A new ‘gay friendly’ housing development in Languedoc for retired expats is attracting huge interest.

The Villages Group, a British owned French company is planning a housing development on the banks of the Canal du Midi, which it has decided to market to the gay and lesbian community.

When completed, the village will comprise 107 eco-friendly homes with concierge services, swimming pools, saunas, bars and a gym, all part of a secure gated community.

The starting price for the houses is €236,000.

The development has been slow to take off, so Danny Silver, Managing Director of Village Group said that he instructed his advertising people in London to re-orientate the online brochure, and by the end of the day he was receiving “thousands of emails every hour”.

“I’ve been 40 years in this business and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

He insisted that just because they have reoriented the marketing did not mean it would be exclusively for a homosexual clientele.

“We’re talking about €25 million euros of foreign investment, 40 to 60 local jobs and local builders working there for the next two years,” he said.

“The benefits are huge, and now we have the planning permission signed and sealed, and with the huge amount of interest we’ve received in just two days, this project is definitely going ahead.”