THIS is an image of what the first houses in Bicester’s 5,000 home eco town could look like.

Developer A2Dominion has released pictures ahead of the start of building work on phase one.

A total of 393 homes, an eco business centre, shops, a pub and school will be built in the first phase, off Banbury Road, and work is expected to start this autumn.

The first residents are expected to move into North West Bicester by the end of next year.

All homes will energy efficient and will include solar panels, triple glazing, rainwater harvesting and heat provided from underground pipes.

The images also show open streets and communal areas, which will include barbecue areas, herb boxes, allotments and seating.

A2 Dominion’s project director Steve Hornblow said: “Achieving environmental integrity has in the past often meant compromising on style, but we want NW Bicester to fully integrate into the landscape.”

But Colin Cockshaw, of action group Bicester Against Eco Con (BaECON), said: “It looks to me like a fairly urban-style community, but being built in the countryside — lots of hard surfaces, use of decorative evergreen trees rather than indigenous countryside species.”