WORK to transform the lunar landscape of a Dorset quarry site into a luxurious holiday haven is well underway.

The first phase of ambitious plans for the Silverlake scheme at Crossways is taking shape and the first plot of land has been sold.

Overall the sustainable development will boast 1,000 holiday homes across 560-acres of Dorset countryside at the Warmwell Quarry site.

Work on the quarry is not due to cease until the end of 2017 but developers Habitat First Group have taken over 150 acres of the site and have set out plans for the first phase of 31 homes.

The homes will be built to the highest standard and energy efficient.

They will range from cottage type buildings to landmark waterfront buildings that the purchasers will have a say on.

Red Paxton, Habitat First sales director, said prices start from around £295,000 and could go up to as much as £1.5million for the avant garde bespoke waterside properties.

He said there would be a 'really nice mix of architecture' in the first phase, which will be split into three zones with the first two very much in keeping with the Dorset character and more modern buildings in the third.

Buyers will purchase a plot of land and then be given around ten different designs to choose from, which they can tailor to suit their own needs.

Red described it as 'grand designs without the headaches'.

To buy the holiday homes purchasers must prove they have a primary residence elsewhere but they can use the Silverlake site all year round.

The homes are just a small part of the site, with the site just as much about the acres of rolling countryside, heathland, lakes and even beaches.

Red said that Habitat First was also keen to maintain and restore as many of the original features from the site's previous use as a World War Two airfield, including blast pens and a Second World War pillar box.

When the tenth sale is agreed on the first phase work will also begin on a spa facility for residents complete with swimming pool and gym.

Red said that the companies previous successful development on a similar scale at the Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswolds showed just what could be achieved at Crossways.

He said: "You have got to try and sell a lifestyle because they are coming and looking at a bare plot of land.

"What we have done at Lower Mill gives people confidence."

Red said that when they were looking for a site for a new development he came down to the Crossways site and 'fell in love' with the area.

He said when he first arrived the landscape was like the surface of the moon but the vision for Silverlake is now gradually taking shape.

WHEN Habitat First was granted planning permission for the Silverlake development it claimed the scheme was expected to create up to 750 jobs and pump £470million into the local area over the next 20 to 30 years.

An estimated 573 construction jobs will be created during the development of the site, 286 of them with local firms.

Another 180 full-time jobs are expected to be created on the site of the completed scheme.

Red said that the first couple of staff have already come on board at the sales suite and more jobs were being created in maintenance and security as well as a site manager.

He added that once construction work started he was also keen to use local traders and companies wherever possible and he was currently building up a portfolio of local firms.

The scheme has attracted support from the local community at various public events in the village and Crossways Parish Council has also backed the development.

At the planning meeting when West Dorset District Council's development control committee considered the application, vice chairman of the parish council Nigel Bundy said: “Silverlake is a unique opportunity in West Dorset for an innovative form of development.”

He added: “We see this as a tremendous endorsement in this part of West Dorset.”

Red said he was delighted with the response from residents in the area.

Mural saved

ONE of Habitat First Group's first contributions to the local community was to rescue a mural painted by a young pilot from the Second World War.

The artwork depicting a cartoon Gremlin flying an RAF aircraft was on a wall due to be demolished as part of the redevelopment of the village's Tree Stores shop.

It had been painted in 1942 by Sergeant Sidney Beaumont of 263 Squadron when the site was a YMCA hostel for the airbase.

Following a Facebook campaign to save the mural, Habitat First stepped in and arrange for the safe removal of the mural.

It is now in storage and it will be up to Crossways Parish Council to decide on its ultimate destination.

Red said his company had 'jumped at the chance' to help save the mural when they heard about the situation.

He said: "Losing a piece of wartime history wasn't an option so we gladly volunteered to help."

Red also revealed that the first phase of the Silverlake development will be known as Beaumont village after Sergeant Sidney Beaumont.

The names of other areas of the site will also be inspired by its aviation history.