Brian Page reports on a small but perfectly-formed development that provides high-quality homes in a superb location.

LOCATION, location, so the saying goes, is the secret to success in the property market. Well, we’ve never been quite convinced about that maxim. At least not totally.

There is a lot more to building – and then selling – new homes than simply finding a nice spot to stick up the bricks and mortar. Good-quality homes at the right price, for instance…

Which brings us to this week’s new homes focus – on an excellent development which meets all of those criteria. It not only has the location, location factor so favoured by Kirstie and Phil, but also adds those vital ingredients quality and sensible pricing.

It is The Green, at Poppleton, a select development of just nine properties from Daniel Gath Homes.

Fresh from a successful, small but perfectly-formed development at Strensall, the Daniel Gath team have been busily marketing the Poppleton project – and already with a good deal of success.

“It’s been hectic,” says sales manager Alison Seaman. “We’ve had a lot of interest.” We’re not surprised; this eclectic mix of two, three and four-bedroomed properties sits in an ideal spot, just off Station Road, with designs catering for a variety of needs from starter homes to spacious family houses.

There are reserved signs on five of the nine properties already – with the three-bedroomed Denby and Hepton styles beings snapped up tout suite, as they say in Poppleton posh parts, and the two-bedroomed Camden also provisionally claimed. So what does that leave to look at? Well, here’s a quick brief…

* The Hepton. This is a bright and breezy home which has a hallway with cloakroom off, a beautifully-fitted kitchen and a living room with French doors opening onto a rear garden. Upstairs there are two goodsized double bedrooms, a house bathroom and a third bedroom/study. It is priced at £224,950.

* The Middleham is a semidetached house with gardens and garage. This might be our personal favourite, a spacious, light and bright house with an awful lot to offer for the asking price. On the ground floor there is a delightful contemporary open-plan kitchen/dining/family room with French doors opening onto the garden.

Off the hallway here there is a cloakroom and a storage cupboard and there is a stylish living room which runs to almost 18ft in length. Upstairs, the master bedroom has an en suite shower room while the main house bathroom services a further two double bedrooms and a single/study. An elegant home, priced at £309,950.

* The Ainsty. “Generous family living throughout” is how the Daniel Gath team describe this romper stomper of a property. Here, you walk into a long hallway off which there is first a big bay-windowed living room to the front of the house.

Next you will find a separate dining room with French doors out to the garden. And then comes a breakfast kitchen (also with French doors). There is a utility room and cloakroom providing the little extras. Upstairs, both the master and guest bedrooms have en-suite shower rooms and there are two further bedrooms and a house bathroom.

It is priced at £454,950.

* The Skipton is another detached house with garage – but this one has even more space to play with.

There’s a similar open-plan kitchen/dining/family area similar to that we liked so much in the Middleham, but here you also have a utility room as well as cloakroom.

And there’s more to come… the front of the house offers not just a living room but also a separate – and very useful – family room. Upstairs, two of the bedrooms have en-suite shower rooms and fitted wardrobes, there is a further double bedroom and a fourth bedroom/study. This house, definitely the big daddy on the block, is priced at £494,950.

For those who don’t know Poppleton, it could be described as one of York’s most sought-after villages – except the locals wouldn’t like that. They very much see them themselves as a community of their own, quite distinct from York (although there are easy transport links into the city, including a railway halt).

The village itself has a good range of amenities including shops, pubs, a well-favoured restaurant and a doctor’s surgery. The local primary school has an excellent reputation and it is in the travelling areas of top senior schools in both York and Harrogate. For further information, contact the selling agents Stephensons. Tel: 01904 625533.