BUSINESSMAN Brian Bennett wants to create Britain's first green trading estate in the Forest of Dean.

The Dean entrepreneur is working on an ambitious £10 million vision to transform his Mitcheldean empire into an eco-friendly business village.

As well as aiming to make the sprawling former Xerox site carbon neutral within three years, he is hoping to put the Forest at the forefront of the green revolution.

He has set up a company, bee green energy, to attract inventors working on the next generation of eco-friendly ideas to Mitcheldean.

"We would like to have the first green, sustainable, business village in the country," said the Vantage Point boss.

"Our aim is to be energy self sufficient and carbon neutral within three years. It may be ambitious, but I'm an ambitious sort of chap.

"I want to make this site as self sufficient and carbon neutral as possible and we will be looking at all forms of renewable energy."

The property tycoon is close to completing his masterplan for the 76 acre site which is one of the biggest business parks in the region.

Plans to replace the old gas fired boilers with five combined heat and power plants are well underway and the first generator could be installed early next year.

Each generator will cost about £1 million and produce enough electricity to power around 1,000 homes.

The plants operate on bio fuel and produce 70 percent less waste than traditional forms of energy.

Old gas boilers from the site will be sold to India. Bosses at Mitcheldean are also hoping to install two wind turbines to give their supplies an extra boost.

Solar power and bio mass could also be part of the equation.

And Mr Bennett is even hoping to utilise rainwater and a recently discovered artisan well on the site.

He was delighted when longstanding employee Ruth Morgan showed him the hidden well in the Mews which taps into a spring once utilised by Francis Wintles' brewery which closed in the 1930s.

Bosses have already spent £1 million on new roofing, double glazing, insulation and lighting in a bid to cut energy consumption at the site which is home to a wide range of companies employing more than 4,000 people.

Mr Bennett wants Mitcheldean to act as a green incubator and his people are already in talks with those working on developing ideas for water and wave technology.

The green masterplan will also benefit tenants by keeping fuel bills stable and securing energy supplies in times of shortage.

"There is no one single technology," said Mr Bennett. "It's a combination because diversity equals robustness.

"We are also in discussion with several inventors and are looking to invest in novel new green technologies.

"By encouraging the green sector we can create a centre of excellence for renewable technology."

Mr Bennett has already talked to some councillors and neighbours about his early ideas and will launch his completed blueprint in the New Year.