Celebrating our silver anniversary welcoming our new Chair as Brize Meadow nears completion

The celebration also marked our 25th anniversary and outgoing Board Chair Andrew Hall’s last day with Cottsway, as he handed over to new Chair Anne McLoughlin, who welcomed guests including customer Scrutiny Group Members, Witney MP Charlie Maynard, parish councillors, and council, development and funding partners.

The event included a site tour, looking around some of the new Cottsway homes, and meeting members of both Cottsway and Bloor Homes’ development teams.

We have 271 homes at Brize Meadow, which is located between Brize Norton and Carterton. Of this, 147 are for affordable rent, 23 for social rent and 101 for shared ownership, helping more people who are unable to afford to rent or buy on the open market. Nearly all our homes at the site have now been built, with just 10 remaining.

Andrew Hall, our outgoing Chair who concluded his seven-year term with Cottsway at the event, said: “This is one of our largest development sites, delivering a significant number of much-needed affordable homes for people from the local area. It’s been a pleasure to work with partners to bring this scheme forward, and it’s great to see it so close to completion.

“I leave Cottsway knowing that it is in great hands, with a clear vision for the future to provide more affordable homes for more people in need, while investing in existing homes and supporting both customers and local communities.”

Anne McLoughlin, who took over as Chair on 1 April 2026 and will be supported by Board Member Rebecca Pritchard as Vice Chair,  added: “With Brize Meadow nearing completion and our 6,000th home due to be delivered soon, this is an exciting time for the organisation and for the people we support and work in partnership with.

“I believe everyone deserves a safe, decent place to call home, and I would like to thank everyone who has been part of Cottsway over the past 25 years for making this possible for the thousands of people who live in our homes. I’d also like to thank all our customers for being with us - I look forward to being part of Cottsway’s future and putting customer voice at the centre of everything we do.”

The 271 homes at Brize Meadow is equivalent to 33% of our 833-target set out in our current Corporate Plan, running from April 2023 - March 2028, showing its significance to our development programme.

These properties are part of a wider development by Bloor Homes, which includes a total of 799 homes, a new primary school, sports pitches, allotments, employment land, shops and an extension to the country park.

Work first started on site in 2018 and many of the streets are named after the men and boys from Brize Norton parish who died in the First World War, alongside others who lost their lives in later conflicts. Additional names reflect historic field names, past vicars of nearby St Britius Church, and local landmarks, helping to keep the area’s heritage alive for future generations.

Cottsway is West Oxfordshire’s largest affordable housing provider. To find out how to apply for one of ourhomes, see: Find a property