Couple buy new home in the country and swap sound of police sirens for birdsong

Matt Hawkins and Keeley Shakespeare have swapped the sounds of urban living for the peaceful twitter of birdsong.

The couple have moved from a two-bedroom home in the town of Pontefract and bought a four-bedroom house at Jones Homes’ Teasel Green in the village of Eggborough.

Matt, a 33-year-old accountant, and Keeley, a 30-year-old trainee midwife, wanted to upsize but also to move away from a town environment and into a rural setting.

“Keeley moved into my place in 2023 and we very quickly realised that it was not big enough for the two of us, especially as I had to work from home part of the week,” said Matt. “My two-bedroom house was perfect as a sort of bachelor pad for me on my own but was no good for both of us together.

“In early 2025, we started to look at trying to find a new home and my mum told me that Jones Homes were building new homes in Eggborough. I did my research and could see that Jones Homes were renowned for the quality of their properties which looked so much better than your standard new-build house.

“We went along to Teasel Green and met the sales advisor Janette. She gave us a tour of the Bentley show home and we both fell for it instantly.  To be honest, we were blown away by how fabulous it looked especially the huge kitchen/dining/living area. As we went from room to room in the house, we kept turning to each other and smiling.

“We both knew straightaway that this was the house we wanted to live in. As we walked around the development we were struck by how quiet and peaceful it was. It was exactly the kind of village vibe we were looking for.”

Matt put his two-bedroom house on the market and they reserved a Bentley house at Teasel Green.

“Janette gave us the good news that Jones Homes would give us an incentive which meant I could drop the price of my house to get it sold quickly,” said Matt. “We used the rest of the contribution to upgrade the kitchen worktop to quartz and to upgrade the flooring and carpets throughout the house.

“The entire house-buying journey was super smooth and Janette was brilliant. We can’t recommend Jones Homes too highly – they were great. The whole site team was exceptional.”

“Initially we thought it would take much longer for us to get to Leeds where my office is and where Keeley works too but we were wrong. You can get onto the M62 very easily and living here has only put about 10 minutes on our commute.

“So, we now have the best of both worlds. We are living out here in the lovely countryside but can easily and quickly get into Leeds, with the towns of Pontefract and Selby very close by. It’s an ideal location.

“Our favourite space in the house, and the one where we spend most of our time, is the kitchen/dining/living space which spans the entire back of the house. It has bi-fold doors to the garden and three Velux windows in the roof so it is bathed in lots of natural light.

“We love to host and entertain and we had absolutely no room at the old house but here we have the perfect space. We have had family and friends over and it’s lovely to be able to cook and chat and for everyone to be in the one area. There’s a TV and sofa which is a perfect place for the children to be while the adults get on with preparing the food.”

The couple are enjoying having more room and have turned one of the spare bedrooms into a home office for Matt.

“At the old house, I had to set up in the back bedroom which had a bed in it, and it never felt like a professional working space,” said Matt. “But here I have a dedicated office and it works really well. It’s a much calmer atmosphere to work in and when the day is done, I can shut the door and that is that.

“Our main bedroom is huge and has a fabulous en suite which feels so luxurious. We have future-proofed our life because we hope to start a family and bring up children here and already have the space to do that.

“Life is wonderful now. We love our new house and are very proud to call it our home. It is incredibly well finished and has massive kerb appeal too. Instead of living on a sprawling town estate of hundreds of homes, we are on a lovely, homely development where, instead of hearing police sirens, we listen to birds twittering in the trees.”

There is a selection of four and five-bedroom new homes available to reserve at Teasel Green, with prices starting at £449,995. Click here to find out more.