The idea was to create a self-contained executive area that would bring new sports facilities and a better quality of housing to the town.

At the planning stage the designers were required to pay heed to the ecology of the local area to help protect the environment.

[citation needed] The designers of the village took this into account by creating a lake in the centre to allow for rise in water levels.

Construction went underway and the first houses were ready for sale in 1986 On the opposite side of the lake from the village was an artificial ski slope.

Watermead was voted one of the top villages of its type in the country in the early 1990s and won awards for its design and original ideas.