Thank you everyone for all your very helpful replies. I have plenty of food for thought, I'm going to be looking into it.
My other half is moaning about the cost, consequently my original budget of a grand has been halved. So now I'm seriously thinking of going down the road of buying and upgrading / converting an older bike or an MTB as some of you have suggested. This could be a great project and satisfyingly fun to do.
Any ideas on where to start ?
EBay, I know, but it has to be close to me as I don't have transport. An old Galaxy maybe ? As I like the geometry. But then I'd probably have more luck locally with an old MTB as suggested, any thoughts on which ones to look for that have the mounting points for mudguards and a rack ?
Thanks again.