Huge extension of country park and giant outdoor adventure zone in Sherford
Work in the area is about to enter its next phase
Work is starting on a huge extension to a country park and a giant outdoor adventure zone for families on Plymouth’s doorstep.
It is part of the next phase of the Sherford new town on the eastern edge of the city, which will include 457 homes.
The expansion will see Sherford Country Park grow by four times to more than 100 acres, as well as the creation of other family-friendly areas.
There will be almost 30 acres of additional green space created to the north-west of the country park, including wetlands, Sherford Quarry and West Sherford Wood.
The details are to be finalised in the planning process, but the woodland will see the creation of the West Sherford Wood Adventure Zone - an active space set to include a children’s playground and adventure play facilities.
The so-called Phase 1B of Sherford will cover 175 acres east of the first homes and will see continued growth of the new community over several years. Earthworks, groundworks and ecology work will now take place following the completion of investigations into the archaeology of the area.
The new town, which has been planned for more than 20 years, will eventually have more than 5,500 homes and community facilities.
It is being built by the Sherford Consortium - a partnership between Taylor Wimpey and Vistry Partnerships, part of the Vistry Group which includes Bovis Homes and Linden Homes.
The consortium said that significant features of the “major new phase” would include a substantial expansion of the parkland, with the growth of the country park and addition of new recreational spaces and eco measures.
The new neighbourhood will be surrounded on three sides by green space and parkland, with the country park increasing by almost 90 acres.
It will include formal areas for walking, relaxing and playing, as well what the consortium describes as as “typically ‘Devon’ informal spaces including meadows and woodland”. Livestock from Sherford’s farms will graze on pastures in parts of the park.