Oxford is a popular destination for househunters who want to move out of London.

One example is retired community doctor Dr Elaine Confedra-Levine, who has recently swapped her central London home for an apartment in Banbury Road.

She said: “While one of my sons was at university in Oxford many years ago, I visited for long weekends and that started my love affair with the city.

“Since then, I have returned frequently and promised myself that one day I would move to Oxford when I finally retired.

“I have nothing but good memories of the place and even though I haven’t any contacts in Oxford, I had absolutely no concerns about moving here because it is so pleasant and unthreatening.

“It has all the sophistication, beautiful architecture and facilities that you expect but it is smaller and much friendlier than many other cities.

“I wanted an apartment in Summertown and the moment I walked through the door of this one in Churchill House, I knew it was right for me. I feel very at home here already.

“It’s light and bright, with the luxury of two bathrooms, and I particularly like having a decent-size entrance hall. ”

There are two other apartments in Churchill House on the market through agents Savills.

A first-floor, two-bedroom flat has an entrance hall, living/kitchen/dining room with balcony, master bedroom with en-suite shower room, a second double bedroom and bathroom and is priced at £335,000.

Another two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor is also available at a guide price of £325,000 and both include free parking.

The properties also have an eco-friendly aspect in that when Churchill House, at the junction of Banbury Road and the northern ring road, was built two years ago, developer Vanderbilt Homes installed solar panels on the roof.

These supply each apartment with energy and any surplus not used by the occupant is fed into the national power grid.

Val Greenaway, of Savills, said: “Vanderbilt is making a big impression at the moment, with a wide range of schemes throughout Oxfordshire.

“The use of solar panels is just one of the ways they are using to achieve greater energy efficiency. Another is ceiling heating, which is also in use at Churchill House and which residents say is very comfortable.”

For more information, or to arrange a viewing, contact Savills on 01865 269010 or visit savills.com.