AN eco-friendly campsite which will encourage visitors to be considerate towards the environment is due to open in Derbyshire.

The new 50-pitch site in Bradley, near Ashbourne, will open in April.

It includes an eco-friendly amenity block that uses solar power and has toilets that flush with recycled water.

The 11-acre centre, off the A517 Belper Road, is the latest eco-park to be opened by the Camping and Caravanning Club, which is striving to convert all its 109 sites across the country into environmentally-friendly plots.

Gabriel Hutchings, co-franchisee of the Bradley business, said there was strong demand from people wanting to go on eco-friendly camping trips.

He said: "There are many people who want to go on holiday without messing up the environment. Our camping site will enable people to go away while maintaining a clear conscience."

The site, which has room for 40 tents, will have a sewer treatment system whereby solids are intercepted from the flush before the water is sterilized in a biochemical reaction.

There will also be four 250-litre tanks storing hot water obtained through using solar power.

Mr Hutchings said: "The idea is that there will be no need for gas, although we will have back-up supplies."

He added that visitors had an important role to play in keeping the park green.

"People tend to visit supermarkets before going camping and stock up on food that they end up throwing away," Mr Hutchings said.

"We're going to be encouraging people to use nearby shops instead and only buy what they will definitely use."

Recycling facilities will also be provided on the site.

The land has been used as a camp site for the past 12 years and Mr Hutchings and co-franchisee Denise Ingrem have invested £750,000 on the eco-project since they purchased the site 15 months ago.

Visitors will be allowed to take their dogs and go on walks around private meadows, complete with two ponds to attract wildlife.

Hedges have been allowed to grow to beyond 20 feet to accommodate birds.

Work on the site began in November and is due to be completed by April 2.

However, poor weather conditions have left construction work behind schedule and Mr Hutchings conceded that it may be late April when work is finished.

He said: "If the weather stays good, we'll do it but if we have very wet weather again, we will be pushed."

The pair aim to open between mid-February and November each year, with prices ranging from £8 to £16 a night for a plot.