A four-bedroom chalet-style home surrounded by farmland in the village of Pott Row, Norfolk, is among the new-build properties featured for first-time buyers in England. The selection includes a flat in a new urban village in London and a family-sized home in a rural village in Norfolk.
Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent
Ebbsfleet Garden City is a long-term regeneration project to create a new town of 15,000 homes close to the coast in north-west Kent. Just two miles from Bluewater shopping centre, Ebbsfleet Cross is a collection of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes in parkland. There is a second-floor, one-bedroom flat with 50 sq metres of floor space. The hallway opens into an open-plan kitchen-dining room and living space with access to a balcony. The angled double-bedroom is alongside. A train from Ebbsfleet to London St Pancras takes about 18 minutes. Price: £224,995. Contact Foxtons, 020 7133 7744.
Pott Row, Norfolk
For first-time buyers skipping the traditional first rung of the ladder and buying a family-sized home, there is this chalet-style, four-bedroom house in Russell Court, a rural development in a small village surrounded by farmland. It is three miles to the east of King’s Lynn and close to Sandringham and the Norfolk Coast National Landscape. It has two bedrooms on the ground floor and two upstairs next to the family bathroom. There is underfloor heating downstairs and an air source heat pump. Energy efficiency rating is B. Price: £425,000. Contact Sowerbys, 01553 766 741.
Brent Cross, London
When this new urban village is completed, there will be 6,700 homes and 50 shops, restaurants and cafes. There are 20 hectares (50 acres) of parkland plus indoor facilities. In the Ashbee building there is a studio apartment on the ground floor with a private courtyard. Residents have access to a lounge, a gym and a cinema room, and there is a concierge service, too. Claremont Park is on the doorstep, North London’s newest park and a new station (Brent Cross West) with a service into central London in about 12 minutes. Price: £399,000. Contact Brent Cross Town, 020 3319 0729.
Bromley-by-Bow, London
Overlooking the River Lea is the Waterside scheme of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Details of the government’s Your First Home scheme (similar to the scrapped help to buy) are expected in the upcoming budget. In the meantime, the developer is offering its own incentive: a £20,000 contribution towards stamp duty costs. On the seventh floor is a one-bedroom flat with a balcony. The layout is halved, with the open-plan living area on one side and the bedroom suite and bathroom, on the other. Victoria Park is close. Price: £460,000. Contact JLL Residential, 0207 087 5100.
Alston, Cumbria
On the edge of Alston, which is claimed to be the highest market town in England, is Forest Drive, a development of 13 detached homes. There is a three-bedroom house with a garden surrounded by fencing and traditional stone walling, and a detached double garage. It is rendered in white with stone detailing. The hallway is laid with porcelain tiling (over underfloor heating) with the main living room to one side. The kitchen is at the back, with a dining area leading into a sun room with bifold doors to the garden. Price: £425,000. Contact Finest, 0330 111 2266.
