WILLIAM Bradley was a big fellow. Known as the Yorkshire Giant, at 7ft 9in he was – and still is – the tallest recorded British man of all time.

He was a gentle sort and said to have been teased at school because of his great height – although the teachers used him to punish unruly pupils by getting him to lift them on to high cross-beams, where they would remain until they promised to improve their behaviour.

He became a member of a circus and was a prized asset in the travelling “freak shows” of the late 18th century, even being presented to King George III at Windsor.

He died, aged 33, in 1820, and was buried in his home town of Market Weighton, where there is a statue in his honour and an annual Giant Bradley day in his memory.

And what, you might ask, has this got to do with the property market? Well, in a canny piece of marketing, Linden Homes has named its latest development in Market Weighton after the local hero.

Bradley Meadows is a planned collection of 98 homes, the first phase of which has just been released and is already proving popular with “off plan” buyers.

Almost a third of the ten three- and four-bedroom homes in that first tranche have been snapped up by home-hunters happy to wait until the new properties are completed early next year.

This, says the Linden Homes team, gives them several advantages, including the chance to “cherry-pick” their plot.

They can also choose their own kitchen and bathroom styling and the chance to part-exchange to a new home and stay in their previous property until it is ready.

All good reasons to get in early – but there are other advantages here, too, with Linden providing some quality houses at decent prices (and if you reserve now for completion in 2015 the price will remain at today’s level).

We took a quick peek at the houses on offer in phase one – and were impressed with the size and scope of the properties and by the range of individual styles on offer. Here are some examples.

The Fulstow is a smartly designed semi-detached family house representing (in our view) great value for money. The ground floor features a large lounge/dining room open to a superb kitchen and there is a separate utility room and a ground floor cloakroom.

The first floor features a master bedroom and bathroom and a lounge (presumably you could use this as an extra bedroom if you felt there was enough room on the ground floor). And then there is a second floor with two further bedrooms sharing a shower room. With garage, parking and garden this is an excellent package for the £179,950 asking price.

The Conisholme, meanwhile, is a detached house with a slightly more traditional layout with a large lounge having two sets of French doors out to the garden, a separate kitchen/dining room and utility and cloak rooms to the ground floor and upstairs boasting three double bedrooms (master with an en-suite shower room) and a house bathroom. Prices for this style begin at £219,950.

The Allerthorpe has lots of space upstairs and down with the ground floor featuring a spacious hall off which there is a family room to one side and a large lounge to the other. Further down you will pass a ground floor cloakroom and then a sprawling dining kitchen which has a light, bright dining/family area with doors opening to the garden.

On the first floor there is a master bedroom with en-suite and three further bedrooms and a house bathroom. Again, garage, parking and gardens. Prices start at £249,950.

And now, if you are looking for lots and lots of space, there is the Hunsley style.

If anything this is an even bigger property with a spacious (18ft long) bay-windowed lounge with bi-folding doors opening to a sprawling kitchen/dining/family room arrangement stretching all along the back of the house (you can imagine throwing those doors open and having a fantastic entertaining space).

Upstairs, the master bedroom, again, has an en-suite and there are three further double bedrooms and a house bathroom. Prices for this very impressive house begin at £279,950.

• FURTHER INFORMATION...

There is currently no marketing suite open at the development but the Linden Homes sales team has a presence at estate agents Chris Clubley & Co at 62 - 64 Market Place in Market Weighton. Alternatively call the Linden Homes team on 0844 644 2884.

l New figures released by NHBC show that the number of new homes being registered across the UK remains slightly ahead of corresponding statistics for last year.

Latest statistics show 38,099 new homes were registered for the rolling quarter May-July, compared to 37,738 for the same period last year; an increase of 1%, building on the strong growth seen throughout the country over the last 18 months.

The private sector continues to drive overall growth with numbers up nearly 7% for the rolling quarter compared to last year (28,861 this year; 27,028 last year) with the public sector remaining down on 2013 levels by 14% (9,238 this year; 10,710 last year). Figures for July indicate a slight drop compared to the same month last year (13,153 this year, 10,278 private sector; 2,875 public versus 13,539 for July 2013; 10,300 private; 3,239 public), although it is the second highest monthly total this year.