Friends of Nick and Jane Shires might be turning green with envy when they visit the couple’s stunning four-bedroom Bewley home which included some eco-friendly features.
The couple fell in love with the development at Clockbarn Gardens, in the pretty village of Send, near Guildford due to the location and Bewley Homes’ reputation for build quality.
Nick and Jane had only previously lived in older properties so they are now looking forward to experiencing the benefits of living in a modern, energy-efficient, new home.
Bewley has been innovative in its design, materials and construction techniques to maximise sustainability and energy efficiency in its homes.
Nick, 59, who is retiring from his role as an IT project manager and going into environmental project management, was impressed with their new home’s green credentials.
He explained: “All the houses are built with excellent insulation and economic heating and lighting. We also have an electric car charging point which is really great. Next step is for me to buy an electric car!
“We’ve downsized from an older house which came with lots of maintenance costs so it’s going to be really nice not to have the same outgoings and issues.”
Nick and Jane, 61, who works part-time in a mother-of-the-bride boutique, chose a Donnington four-bedroom home on the development costing £825,000 which has been shortlisted in the Evening Standard’s New Homes Awards.
“It’s the very first new-build we’ve ever owned,” explained Nick. “We were attracted to Clockbarn Gardens partly because of the location but we were also impressed with the quality of the build and exclusiveness.
“It’s a rural setting – not too urbanised – and we’re overlooking a nice riverside meadow.
“With all the garden layouts Bewley has endeavoured to make sure each garden has a degree of privacy and is not too overlooked by neighbours. Our garden is a beautiful blank canvas and we have lots of plans for it.”
The pair are also delighted with the upgrades they chose. Nick explained: “We have a top of the range kitchen worksurfaces an extra-wide hob, cooker hood and two ovens. There’s Karndean flooring throughout downstairs and lovely quality carpets upstairs.”
Nick is pleased with the transport links to the location with Woking station nearby and just over half an hour to London Waterloo as well as easy access by road to the A3.
“I do a bit of sailing in the Solent so I can zip down the A3 and get to the coast within an hour and a quarter and we’re pretty much equidistant to Heathrow and Gatwick.”
Brett Reeves, Sales Manager at Bewley Homes, said: “Clockbarn Gardens has proved very popular with local buyers due to its semi-rural village green location which has the canal as a backdrop as well as being close to the A3 and London by train.”