Dacorum residents invited to hear plans on securing future of 'fragile landscape' at Ashbridge Estate

Dacorum residents are invited to hear plans to protect the future of Ashbridge Estate.

The National Trust is holding the second of its public engagement events at the estate which has suffered damage due to visitor footfall.

The 2,000 hectare estate sits within the Chilterns National Landscape and is mostly covered by the Chiltern’s Beechwood Special Area of Conservation (SAC) .

In 2021 it was estimated that 1.7 million people visited the estate, mostly coming to the visitor centre area at the top of Monument Drive which lies at the heart of the SAC.

This large volume of visitors is causing damage to the fragile and protected landscape and the trust needs to act to secure its future.

In September, the trust held its first public engagement event at Ashridge, introducing the Protecting Our Roots project, its long-term plan to safeguard the future of the estate.

General manager Paul Miller said: “Ashridge Estate is an incredibly special landscape - there are few places in the country with such variety of habitats and rich biodiversity, but sadly the rare and protected landscape is under threat. With more than 30,000 new homes due to be built in the local area over the next 10 year, we could see upwards of an extra 200,000 visitors to Ashridge each year. Change is needed and we need to act now.

“At the heart of our plan is an ambition to move the concentration of visitors away from the most sensitive parts of the estate. We’ve been working closely with local authorities and a range of specialists to look for the best ways to do this, whilst continuing to provide an excellent experience for the visitors who enjoy spending time in these beautiful surroundings.”

He added over 700 people attended the first engagement event and provided feedback on the trust’s proposals.

The latest event will focus on sharing the updated plans.

The public engagement event takes place on Saturday 25 and Sunday May 26, from 11am – 4pm in Meadley’s Meadow behind the visitor centre at Ashridge Estate.

Find out more at the trust’s project page.