A community rock snake at a new Swindon housing development is to become a permanent fixture.

Secondary school art teacher Jenny Green approached house builder Persimmon Homes Wessex after her lockdown community art project proved to be a real hit with residents at the new Badbury Park housing development.

The Badbury Park Rock Snake, as it has been dubbed, currently consists of more than 260 hand-painted rocks from residents across the development.

After advertising the project with posters, Jenny has been overwhelmed by the response. She said: “As an art teacher I know the joy that creativity and art can bring, especially in a time that is challenging for so many. It has been a tremendous way to bring the new community together in a safe environment. ”

“Residents were encouraged to paint a rock at home with their own inspirational design – lots chose to show their support to the NHS, others took the opportunity to paint a positive picture and get creative. I expect over the October half term even more rocks will be added to the collection.

“It has been lovely to see local residents come out to have a look at the Rock Snake and we’re delighted to hear it will be a permanent fixture for residents to see for future years to come.” Julian Roper, director in charge for Persimmon Homes Wessex, said: “Covid-19 has been a hard time for so many, but it has also been a time when communities have come together and shown great strength, and this is a great example of just that. ”

“When Jenny approached us about making the Badbury Park rock snake a permanent fixture at the development, we were happy to be able to help.”

“We are currently exploring the best places to locate the rock snake and working with Jenny to make this happen.”

The development, located on the northern edge of Coate Water Country Park, immediately attracted buyers when the developer started construction in June 2014. Recently, Persimmon Homes has acquired land to launch a new phase of development, which will provide a further 56 much-needed new homes for the area. The new phase will consist of three and four-bedroom properties, including 14 affordable homes, in response to an increase in demand for affordable new build homes.