AN unloved, scruffy part of Worcester’s riverside could soon be improved by the construction of the city’s first floating house.

Sue Braithwaite and her husband Oliver Carpenter were delighted to receive planning permission this week for their idea to build a single-storey house that will actually float on the surface of an inlet off the Severn at Northwick Marina.

The single-storey, three-bedroom eco-structure will have no solid foundations on the ground - but will be attached to piles in the bank. But it will float properly, sliding up and down the piles as the water rises and falls.

Mr Carpenter who runs Jigsaw Marketing in the city, and Ms Braithwaite, who runs her own coaching business, both said this was not a “Grand Designs” type endeavour.

Sue said: “We have previously built an eco-house, in Martley which won eco-house of the year in 2007. This building will sit on the river and go up and down as the water rises and falls, but it will generally sit very low in the environment and is designed to be unobtrusive.

“We want to push the technology a bit - it will be an eco-house but we’re not just thinking about things like solar panels and heat pumps, but also about sourcing local materials and the embedded energy in the building.

“We want to show that you don’t have to be millionaires to do this sort of thing. It’s very exciting.”

A number of nearby residents had written to Worcester City Council’s planning department in support of the couple’s plans, because they felt it would be an improvement.

Oliver, who will manage the project said: “It’s the first part of Worcester you come across when you walk along the river from the North and it’s a bit ropey. It w as dug out about 60 years ago, and it was tried as a marina, but it never quite worked, and it’s been used to store cars and things like that, so this should make it much more beautiful.

He added: “There are plenty of floating houses elsewhere in the country, particularly on the Thames and in in other countries, but there isn’t one in Worcestershire. The technology is not particularly unusual.

“But I think it’s part of a conversation to be had about building on flood-plains . We’re not saying there should be houses all along the river, but its and option.”