Outlet for hemp in building trade?

12 May 1999

Outlet for hemp in building trade?

HEMP, a crop once widely grown in Britain, could be set for a revival following a government departments decision to fund two houses built out of the material.

The two hemp homes will be built at Bury St Edmunds at a cost of £100,000, with the money supplied by the Housing Corporation. P>Hemp cannot be grown without a special Home Office licence, although it used to be a staple crop providing food, clothing, building materials and sails for ships.

The type of hemp used in the buildings will contain only a tiny amount of the ingredient normally present in cannabis plants.

• Financial Times 12/05/99 page 1