Colwell Green, Witney, Oxfordshire

The Colwell Green development delivers 273 new homes on edge of the scenic Oxfordshire town of Witney. The scheme includes large open space areas, a play space, and significant tree and native hedgerow planting.

One of the key landscape features on the site is the ponds and swales in the centre and southern boundary. On a recent visit it was clear this feature provided a ‘naturalised’ setting to the whole development, with a large number of the homes overlooking these ponds and watercourses. These were also clearly a strong ecological features, with various water birds, goldfinches, dragonflies and other insects present.

The strategy for the scheme was to provide circular walking routes around and through the scheme. These help to reinforce the rural, town fringe characteristics of the development, and include large quantities of tree planting set within diverse, species-rich meadows.