Green Farm Vision

Scope of the plan 

Between now and 2035, we will be working to restore lowland heathland and wood pasture habitat across approximately 28 hectares of Green Farm. We will create new rides and glades in wooded areas and continue to manage existing sweet chestnut coppice for sustainable wood products and the benefit of biodiversity. We further aim to open up areas for coppicing and control invasive plant species such as laurel, rhododendron, bamboo and gaultheria.

Later, when major habitat change work has been completed, our ambition is to introduce livestock to graze the heathland. Livestock such as cattle and ponies are useful tools in heathland management. They create a mosaic of vegetation structures to support heathland plant and animal communities.

We shared our plan with the people living close to Green Farm and received lots of helpful feedback and questions about our vision. To view our responses to everything that's been asked, please click here for our Q&A or the button below: 

Our response to feedback

To restore the heathland, a phased felling of the pine plantation will be required. This process will take years, and at times, the work will appear destructive. However, it is important to understand that this is how we will revert the land to nationally rare heathland. Not all woodland will return to heathland; only the commercial pine plantations that have reached harvestable age are scheduled for felling.

Existing ancient and deciduous woodland, smaller areas of mature pine and areas of sweet chestnut coppice will be retained and managed through thinning and the removal of invasive species. This will preserve older trees and enhance habitat for a wide range of woodland-loving species. Some thinning will also be taking place in other forestry compartments to improve the final timber volumes.

Throughout the 10 years, we will continue to offer public access to Green Farm, making improvements to signage, interpretation and access infrastructure to enable people to continue enjoying the site. We ask the public to be mindful of forestry operations, which will be well signposted on site and communicated through the CRT’s website and other social media channels. 

Why heathland restoration is important

Lowland heathland has become an increasingly scarce habitat, with about 85% of heathland lost in the past 150 years. Given its scarcity, we are opting for returning large areas of Green Farm to natural heathland, rather than replanting pine. Heathland was present at the site before the trees were planted in the mid-1900s. The decision will play an important role locally, connecting existing heathland habitats with the newly created areas; enabling the species present to occupy a larger area; and at a broader landscape scale. This offers greater opportunities for heathland specialist species to move across the Surrey countryside. 

Wildlife that benefits

Heathland is incredibly important for reptiles such as sand lizards and smooth snakes. Both species are rare and are typically now confined to fragmented heathland habitats. Green Farm is known to be home to adders, common lizards and slow worms, and by increasing areas of well-managed heathland, we hope to boost their numbers.

We have low numbers of ground-nesting birds such as the Dartford warbler and nightjar, and the grayling butterfly, which is also associated with heathland. By diversifying our heather structure, we hope to have greater numbers of heathland birds, as well as attract the silver-studded blue butterfly, which feeds on heather flowers. We also expect to benefit small mammals, such as dormice and bats, where coppicing and glade creation will be taking place. 

Mapping out the change in heathland

Lowland heathland has become an increasingly scarce habitat. This means the wildlife that depends on it is also increasingly threatened.
We already know common lizards, grass snakes and adders live at Green Farm, and by extending the heathland, we’ll be helping rarer species such as sand lizards and smooth snakes, too.