UK-First: Dedicated Tree Nursery for Award-Winning Retirement Village Group

In a UK-first, leading retirement village construction company, Rangeford Villages, have potted up 500 trees, with over 70 varieties, creating an extensive new tree nursery at their Siddington Park development in Cirencester.  Head of Landscaping and Gardening at Rangeford Villages, Chris Liversidge is a multi-award-winning innovator in his field, with a passion for impact planting, and has been working for Rangeford for ten years creating impressively designed, therapeutic exterior environments for each of the developments in their growing portfolio.

Innovation in design and environment

Rangeford has always been recognised for its innovative building design, from initial architectural plans right through to the smallest interior design detail.  But at Rangeford, it doesn’t stop there.  The exterior grounds and gardens are equally as important to provide a complete therapeutic environment, benefiting the mental and physical health of the people who live in the communities. 

The new tree nursery will become a haven for residents, who can walk through the trees, meet up with each other or simply find a quiet spot to read a book.  All the 70 different species of trees are native to the UK, to fit in with the UK landscape, and will bring joy, colour and scents all year round.  With varieties including cherry blossom, magnolia, tulip trees, beech and birch, the flora and fauna will be sensational.

Chris, 51 years old from Bath, is a former golf professional and during that career he studied golf course architecture, building golf courses during the 1990’s.  He then progressed into parkland landscaping before moving to Rangeford and landscape designing their first village, Waswick Green in Corsham, Wiltshire, which is now set in 25 acres of landscaped, beautiful grounds with mature trees and wildlife ponds.  A multi-award-winner in his field, most recent winning achievements include: ‘Garden Landscaper Winner 2023’ in the Housing with Care Awards; and ‘Best for Landscaping or Outdoor Space Winner 2023’ in the Retirement Living Awards.

Chris explains: “Creating a new natural landscape for a large-scale housing development is both an exciting challenge and a huge privilege.  It is also a great responsibility, creating a new piece of the UK landscape that will endure for many generations to come.  

“The two main challenges in my job are that timescales of large-scale building sites may change; and planting trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, and laying down lawns all must be done seasonally.  The planting of trees is most affected by these two issues, which is why I decided to create our very own Rangeford Villages nursery here in Siddington Park, turning an arid piece of land deemed for future development into an appealing Nursery containing many varieties.

“Other key benefits include growing on trees ready for planting at any time of the year, providing a more mature specimen thus giving better impact when planting; securing stock for a better price, resulting in savings; and significant carbon offsetting advantages with an extensive tree collection for additional planting and schemes.”

Chris also created the Bark Park for residents with his colleague Ricky, another UK-first for a retirement village.  Situated in the heart of the complex, in a mature woodland area the Bark Park provides shade on hot days, and features a dog agility area, a ‘Paws for Thought’ bench for owners, an eco-friendly septic tank poop disposal system, a grooming table and water points for thirsty pups.  The Bark Park is also covered in tree-bark chippings to prevent a muddy surface and café-style lights so it can be used on winter evenings.  Everything in the Bark Park has been made from recycled materials.