My friends from Italy are currently house hunting in the UK (and specifically around here in Suffolk). So, as I'm their resident contact, I'm becoming something of an expert on houses around here, especially as they're concentrating their searches on new build properties.
The type of development (uniform "little boxes" or individual properties with distinctive characters) seems largely to depend upon which developer is behind the scheme. For example, the two sites where I've been to look at to see what Hopkins Homes have on offer have both got a good mix of different styles of properties, with plenty of green space around them. Whereas developments being built by the dreaded Persimmon Homes (which has an appalling reputation anyway) seem to be be far more regimented and uniform.