Traditional hedge laying has delivered a sensitive boundary treatment at the former Victoria Carpets Sports Ground in Kidderminster

Affordable housing specialist Living Space Housing has commissioned traditional hedge laying professionals to install a new 250 metre boundary between an £8m housing development and Kidderminster Golf Club.

Located on Spennells Valley Road, the 5.4-acre former Victoria Carpets Sports Ground is being transformed into 48 quality new homes for affordable rent and shared ownership for housing provider Stonewater. Shropshire-based Howdens Tree Surgery Ltd has been on site for two weeks creating a new ‘Stafford style’ hawthorn hedge at the site boundary to respect and reflect the history of the area.

Steve Davies, Managing Director of Living Space said: “We are delighted to be able to see this traditional skill in action at this superb new housing development, which is only a mile from Kidderminster town centre. We have engaged with our neighbours – Kidderminster Golf Club – since the outset of this project and it was important to us all to reflect the established setting and the many mature trees by creating a permanent new boundary in a traditional style.

“The new hawthorn hedge has been designed and laid in a local agricultural style that can withstand weather and wear. Combining such a traditional skill with the technology used to prepare the development ground, construct new infrastructure and facilities on site, and build these 48 new houses is creating a legacy that we can all be proud of.”

Alex Howden, Managing Director of Howdens Tree Surgery said: “This new hawthorn hedge has been constructed in the traditional way and in a local style by using a billhook. The top of the hedge has been finished by a binding technique called bangling and the single brush style has been used to ensure it is hard wearing and low maintenance. Being commissioned to work in this traditional way is always rewarding and when we finish the job and leave the site, the local wildlife can then make the new hedgerow their home.”

The first tranche of homes at the former derelict Sports Ground site is approaching completion and will soon be handed over to Stonewater for occupation by the new purchasers and tenants. 60 per cent of the homes will be available for affordable rent, with the remainder available to buy through Stonewater’s shared ownership scheme. The new homes are being constructed using two complementary types of red brick, as well as render. The properties will be surrounded by public open space and a newly created ecological area.

Living Space is a development-led residential planning, design and construction services solution for Registered Providers, PRS Funds, the NHS, Universities and Defence Estates. Having launched to the market in 2019, the company is already well underway with the construction of seven residential developments across middle England, with a number of additional sites in the planning system. The combined construction value of its development portfolio is in excess of £72million, which equates to 580 affordable houses, apartments and bungalows.