Family Tree
Grounds Maintenance & Construction
Hedges, lawns, patios and fencing in Nuffield, from our family business in Wallingford, about four and a half miles west.
Nuffield is only twelve minutes by road from our base in Wallingford, about four and a half miles to the east. Checkendon is about two and a half miles to the south, and Watlington lies to the north.
The village is about 3.9 km inside the Chilterns National Landscape, as is all of the parish. There’s no conservation area in the kilometre around the centre, so the National Landscape rules are the ones to know. Garden builds, maintenance and fencing: we do all three in Nuffield.
Patios · decking · garden builds
Patio, path and deck building, brickwork and sleeper beds, and complete garden makeovers. Nuffield’s centre lies on Clay-with-flints: orange-brown to red-brown sandy clay with abundant flint nodules and pebbles, in the British Geological Survey’s description.
More on constructionMowing · hedges · clearance
Lawns, hedges, weeding and clear-outs, kept up on a contract or done once, plus new lawns in turf, seed or artificial grass. Clay soils, the RHS says, drain slowly and take longer to warm up in spring than sandy ones.
More on garden maintenanceCloseboard · panels · gates
Panels, closeboarding, post and rail and gates, for gardens and land. With flints in the clay, post holes are likely to turn some up.
More on fencingFrom Nuffield we also cover Nettlebed to the east, Park Corner and Cookley Green to the north-east, and Swyncombe.
Benson lies north-west and Stoke Row roughly two miles off, and Wallingford, our base, is about four and a half miles west.
We love our beautiful new stone steps, oak walls and Millboard decking. Jamie’s advice for materials was excellent and he and his brother Sam and another Sam worked really hard and creatively to change a difficult and sloping area into a lovely place to complement the rest of the our very developed garden. It was a pleasure to have them working on site, they were very polite and friendly , and we highly recommend them. Will definitely be planning for some more work.
The team did a great job clearing the garden, then putting in new paving and brickwork. New garden looks brilliant. Their team were professional and friendly throughout and worked hard to make the space what I wanted.
Jamie and team at Family Tree are awesome. We handed them a tough brief from us: build an intricate garden design, creating and updating access right through our long back garden - full of ramps and concrete staging posts to pace the journey while using. They did an UNBELIEVABLE job!! I would use them again without hesitation. And more. I'd hate to go anywhere else now, I trust them so much. A pleasure to have around, they are respectful, friendly, professional, fuss-free. Responsiveness, Punctuality, Quality, Professionalism, Value
Clay-with-flints · Lambeth Group · chalk
At the centre, the map shows Clay-with-flints lying over the Lambeth Group, which is mainly clay with some silt and sand. Within half a kilometre the rock beneath changes to chalk in every direction, still capped by Clay-with-flints to the north-east, east, south and west.
So expect heavy, slow-draining soil and plenty of flints in any hole dug for posts or footings, with the ground turning to chalk where the clay cap is missing.
Chilterns, the whole parish · no conservation area within 1 km
All of Nuffield parish is inside the Chilterns National Landscape. Under permitted development, buildings, enclosures and pools more than 20 metres from the house can cover no more than 10 square metres between them, while one placed beside the house needs a planning application.
The kilometre around the centre has no conservation area in it, and South Oxfordshire’s own list has no Nuffield entry. A new boundary fence, wall or gate needs no planning permission if it’s two metres or lower, or one metre where it borders a road used by vehicles; a new hedge doesn’t need planning permission in its own right, unless a covenant or planning condition restricts planting.
Sources: British Geological Survey, Natural England and planning.data.gov.uk (open data); the Planning Portal, GOV.UK and the RHS. The Planning Portal is a guide — your council has the final word for your address.
Yes. Nuffield is about four and a half miles from Wallingford; by road, that’s around twelve minutes. Let us know what you’re planning on 07736 650477; calls and WhatsApp messages both reach us.
It can. In a National Landscape, an outbuilding beside the house needs planning permission, and the total for anything more than 20 metres from the house is capped at 10 square metres. South Oxfordshire District Council is the authority to check with.
Yes, mostly. The centre is mapped on Clay-with-flints over Lambeth Group clays, with chalk beneath it all around. Expect heavy soil and flints wherever you dig.
Yes: Nettlebed, Park Corner, Swyncombe and Cookley Green, plus Checkendon, Stoke Row, Watlington and Benson.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch — by phone, WhatsApp or email, or through the enquiry form on our home page.
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