AN ECO-FRIENDLY developer has unveiled a £3m project for seven farm cottages.

Preston Farm Group (PFG), which specialises in eco-friendly developments on rural land, has planning permission for the project at Preston Farm, Preston Lane, Eaglescliffe.

The site is next to the group’s first development around the original Preston Farm, which included a renovated 17th century barn – The Stone Barn.

This won two regional sustainable design innovation awards and was short-listed for national awards.

The Courtyard, a quadrangle of one-, two- and three-bedroom cottages accessed through an arched entrance, will be built on the site of several redundant farm outbuildings, including a dilapidated corrugated iron hangar-style barn.

Chris Richardson, for PFG, said: “In two years, every new home will have to be built to a minimum of level three of the code for sustainable homes, dictating build quality and energy efficiency standards. The Courtyard will far exceed these standards, and some.”

The cottages will feature the latest sustainability features, including energy-efficient underfloor heating, solar-heated water, wood-burning stoves and rainwater harvesting, while used bathwater will be re-filtered to flush toilets.

Paul Devine, PFG partner, said renewable energy had been talked about for years, but was still in its infancy.

He said: “It is difficult to even find the right people to talk to about certain aspects of it. It’s proving an education for us and it’s likely we will be breaking new ground in some respects.”

The company has taken steps to provide nesting and roosting sites for bats or owls which may be displaced by the development and, after discovering there was once a pond on the site, is keen to work with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust’s pond project to create a new one.

The Courtyard cottages will range between £220,000 and £650,000 and are expected to be finished in November.

For more information, visit pfgroup.co.uk.