KEY DETAILS
Sherford
Location: Plymouth
Homes: 5,500
Partners: Clarion, Live West, Plymouth Community Homes
Project Duration: 19 years
Gross Development Value: £624m
Land: Greenfield
Social Value: £45m
Sherford is one of Vistry Group’s flagship developments.
This multi-award-winning scheme commenced in 2016, creating a new town on the edge of Plymouth. This £1bn development is being constructed in six phases, and once complete, Sherford will be one of the largest new towns in the UK. A Government-backed project, Sherford received £32m in investment from Homes England and is a public-private collaboration led by the Sherford Consortium, of which Vistry Group is a part.
Sherford is delivering tangible social value benefits for residents through its commitment to housing delivery and affordable homes, the creation of community facilities, and by creating jobs and supporting local businesses. It is also committed to nature and sustainability.
Housing Delivery and Affordable Homes
Vistry is building and selling homes on this development to our open market customers through our Bovis Homes and Linden Homes retail brands. In May 2025, we will open an additional sales centre, which will sell homes under our third retail brand, Countryside Homes.
We didn’t expect all of this purely from buying a house, but we really appreciate what we have here.“Sherford is already so much more than we’d hoped for. We moved here in 2017, shortly after the first homes were built, and now three generations of our family live here. We look forward to seeing the community grow.”
Sherford residents
Vistry also builds affordable homes for our partners. At Sherford, we are working with Registered Providers Clarion Housing, Live West, and Plymouth Community Homes. Sherford is Vistry Cornwall South West’s largest Joint Venture to date and represents a partnership with Clarion Housing.
Clarion Housing is a long-term partner of Vistry. We are currently working with Clarion on 16 developments across the UK.
We are excited to extend our successful partnership with Vistry to deliver more high-quality, affordable homes at Sherford, a transformative development that will have a lasting impact on the local community.“We are ensuring that over half of these new modern homes at Sherford will be affordable for local families and individuals”
Chief Development Officer, Clarion Housing Group
In addition to our Section 106 obligations, our Joint Venture at Sherford has enabled us to build homes for Shared Ownership and Affordable Rent. 50% of our future homes will be in these tenures.
Sherford homes are thoughtfully designed to significantly reduce energy consumption, with homes that are 64% more energy-efficient than comparable Victorian properties. This lowers heating costs and also minimises their environmental impact.
Community Facilities
Vistry is committed to creating places where people love to live. Residents living in Sherford have access to a 500-acre park, a primary school, tennis courts, football pitches, a skate park, and a children’s play area. There is also a Sherford Event Space, which serves as a social hub, bringing the community together. Examples of community events include:
- A Creative Club for children's crafting
- Sherford Community Trust evenings to celebrate Sherford’s heritage
- ‘Paint & Create,’ where residents have the opportunity to create unique artwork for personal use
We will also be building a leisure centre with a swimming pool and gymnasium, two additional primary schools, a secondary school, a care home, allotments, a convenience store, a café, and an orchard.
Jobs and Local Business
The creation of Sherford has enabled Vistry to work with local suppliers and offer training opportunities to local people. We are working closely with City College Plymouth and South Devon College to tackle skills shortages and create career pathways for young people, apprentices, ex-offenders, and military veterans.
The development has:
- A local workforce (70%)
- Created a bespoke onsite facility called the Sherford Skills Training Centre
- Partnered with veterans’ organisations to ensure ex-service personnel are supported into skilled, long-term careers. 60% of learners at Sherford Skills Training Centre are former members of the Armed Forces
- Supported 751 learners to achieve a CSCS accreditation
- Hosted 175 apprenticeships in 2024
- Delivered over 5,000 pre-employment work placement weeks
Commitment to Nature and Sustainability
Vistry is committed to Homes for Nature, a plan to help wildlife thrive in the places we build.
The development has:
- Invested £7.65 million into ecological initiatives and green infrastructure
- Dedicated over 50% of the town to green space
- Planted over 264,500 trees
- Created an award-winning 380m living wall
- Created 170 acres of woodland and new wildlife habitats, miles of wildlife corridors, and the creation of a bat bridge and bat barn