BUILDING work is due to start later this month on a £3.3m new eco-friendly affordable housing scheme in Bicester.

Housing association Sanctuary Group, in partnership with Cherwell District Council, will build 23 energy efficient homes, built to levels four and five of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Set for completion in summer 2012, the Chapel Street development, known as Bryan House, will be a mix of rented and shared-ownership homes.

Sanctuary’s group director of housing and communities Simon Clark said: “These homes will not only provide much needed accommodation for the people of Bicester, they will also incorporate features that are designed to keep carbon levels and energy bills low.”