Roofs are being installed this week on the first of more than a hundred new homes in Charfield, near Wotton-under-Edge, and the first show homes have just opened.

Barratt Homes' Charfield Gardens 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 leading housebuilder 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.

The safe, traffic-free route will help and encourage people to walk and cycle to school, work and for shopping and leisure. It will connect Charfield with Wotton-under-Edge and Kingswood plus the local secondary school, Katharine Lady Berkeley's School and Wotton Community PARC. Campaigners and volunteers hope it will also help improve the health and wellbeing of the local communities.

The Greenway project also aims to help reduce congestion and contribute towards carbon reduction targets for South Gloucestershire, a goal shared by Barratt Homes which last year announced its commitment to reduce direct carbon emissions by 29% by 2025 and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations by 2040.

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. The much-loved local farm shop will remain on site offering local produce and essentials.

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.

Alex King, Chair of the Wotton, Charfield and Kingswood Greenway Group said: "We're delighted to have Barratt Homes' support for the creation of a safe, traffic-free walking and cycling route connecting our communities and their donation will help towards our £40,000 fund raising target for the Sustrans route design study and detailed plans.

"The Greenway Group is a community-led project, formed in 2017 to promote the need for safe walking and cycling infrastructure to connect our communities to make our lives safer, cleaner, and greener. We're now working with Sustrans on the route design and hope to be able to confirm the preferred route later this year".

Andrea Pilgrim, sales director at Barratt Homes Bristol added: "At Barratt Homes, we are passionate about supporting local communities and increasing sustainability so when we heard about the greenway project we were really keen to help.

"The streets of Charfield Gardens are designed to be people friendly, with defined footpaths and low speed limits and the development will also have its own orchard and allotments. So a traffic-free route connecting neighbouring communities, schools and leisure facilities will be a fantastic addition and complements the work we are carrying out to protect and enhance local wildlife."

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