WE RECENTLY visited Derwenthorpe, the ground-breaking eco-homes development in Osbaldwick, to admire the many energy-saving measures being built into the houses on what will eventually become almost a village in its own right.

This week we’re looking at another development with equally eco-friendly credentials, but one that, with just 18 houses, is on a much smaller scale (small and select one might even say).

The Limes, on Beckfield Lane, has been designed with a raft of measures designed in place not just to save property owners money but to ensure the development itself is environmentally friendly.

Every home will be built to level 4 of the Government’s Code for Sustainable Homes – which, briefly put, means they will benefit from a raft of built-in energy-saving initiatives including highly insulated fabric walls, windows and doors to reduce heat loss and with water-saving features. They will have combi gas boilers and roof mounted photovoltaic cells (that’s solar panels to you and me).

All of this high-tech geekery does not mean, however, that these are homes which will be boring to look at or live in – quite the opposite.

Ben Hudson, of marketing agents Hudson Moody, says: “They are very smart, modern homes with contemporary styling and designed for modern-day living.”

They certainly do look smart in a 21st Century way – and the internal layouts have been styled to provide best use of space. And – let’s get down to brass tacks here – they are also very sensibly priced.

Let’s talk you through some sample layouts, beginning with one of the two remaining two-bed homes on the development.

I really liked the open and airy feel to the ground-floor layout here as you have a living room to the front of the house flowing gently into an open-plan kitchen/dining room (doesn’t get more in vogue than that).

This L-shaped dining kitchen (using quality Howden’s units and that’s a plus) has a ready-to-move- into layout and includes a stainless steel fan oven and electric hob and integrated fridge freezer and washing machine. There is also a useful ground-floor cloakroom.

Upstairs there is another bonus, in the shape of decent space for an office or home computer area alongside the two double bedrooms and a house bathroom.

All in all, we would suggest, that’s a decent amount of new home for the £185,000 asking price.

If you need a bit more room for a a bigger family then you could always take a look at one of the three-bedroomed houses on offer.

Again this is a well-kitted-out home, with the same Howdens quality kitchen units and appliances, well-designed bathrooms and with a ground-floor cloakroom.

The layout here is slightly different with the living room being separate to the dining kitchen – but then with the latter being a good-sized area (17ft 8ins by 13ft 8ins) there is plenty of sitting space all round.

This is a property which roams itself around three floors, giving you a first floor which has two double bedrooms and a house bathroom – and another of those useful office areas on the landing.

Here, you have the added luxury of a large (almost 20ft by 17ft-plus) master bedroom with en-suite bathroom to the second floor (as well as a useful storage area). Again, plenty of house for a reasonable price, in this case £225,000.

As with all the houses on the development these homes come with turfed front and rear gardens, a shed with a cycle anchor point (well, we are being eco-friendly here) and you get your own water butt.

This little community is shaping up nicely and the communal areas will soon be pleasantly landscaped to add the finishing touches.

Beckfield Lane is situated on the western outskirts of York, handy for the city centre and the outer ring road and commuting routes.

The development is already proving popular with many of the homes being sold or reserved “off plan” so you may want to get in quick.

• FURTHER INFORMATION To express an interest in The Limes, Beckfield Lane, contact Hudson Moody’s Poppleton office on 01904 789999