Bands and choirs brought the atmosphere to the counties newest amphitheatre which has been carved into the Oxfordshire landscape.

The ribbon was cut to the amphitheatre on Chilton Field near Didcot on Saturday 7.

Now open for summer entertainment, residents came to enjoy the open air arts space at the Chilton Picnic event with performances from Whoosya who play American Folk Roots music, Blewbury Brass Band and the Oxfordshire Rock Choir.

The theatre was designed by renowned sculptor and artist Tim Norris, it was made possible by a £72,000 donation from a housing developer, David Wilson Homes building a new estate in the parish.

The parish council applied for funding to Vale of White Horse District Council.

Herald Series: Opening of Work of Art amphitheatre on Chilton Field near Didcot

Specifically, it asked if it could get some cash from a pot of housing developer contributions for public art as part of an agreement to build new homes in the village.

The parish council worked to raise all the funding needed over a number of years, and previously won £10,312 just to pay for research, consultation and commissioning of the project.

Then, finally, it won the £72,486 housing developer cash to make the dreams a reality.

Work started on the structure early in 2020, with some inspiration coming from the Diamond Light Source laboratory in nearby Harwell.

Mr Norris said he partly designed the shape of the structure to resemble the ring-shaped particle accelerator.

Residents of the village were also involved in helping to decide the final design and have been getting involved in the construction by placing their own stones in the structure.

The amphitheatre is constructed from galvanised steel gabions with natural Oxfordshire Ardley stone, and seats up to 70 people.

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