Adam GrettonA 'pioneering' affordable housing scheme has been touted as a role model for other communities after receiving hundreds of inquiries from potential buyers, despite not being built yet.Adam Gretton

A 'pioneering' affordable housing scheme has been touted as a role model for other communities after receiving hundreds of inquiries from potential buyers, despite not being built yet.

A low carbon developer said it had been inundated with calls from local first time buyers and families after work began on a 114-home project between Diss and Roydon.

Workers only moved onto the Long Meadow site, off Denmark Lane, last month, but the scheme by Crossover C-Zero has already received interest from 130 potential buyers, which are only available for people from Diss and the surrounding villages.

The discounted level 4 sustainable development, which is claimed to be the largest affordable and sustainable housing project in the country, is being marketed at about �72,500 for a one bed flat and �109,000 for a three bed house.

It comes after South Norfolk Council granted permission to change the development from leasehold to freehold, which town and parish councillors claimed would make the homes out of reach for locals.

But the Birmingham-based developer, which received �3m from the Labour government to reduce its carbon footprint, said the response from potential buyers had been 'phenomenal'.

Director Simon Linford said the Long Meadow development supported the new coalition government's 'localism' agenda where people can afford to live in the communities they grow up in.

'Affordable housing for local people has been high on local agendas for some time now and the demand for homes on Long Meadow is proof of how this can be effectively achieved.'

'This model can be repeated anywhere in the UK by working in partnership with local councils and landowners to identify potential sites at realistic prices. The cost-savings can then be directly passed on to consumers resulting in a win, win for all concerned,' he said.

Eighty-seven of the properties will be discounted, with 12 going on the open market and 15 owned by the Flagship Housing Group.

Ipswich-based Barnes Construction is carrying out the work. The first purchasers are expected to be able to move in by next March.

For more information, visit www.longmeadowdiss.co.uk.