With a degree in fine art and 10 years’ experience renovating properties in France, Carole Salmon already had a good eye for building design.

But the birth of her son 14 years ago brought into focus the way society – and in particular housing – was heading. And she wanted to improve things for the future.

Carole, 50, is founder director of Living Villages, which builds properties that provide both social and environmental benefits.

And as the person in charge of marketing/public relations, she is determined to increase awareness of the Living Villages concept.

Having obtained a fine art degree from Bath Academy – which included photography, later to prove useful – Carole headed to France in 1978.

She spent a decade rebuilding and renovating houses before returning to the UK, where she worked in the film and television industry.

This was where she met her partner, Bob Tomlinson. And when their son Luke was born, they moved to Shropshire and set up Living Villages.

“When we moved, I was ready to think of something else to do,” said Carole. “It was no good being a film maker when you lived in the middle of nowhere.

“My motivation was to do something about the terrible housing estates that were springing up everywhere. I wondered what the world was going to be like when my children grew up.

“After studying and travelling around, I’d looked at the energy-efficient side of buildings – but then I realised that the way places were designed was even more important.

“I recognised it was all about the topology of the land and the way that the buildings are positioned.”

“I felt that very little sense of intelligent design had gone into housing in recent years and that the focus was on money and cost, rather than the configuration and the convivial aspect of buildings.”

Carole said at Living Villages, they are trying to ‘turn the tide’ away from soulless housing estates – and return to creating communities where people communicate with each other.

“When the centres are ripped out of villages, the inhabitants suffer the consequences, with vandalism and a sense of fear and suspicion,” she said.

“On the other hand, when people know each other, they tend to share their resources – with everything from home-grown vegetables to setting up car pools.

“However, there’s no point expending time and energy trying to change something – it’s better just to create it yourself, which is why we set up Living Villages.

“Although we realise that we can’t actually recreate a sense of community by imposing a ‘rule book’ on people, we are designing houses where hopefully this will happen. We’re encouraging it – not enforcing it.

“Some people might not want to live like this, but most people do want a sense of safety, to live where they know they can call on their neighbours.

“This is what used to happen in village communities, but it’s in danger of being lost and forgotten. Yet it’s us human beings who are going to get us out of this mess, not technology.”

For Carole and Bob, Living Villages was all about having a vision of what they wanted. And it came together at The Wintles, a 40-property development in Bishops Castle, Shropshire.

“At Bishops Castle, we had bought five acres and needed another 12 or 13,” said Carole. “With the extra land, we could actually visualise it taking shape.

“While our children were young and living in Shropshire, they were home educated – and The Wintles was part of their education. It was important for them to see it progress.

“We also told them it showed how you can have a clear intention, you can see it through and achieve what you set out to do.

“But we have never compromised – we’ve held on to the essential values.”

While properties sold by Living Villages can be more expensive, Carole said: “We believe people are more likely to pay more for our type of housing because they see the value in it.

“However, we are also interested in building affordable housing. It’s a very important part of the property market.

“The Wintles was built to be the best thing we could produce. It was easier to establish that – and then think about providing more affordable housing too.”

Living Villages consists of the holding company – which Carole regards as the ‘masculine’ aspect – and the Trust, which she sees as more ‘feminine’.

“The Trust is basically the inspiration, in terms of the ethos of the company – and it feeds into the holding company to make the whole thing workable and show it has a practical possibility,” she said.

“The two sides work together and are deeply connected.”

Carole said the Trust helps put across the Living Villages ‘message’ through talks, films, exhibitions, seminars, educational visits, and literature.

“People can come to us for information – and we can put them on to the relevant publications,” she said.

Carole has taken dozens of photographs of The Wintles, some of which are now used on their website – and they may also appear in a book she is writing about the process behind Living Villages.

“It is not only about the personal process, which has involved a huge chunk of our lives but has obviously been incredibly worthwhile; it’s also about the practical process, with interesting stories about the battles we had with the planning and highways authorities.

“We have set a precedent with Living Villages – but it’s one that can be reproduced. Because we’ve done it, other people can look at our experience and see what’s involved.”

Carole said she and Bob were happy to welcome Scott Black and Hugo Reeve on board at Living Villages.

“The benefit has been reciprocal,” she said. “They can see what we have done as something valuable – and we can see that they can offer us something valuable in return.

“They know what we’re talking about – and they can bring it forward and expand it.

“This means Bob can be creative and design more houses and developments, instead of spending so much time dealing with administration and negotiations.”

Meanwhile Carole is delighted to have helped create Living Villages and to see it develop.

“If your work is not connected to doing something that helps make the planet a better place, then to me it isn’t worth doing,” she said.

Carole and Bob moved to Devon three years ago with their children Luke, now 14, and Saskia, 12.