to a converted mill that does its best to be the unthinkable: a green spa.

Amid all the fluffy gowns and fragrant treatments there lies a well-camouflaged green agenda. As Warrick Burton, the spa director, says: “It’s eco, but without ramming it down people’s throat; without the wellies.”

Discreet signs around the spa will tell you about the natural products, the local history, and the nearby borehole from which they get all their water — but Titanic does it all without raising its voice or lecturing its clientele.

The building has been restored using the old foundations and brickwork, and with some modern savvy, it is now carbon neutral and more than compensates for the excessive comforts on its ground floor. There is even an energy calculator on the wall showing how much energy is being generated by the solar panels — and how much this offsets.

All the work has been done with conviction, from the K2 glass that reflects light and insulates the building, to plans for a biomass generator and the policy of washing all spa accessories in-house with cold water, which they say makes the towels fluffier. And though the food is blandly international and they could do with more recycling facilites, they have earnt their “eco spa” credentials comfortably.

The rest of the building is filled with flats, some of which provide self-catering accommodation for the spa, some of which are privately owned. This has brought jobs and wealth to an area with several derelict buildings, where natural beauty was being squandered among the wrecks of industry.

As for engaging people with the area, they ran a promotion to make guests travel by public transport, they plan to offer bicycles to spa clients and they even asked the local scouts to abseil down the banks of the River Colne behind the building, in a project to clear the tangled undergrowth.

But why name it after such an ill-fated ship? The mill was built in 1911, the same year that Titanic was launched and the name represents the scale and prestige of the project — besides, locals would never countenance changing it, says Warrick, and the two owners are proud Yorkshire people.

Warrick is modest about the spa’s achievements, but ambitious for the building. They plan more flats, another restaurant and even less waste. The spa is rightly included in these awards for its non-preachy, “non-wellies” attitude to loving, preserving and sharing a patch of ground — even if, as a spa, it does look lonely in a strong field of green projects.

Need to know: Overnight spa breaks start from £99, www.titanicspa.com, 0845 410 3333. Trains to Huddersfield can be booked on www.thetrainline.com

NOMINATED BY: I would like to nominate Titanic Spa, Linthwaite, for it's heartfelt approach to eco-friendly spa breaks - Sophie Day, Camden, London

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