An eco-mansion designed by one of Britain’s best known classical architects is to replace a plan for a futuristic, starfish-shaped house that was never built.

Chester council last week gave final approval for Grafton New Hall, designed by Robert Adam and commissioned by a British-based businessman who plans to move with his family into the house just outside the city.

The 11-bedroom mansion, which will cost an estimated £16m, was given approval because of its advanced environmental features. The design it replaces was intended to herald a new era of modernist country house architecture.

Adam claims Grafton will be one of the first homes in Britain with zero carbon emissions. “We’ve got to understand that being sustainable is not about being wacky. The traditional types are the most sustainable,” he said.

The mansion, set on a 200- acre site where a Tudor house once stood, will produce its own “green energy” to heat and light its 32,000 sq ft of living space. All rooms will be heated by subterranean warmth using ground source pumps. The system comprises a closed loop of water pipes dug 6ft below the surface, where the temperature stays constant at around 14C.

The water has anti-freeze mixed with it to absorb the heat of the ground as it passes through. Then the water is piped through a machine that alternately compresses and decompresses it, allowing heat to escape from the pipes and warm up the household water supply to 40C. Solar panels will top up the heat to a sufficient temperature for washing and household tasks. There will be two wind turbines in the grounds to power the lighting and pumps, making the property self-sufficient in energy.

The previous design for the site was a low-lying building with pink, tentacle-like arms designed by the architect Kathryn Findlay. It won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2001, but never found a buyer.

“People just do not want to live in something that is alien-looking,” said Adam. “Surveys have shown that 85% of the British public want to live in traditional houses, which give a sense of continuity.”

Adam’s triumph is a setback for Labour’s attempted modernisation of country house architecture. In 2004 John Prescott, then deputy prime minister, restricted the building of large new country homes unless they were “cutting edge”.

At the time, Adam called the move “stylistic Stalinism”. Despite the new rules, almost no modernist mansions have been built, with patrons preferring traditional designs.

Last week Findlay, architect of the Starfish, said: “I am not disappointed; I am philosophical. Sometimes traditional designs have their place and new ideas take time to get accepted. I think the classical design is beautiful, too.”

Additional reporting: Abul Taher

BUILDING BIG

Largest country houses built in recent years include:

— Tusmore House, built in Oxfordshire by the Syrian-born tycoon Wafic Said for £30m in the style of an 18th century Wiltshire castle

— Corrour Lodge, modernist castle built by Lisbet Rausing, a member of the Swedish Tetra Pak dynasty, beside Loch Ossian in the west Highlands

— Ingliston House, high-security mansion on the Wentworth estate in Surrey built by Petr Aven, a Russian banking tycoon

Editor's choice

• The 50 Biggest Movies of 2009
• The other side of Angelina Jolie
• Quantum of Solace