First residents to move in

First residents move into new neighbourhood at Charfield

The very first residents have moved into Charfield Gardens, a new development being created at Charfield, near Wotton-Under-Edge in South Gloucestershire.

Leading housebuilder Barratt Homes is behind this new neighbourhood, which will be made up of 115 two, three and four-bedroom homes, including 42 affordable homes, with substantial public open space and its own allotments and orchard. The Bridge, a new bistro, bakery and farm shop, has recently opened at Charfield Gardens.

Kelly Luckett, 47, and Darren Luckett, 49 are amongst the first residents to move into Charfield Gardens. Kelly, from Cirencester, works as a midwife and Darren, originally from Tetbury, now works in IT following 25 years in the Armed Forces. The pair travelled around the world before returning home. "I can't wait to move in and have a place to call our own after travelling around the world for so long with Darren being in the forces, and after 10 years of renting too. We love the community here and to have our own home is perfect."

Andrea Pilgrim, sales director at Barratt Homes' Bristol division, which covers the wider region, said: "It is wonderful to see this new neighbourhood coming into its own now with residents moving in and The Bridge having recently opened, paving the way for the creation of a thriving new community. We would like to say a huge welcome to everyone joining Charfield Gardens, which offers residents easy access to the countryside and nearby market town of Wotton-Under-Edge, as well as additional benefits such as having a bistro, bakery and farm shop right on their doorstep."

Kelly said: "We wanted somewhere with open space and lots of lovely walks for us and our two dogs, Lola and Thor, and there are so many to choose from around here. It's great to have the best of countryside living whilst still being close enough to Cam and Dursley train station so we can get into Bristol or Gloucester whenever we need, and it will be even better once Charfield station is open too. My parents still live in Cirencester, so it's good to be close by to them, and our youngest daughter is training to be a teacher in Gloucester. 24 Kelly added: "We've really enjoyed being in touch with Barratt and they've been so responsive and kept in touch with us, they're down to earth and have listened to and understood what we needed."

Barratt Homes has donated £1,000 to the Wotton, Charfield and Kingswood Greenway Group which is working to create a new walking and cycling path connecting these local communities.

A range of special ecological measures to support local wildlife are also being implemented at Charfield Gardens including a newt pond, bat boxes and bat tubes, swift and house sparrow boxes. Some of these wildlife homes are being attached to trees around the new community and others are integrated into the bricks of the new homes.

As well as the new allotment and orchard, other shared outdoor facilities include a new play area and a trim trail connecting to local countryside walks.

Barratt Homes is contributing over £885,000 in community benefits through section 106 contributions, as well as additional support for local organisations over and above the planning requirements, including £6,000 towards Charfield Village Hall.

To find out more about the new homes, or to register your interest in visiting the new show homes or booking a one-to-one virtual tour, visit www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 3558 490.

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Cumberland Road closed to traffic for two weeks

Cumberland Road will be closed to traffic for two weeks from next Monday (26 July) to allow a new phase of stabilisation work in the area to be completed.

The road closure is needed to allow room for specialist equipment required to complete piling work. This latest round of works will see 10 concrete columns installed alongside 65 others already in place, to support Cumberland Road, Harbour Railway and the Chocolate Path.

Traffic at Cumberland Basin and Coronation Road will be diverted, inbound and outbound, with access available depending on location.

The Underfall Yard and Cottage will have access from the west (Cumberland Basin), with the caravan park and SS Great Britain retaining access from the east (city centre). The footway will remain open and can be shared between pedestrians and cyclists

Diversion signs for traffic will be in place, while there will also be an impact on the M2 MetroBus service. For up-to-date travel and bus service information, including MetroBus, please visit the TravelWest website.

A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “We recognise that this will inevitably cause some disruption for citizens, for which we apologise. We ask road users to bear with us while we complete the next phase of the vital stabilisation work on Cumberland Road, which is designed to ensure safety and prevent disruption in the longer term.’’

The Cumberland Road stabilisation project, following the collapse of part of the retaining wall in January of last year, will reduce the risk of future collapses and enable flood defences to be improved to reduce the risk to the road and nearby properties.

It will also allow the Chocolate Path and historic railway line to re-open to the public and the MetroBus scheme to enter full operation, with the work expected to be completed in the summer of 2022.