Glasses have been raised in celebration at the official opening of a £200m housing development on the edge of Witney.

The Madley Park development will have 950 homes, a new primary school, shops, a community hall and a 17-acre park and by the time building is complete in 2006 will be home to about 3,000 people. The development is being built by a consortium of housebuilders including Wimpey and Persimmon.

The development opens

The first 100 houses are being built and 45 have already been sold.

The development was officially opened by the vice-chairman of West Oxfordshire District Council, Joe Walcott, and the Mayor of Witney, David Harvey.

Cllr Walcott said: "There is a great need for more homes in Witney and Madley Park will help to meet that need."

The consortium will be putting money into the £3.4m Cogges link road. Work will start later this year to build the first section linking Woodstock Road with Oxford Hill.

The chairman of Persimmon Homes, Duncan Davidson, said: "Witney is a very attractive place to live.

"We are working closely with west Oxfordshire planners to ensure that the design of the new homes here complements the traditional Cotswold stone architecture of Witney."

Madley Park has been designed to give priority to people walking or cycling and the road system has been designed to keep through traffic to a minimum.