Pupils at Wynyard Church of England Primary School in Stockton-on-Tees have helped name a new housing development taking shape in the village. Developers Bellway invited pupils to come up with ideas for the name of its latest development in the area, a collection of 170 homes at Wynyard Park which opens to the public in July 2026.
Long-Standing Relationship with School
Victoria Dry, Sales Manager at Bellway Durham, said: “We have formed a long-standing and extremely positive relationship with Wynyard Church of England Primary School ever since we began building at our Regency Manor development in 2018, which has included supporting their annual summer fair on several occasions. So when it came to inviting someone to come and help us name our latest development in the area, they were the obvious choice.”
The company has previously donated funds towards an inflatable shootout to the school’s 2024 annual summer fair, demonstrating its commitment to good relationships with local communities. During Bellway’s construction of their 2021 development at Regency Manor, they donated £500 that went towards planting trees alongside the edge of the school's playground. This was part of an initiative by the school to help improve the local environment as well as people’s physical and mental health, which was the first of many collaborations over the last five years between the school and the housing development company.
Over 80 Suggestions Submitted
With such a longstanding relationship, the company was confident in the pupils' suggestions and were proved right in their faith. More than 80 suggestions were put forward, with two of them inspiring the final choice of name: Oakwood at Wynyard Park. Year 3 pupils Isla Gettings and Guy Heward, whose suggestions of ‘Oak Wood’ and ‘Oakwood Manor’ inspired the chosen name, were presented with commemorative mock development signs in recognition of their role in naming the new development.
Victoria said: “We were extremely impressed by the volume and variety of the names submitted and would like to thank all the pupils for their suggestions. In the end, it was the names put forward by Isla and Guy which helped us to decide on Oakwood at Wynyard Park - a title which perfectly captures the development’s attractive woodland setting.”
The area is home to areas of woodlands, lakes and walking trails that are well known to the local community and will be a major highlight for prospective residents to the development.
Headteacher's Pride in Pupils
Sarah Wassell, Headteacher at Wynyard Church of England Primary School, said: “We were really pleased to be involved in this exciting opportunity. The children had great fun coming up with lots of different name ideas, and we’re so proud that Isla and Guy have helped name part of the Wynyard Estate as a lasting legacy for the community.”
Oakwood at Wynyard Park is located to the north of the A689 Hartlepool Road and will be accessed via Musgrave Garden Lane and Attenborough Way. Construction work on the site has now commenced and the development will launch with a grand opening on Saturday 4th July 2026. The development will feature landscaped green spaces with additional tree planting to complement the neighbouring woodland to the north.
Bellway is also currently building at its Regency Manor development on the nearby Wynyard Woods Estate, where it has built more than 600 homes since the late 1990s. Victoria said: “We believe it’s important for local communities to feel part of the new developments that are taking place in their neighbourhoods. Involving the children in the naming process will give them a sense of ownership in the development and also help to create a feeling of pride in their local area.”
