THE first phase of housing development in an eco-village is set to begin.

Lingfield Point, in Darlington, hopes to begin building 270 homes early next year in what will be the first phase of a £100m sustainable mixeduse community.

The site is at the former Patons and Baldwins wool factory in the east end of the town.

Marchday, owner of Lingfield Point, already operates award-winning offices in some of the former factory buildings, and it is hoped the housing development will follow in that tradition.

John Orchard, of Marchday, said: “We’ve been promising something different and that is what the town will get.

“These will be the first new homes built in east Darlington for some time and they will live up to our ethos of modern, low carbon, sustainable development in keeping with our visionary masterplan for the site.

“We want the new homes to be family-friendly and to use the lessons learnt from some of the best housing schemes in Europe.”

Marchday will be working with developer Taylor Wimpey on the scheme.

The developer has already worked on a number of groundbreaking projects, including the award-winning Staiths development at Gateshead.

Iain Pay, associate land director of Taylor Wimpey North Yorkshire, said: “This first phase of housing will be another key building block in creation of this visionary and truly sustainable community.

“A lot of time and thought has gone into the nature of the design of the houses and their surrounding environment, and we are exceptionally pleased with the end product.

We are looking forward to revealing this to the public.”

Facilities at the 107-acre Lingfield Point site include a children’s nursery, a cafe, bistro, picnic areas, beehives and public art.

Eventually, it is hoped the community will include up to 1,200 homes, sports facilities, a school, healthcare services and public green open space.

Public consultations about the housing scheme will be held from next Wednesday, from 3pm to 7pm, and then for two weeks until July 27, from 8am to 4pm, in the canteen at Lingfield Point.

Information can also be found at jrpassoc.co.uk