How is this for privacy in your own home? A developer is planning to build a £2 million luxury home UNDERGROUND.

Walking around the manicured lawns of the Limehurst estate in Bowdon, Manchester, it would be easy to miss the discreet entrance, after all, it is designed to look like a garden folly.

But beneath the earth, imaginative developers Huntsmere already have planning permission to build a two-storey dwelling, finished to the highest of standards.

The layout is circular with light provided via a large central light well, while three other lights sources feed light through every aspect of this innovative property, including glazing to the entrance element, which acts as a large roof light for the entrance stairwell.

Many of the rooms are 'cheese wedge' shaped surrounding a central atrium and the main reception rooms and kitchen are located on the lower ground floor as well as the master bedroom suite (which comes complete with chute down to the swimming pool on the floor below).

The lower ground floor has two more bedrooms plus gym, swimming pool and Jacuzzi.

Heated is from an underfloor system which uses hot water from a heat pump that uses heat exchange technology to capture the heat contained in the ground to heat the house. Huntsmere claim this will lead to a 75% reduction in the use of fossil fuel.

Chris Oakes of Huntsmere said: "We are very excited by the challenges of building a luxurious family home entirely underground.

"We have quite a few bespoke developments under our belt that include elements housed underground, but this will be the first entirely subterranean home we have built.

"There are some very sensible and practical reasons for developing down as opposed upwards. The property has very little impact on the surrounding environment; it is easy to heat in winter and to keep cool in summer; and by incorporating the highest standards in renewable design solutions the energy demands of the building can be cut to almost zero.

"I am confident that this house in Bowdon will become an architectural landmark, albeit one that most people will never see."

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Story: Dean Murray