A NEW housing estate is encouraging local wildlife to flourish alongside residents.

The Thornbury Green development in Eynsham includes routes for hedgehogs to travel between habitats, including hedgehog holes in garden fences, and the planting of trees, shrubbery and a grassland area to provide food for insects and birds.

Houses at the Taylor Wimpey site will have nest boxes for swifts and house sparrows, while public spaces will be home to blue tits, stag beetles and grass snakes.

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There will also be a 10 metre buffer zone around the Chil Brook, in efforts to protect the waterway.

Gary Needham, land and planning director at Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire, said: “We’re proud to be providing large, open green spaces at Thornbury Green which will be fully landscaped and allow for residents and visitors to our development to mix peacefully with nature.”