The commercial property team at MFG Solicitors is advising on one of the first "live/work" developments in the UK at Stone, near Kidderminster.

Land Marque has secured planning permission for 31 eco-friendly live/work homes on a 17-acre site formerly known as the Old Stone Sale site.

Construction could start as early as the spring. The live/work concept is intended to play a decisive role in meeting the Government's policy to redevelop brownfield sites in innovative ways that meet multiple regeneration and employment objectives, as well as providing sustainable buildings with a reduced carbon footprint.

Land Marque director Will Coote said: "Live/work development consists of purpose-built units that provide segregated living and working accommodation in a single self-contained unit.

"Recently, social shifts in attitude to traditional working patterns and demand for more flexible lifestyles have spread across the UK.

"Live/work enables the occupier of the residential element to operate a fully-functional business, perhaps with a small number of employees, from the same building in which he/she resides but as a separate use, making them significantly different from the traditional concept of living and working."

The live/work home concept is backed by the advances in technology and telecommunications as well as Government initiatives to encourage mixeduse development, tackle traffic congestion and reduce the need to travel.

Mr Coote added: "Despite the relative youth of the live/work concept, Land Marque is keen to specialise in this exciting sector to create more sustainable communities and 'greener' developments.

"It is our aim, by involving the local community at an early stage, to develop a proposal for a sustainable employment and residential centre that will not only enhance the immediate surroundings but benefit the village of Stone as a whole.

"Working with our advisers including MFG Solicitors, we are developing something at Stone which we believe can act as a proving ground for similar developments across the UK in the future."

MFG property consultant Simon Bishop said: "Land Marque has come up with a very interesting concept which raises many interesting questions and is an exciting proposition for the future use of similar sites which might be classified as brownfield but are in a predominantly rural setting."