A new development in Huntington may be on the site of a historic royal forest, but its new homes are very much designed for modern life, Brian Page reports.

THIS week we will begin with a history lesson… Back in the Middle Ages, the area of Huntington, to the east of the Foss, was part of the Forest of Galtres, a royal hunting forest that covered large areas of land to the north east of York.

Royal forests, in case you are wondering, usually included large areas of heath, grassland and wetland – anywhere that supported deer and game.

The Royal Forest we are writing about this week is unlikely to house deer and game. Humans, however, are very likely…

Royal Forest is the name of an interesting-looking development by Wakefield-based Ben Bailey Homes (and our thanks to Laura from the BBH marketing department for supplying the historic background) in Huntington – on Huntington Road, on the site of the old Sessions print works to be precise.

The project will eventually provide a collection of 59 individual homes, with three, four and five-bedroomed houses in a range of different designs, styles and prices.

On the board at the moment are a series of three-beds from £230,000 ranging up to some fairly grand fivebedroomed properties from £499,950 which have been exclusively designed for Royal Forest (we should stress that you will have to check final prices with the marketing team at the development).

We’ve had a sneak preview this week of a couple of house styles and very grand they look, too… The ‘Norbury’ is a big, handsomelooking house which has a very family- friendly layout.

This includes an impressive kitchen and family space at the back of the home, with doors opening onto the rear garden and a ground floor cloakroom.

There is also a good-sized living room to the front. Upstairs you have a master bedroom with en-suite shower room, three further double bedrooms and a house bathroom.

An integral garage and gardens complete the picture.

Our second featured property, the ‘Kirkham’, is even more generously proportioned. Again there is a living room to the front while the entire length of the back of the house is taken up with an excellent kitchen/ dining/family layout – the ideal space for family living or for entertaining… one of those ‘wow factor’ spots. The more prosaic work is delivered by separate cloak and utility rooms.

Plenty of space upstairs, as well, with two of the five bedrooms having en-suite shower rooms and the other three being served by a luxurious house bathroom.

Again, there is a decent-sized garage and a good garden plot.

Those spacious kitchen, dining, entertaining areas have not been included on a whim.

Ben Bailey Homes conducted extensive market research and studied recent living trends before incorporating the results into their designs for Royal Forest.

Or, as the BBH publicity team put it: “These versatile new homes have each been designed to reflect how people live today, ranging from the creative and flexible use of space within the properties to the type of specification provided. All of this is expertly combined to deliver an outstanding lifestyle experience and to offer buyers homes with a real wow factor.”

It’s not just words, however. The new homes will have a good choice on offer for prospective buyers including fitted designer kitchens with integrated appliances including fridge/freezer, dishwasher, oven, hob and microwave; bathrooms will have contemporary and stylish fittings and there will be bi-folding doors to kitchen and family rooms.

It is the first venture in York for Ben Bailey Homes and sales director Steve Rider said: “We are hugely excited to be bringing our exceptional new homes to York for the very first time.

“Thanks to what homebuyers have told us, we have designed, developed and built a stunning collection of new homes with functional and flexible designs. The first phase of homes have been released for sale and we are already seeing a huge amount of interest.”

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Royal Forest, Huntington. Contact the Ben Bailey Homes on-site sales team on 01904 899225