With work well underway on the construction of ten exclusively private new homes in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Broughton Gifford, about 11 miles from Bath, the housebuilder reports that local demand is so high that several of the properties already have been reserved off-plan.

Says Terri Hayes-Pugh, head of sales and marketing with local housebuilder Cotswold Homes: ‘Opportunities to buy brand new quality homes in this area are limited so some purchasers are making use of the Help-to-Buy scheme whereby, with the Government’s assistance, they can buy with a deposit as low as five per cent of the purchase price.

‘Some purchasers have been attracted by the fact that, by reserving off plan, they can personalise their future homes by choosing from a variety of finishes for kitchens, tiling and flooring.’

Currently these are on display in the marketing suite alongside Cotswold Homes’ two fully-furnished showhomes on the firm’s Corsham Rise development, four miles away in Corsham’s Potley Lane where the quality of the firm’s finished buildings is being showcased, too.

Broughton Gifford is built around a 28-acre common offering the best of olde worlde charm with sheep grazing on the common, home to duck ponds, the old Bell public house, a cricket pitch and bowling green.

Other features a packhorse bridge dating from 1725, the thirteenth-century parish church and the village primary school.

Terri points out that for city workers seeking a rural lifestyle, high-speed rail links with London, Bath and Bristol are available from Chippenham railway station, about eight miles away.

Sales at Broughton Court are being handled by Bath estate agent Allen & Harris whose new homes manager Andrew Jarrett commented: ‘It is a pleasure to be associated with Cotswold Homes and partner them to sell these wonderful homes at Broughton Gifford.’