SOLAR panels, a rainwater collection system and state-of-the-art ground source heating.

This is the hi-tech ecohome developers want to build in the New Forest – provided they get the nod from planners.

Jim and Jackie Brenan are looking to bulldoze Kinkell Cottage in Bashley because they say the 170-year-old building has fallen into a poor state of repair.

And they want to reduce their carbon footprint by replacing it with an environmentally friendly bungalow.

However, the ambitious scheme hinges on whether planners at New Forest National Park Authority give their consent.

A design statement for the proposal said: “As well as being in a poor state of repair the cottage has structural and other major faults.

“We believe it to be important that Kinkell Cottage is a property that will not only live up to and surpass today’s standards, but also live long into the future while impacting as little as possible on the surrounding forest.”

The contemporary threebedroom design would include the latest “Envireau” rainwater harvesting system as well as earth source heating, photovoltaic cells, solar water heating and internal heat recovery.

A target date for a planning decision has been set for January 19.