IS it a bike? Is it a car? No, it’s a velomobile – the transport of the future, according to businessman Tim Fenn.

He has bought the £5,200 human-powered vehicle for his business — housing design consultancy Green Factory — with the help of a £1,000 grant from Sustainable Routes.

Mr Fenn, who previously ran Oakwood Builders in Benson, is part of the consortium planning the new eco-town near Bicester.

He said: “Sustainability has to become a bit sexy and fun.

“It’s a trike, but it’s enclosed, so you don’t get wet and you benefit from the lower wind resistance.”

With the help of work experience students from Oxford Brookes University, he found a company in Falmouth, Cornwall, to design the lightweight vehicle, and another company outside Plymouth to make the cover.

He said: “I have been doing a lot of research for the eco-town and I have been trying to look at transport systems. I am testing this out for myself.”

His furthest journey so far was to Banbury and back. “That nearly killed me,” he said.

Mr Fenn said the vehicle was ideal for meetings in Henley, a 20-mile round-trip, and for getting to Oxford. He plans to add an electric battery to get up hills.

He added: “By the time you have parked and walked to a meeting, it’s quicker than a car.

“It’s much quicker than a conventional push-bike and with the electric assist, it’s ideal.

“In the eco-town, if people want to go into Bicester, I don’t think there’s a problem.

“Not everyone’s going to use it, but the idea is to get people thinking about eco-things as sexy.”

Mr Fenn aims to save the equivalent of 5,000 miles a year in fuel. The batteries will be charged by a wind turbine on the company's premises – making it zero-carbon.

He said: “When you turn up to clients in this, you don’t need to say anything about being green.”

Businesses with fewer than 250 employees can claim a grant of up to £1,000 to help cut the cost of their business travel.

For more details, visit www.sustainableroutes.co.uk