Barratt David Wilson Homes, RSPB and Buckinghamshire Council planned reserve east of developer’s 2,450-home scheme
Buckinghamshire Council has approved plans for a new 250-acre nature reserve in Aylesbury.
The new visitor destination, called Kingsbrook Meadows, will be equivalent in size to around 140 full-size football pitches.
The plans were drawn up by a partnership between Barratt David Wilson Homes, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and Buckinghamshire Council.
The reserve sits east of Barratt David Wilson Homes’ Kingsbrook development, which has a masterplan for 2,450 homes, three new schools and community infrastructure on 756 acres of former farmland.
Kingsbrook Meadows will open to visitors in three phases and will have wetlands, meadows, pools, woodlands, walking trails, gardens and a wild play area.
Over half of the reserve is classed as Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), which is a designated area of open green land designed to mitigate the impact of new residential developments on protected natural areas.
Kingsbrook Meadows will be the first SANG in the north of Buckinghamshire, intended to divert visitors and dog-walkers from Ashridge Commons and Woods within the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The new site will be protected in perpetuity for at least 80 years.
Work is due to start next spring, with the project expected to be completed in 2028. The final phase will include the opening of a visitor centre, café and shop.
The RSPB will manage the site once complete, on top of the 220 existing sites it already oversees.
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