The creation of new model communities, close to transport, with green spaces and good housing, is the aspiration of every politician and planner today, but this movement has its roots in the 19th century.

Port Sunlight near Liverpool, Bournville near Birmingham and Saltaire in Bradford are three examples. They were created by Victorian industrialists who, having made their own fortunes, saw model villages as a way to improve employees’ living conditions — while also improving them through arts, education and exercise.

Lord Leverhulme, the man behind Port Sunlight, believed in the power of culture — hence the Lady Lever Gallery that stands amid the picture-perfect houses of the village, built between 1899 and 1914. For Sir Titus Salt, the mastermind of Saltaire, education and godliness were paramount — yes to schools and a Grade I listed church, no to pubs. Salt’s attitudes were shared by the Cadbury family, founders of Bournville, which in 2003 was declared “one of the nicest places to live in Britain” by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

From an initial 15 houses built when the Cadbury factory moved there in 1879, the new village rose on green fields near the River Bourne, south of Birmingham city centre. Today Bournville remains a garden suburb, with 7,800 homes spread over 1,000 acres — 120 of them green space. There is a broad social mix, a strong sense of community, good local schools and fast rail links to central Birmingham. There are still no pubs or off-licences, though you can get a drink at the Rowheath Pavilion, a 1920s addition.

Only the presence of the Shenley estate rankles — a multi-storey development sanctioned after the Second World War and the closest thing Bournville has to a black spot. But even here, recent regeneration has created new homes, improved public spaces and youth facilities.

Saltaire, too, has had positive development with the creation of the Salts Mill complex. Carved out of Sir Titus’s old mill in the 1980s, the vast industrial riverside space now houses modern art (including a selection by local lad David Hockney), a history museum, cafés and upmarket shops.

The layout of Saltaire’s 800 houses — all listed — echoes the hierarchy of the old Victorian factory, with one-bedroom cottages at the bottom of a slope near the canal, two-bedroom dwellings farther up and bigger houses on the crest of the hill. Today a main road blights the latter position, but substantial beauties still line Albert Road on the village’s western edge. A sprinkling of classy shops and cafés adds to the ambience.

“There is a real village feel,” says Elizabeth in the vintage shop Rose & Brown. “And since everyone knows that we all have the same shape house, there is no competition.” A steady flow of incomers from Leeds — only 15 minutes away — is attracted by classic stone terraces, and lower council tax.

For good looks alone, however, Port Sunlight gets my nod. Begun in the 1880s for workers at the Lever Brothers soap factory (and named after its most famous brand), it shares Bournville’s love of half-timbered olde England, with Arts and Crafts beauties and a scattering of Flemish-style houses built from imported Belgian bricks. There are green avenues, fast trains from Bebington and Port Sunlight stations into Liverpool, and a good local primary school.

Listed status applies to most model village homes. “Traditionally, this has not put people off,” says Nick Verity, of the Saltaire agents Dacres. “But the costs involved in obtaining planning permission and repairs can be a hindrance.”

In Saltaire, James Ickringill (01274 533322) has a two-bedroom terraced house for £124,950. In Bournville, Rice Estate Agents (0121-458 1123) has a large three-bedroom semi for £399,950. In Port Sunlight, a two-bedroom cottage (pictured) is £175,000 through Cathy Behan (0845 3047773).

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