Horsforth homes and green spaces could be good for your health
When it comes to idyllic locations they don’t come much better than Redrow’s Woodlands development in Horsforth, near Leeds, amid evidence that living amongst green spaces can seriously improve people’s health and well-being.
This collection of 125 executive new homes is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Redrow’s wider Horsforth Vale development, which is transforming a former industrial area close to the River Aire, Leeds-Liverpool Canal and open countryside.
Redrow’s entire development features parkland, dry stone walls and a myriad of green spaces, but nowhere is this more evident than in the most recently launched phase known as Woodlands.
Previously the site of the old Riverside Mills, off Low Hall Road, Woodlands boasts large numbers of protected trees and public footpaths linking with the River Aire. Such is its beauty that Redrow is only developing around 10.5 acres of the 19-acre site for housing, with the rest left as managed woodland and open space.
Yet, at the same time, this semi-rural idyll is only six miles north west of Leeds and a short bus journey from Horsforth Vale connects with Horsforth train station for frequent rail services into the city centre.
“Woodlands truly offers the best of town and country,” says Redrow Homes (Yorkshire) sales director Patsy Aicken. “We’re providing some exceptional three, four and five-bedroom new homes and, at the same time, those homes are enveloped in a landscape that includes swathes of mature woodlands featuring primarily Goat Willow, Silver Birch and Sycamore, plus the occasional mature Ash and Oak.
“As much as possible of the woodland habitat is being retained and we are creating a large area of public open space to the south of the development, including a new pond. The River Aire is protected by a substantial green buffer and there is also a natural buffer either side of Gill Beck, which runs through the development.
“Residents will have access to woodland walks and to the river itself via a network of footpaths.”
All of this would be music to the ears of university academics who concluded in 2014 that green spaces in towns and cities could lead to significant and sustained improvements in mental health. A research team from the University of Exeter Medical School found that moving to a greener area not only improves people’s mental health, but that the effect continues long after they have moved.
Current availability at Woodlands includes four-bedroom Kenilworth townhouses from £344,950, semi-detached Yorks from £404,950 and the five-bedroom detached Blenheim at £749,950, with more four-bedroom styles to be released for sale soon.
“At Woodlands, not only will home owners enjoy all the attributes of our new homes and the recognised health and well-being benefits of the rich, green environment, they’ll also enjoy the extra kudos of living in an area that last year was named as one of the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times,” Patsy adds. “The report singled out Horsforth for its frequent train links to Leeds city centre, the choice of bars, restaurants and good schools.”
To find out more about Redrow’s homes at Woodlands, go to redrow.co.uk/woodlands, or visit the sales centre open Thursday – Monday inclusive from 10am to 5.30pm.
