Winter 2025 Update

Beacon Hill Community Update for Green Farm Woodland Management & Heathland Restoration 

The CRT is committed to keeping the Beacon Hill community regularly informed about the progress of our woodland management plan and heathland restoration project at Green Farm. 
 
In our first statement (which you can read here: Green Farm's woodland management plan and heathland restoration project), we were hoping to start clear felling of the pine plantation directly behind Linkside North (GU26 6NZ) this autumn.  

However, we’re still working with the Forestry Commission and Natural England to finalise the best way to deliver our project here and will keep you posted. 

What does this mean for the area? 

• No clear felling will take place this winter. 

• We now expect clear felling in this area to begin later in 2026. 

• The removal of six hectares of pine plantation behind Linkside North remains the first clear fell proposed as part of our Woodland Management Plan. 

Why is this necessary? 

Lowland heathland is now an extremely rare habitat, with around 85 per cent lost in the past 150 years. 

Over the next decade, we are embarking on a restoration project across 28 hectares of Green Farm that will transform much of the land back to a more diverse heathland mosaic habitat, a nationally rare ecosystem.  

Between now and 2035, we'll be converting commercial pine plantations that have reached harvestable age back to the heathland mosaic that existed here before the trees were planted in the mid-1900s. This is thoughtful restoration guided by ecological science and historical understanding of the landscape. 

The plan is part of Heathland Connections, an important habitat project nationally, which is funded by Natural England, and includes organisations such as the National Trust, The Surrey Hills Board, Surrey Wildlife Trust, and the RSPB. This ensures that our restored heathland will connect effectively with existing fragments, creating corridors that allow species to move across the landscape and establish new populations. 

What will happen next? 

This winter and throughout next summer, we will continue our ecological surveys in and around the pine plantation. 

Recent work includes: 

• Bat monitoring of a ride alongside the plantation. 

• Reptile surveys on existing heathland, supported by experts from the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust 

• Additional species surveys to guide restoration decisions 

A big thank you 

We’re tremendously grateful to our volunteers who continue to lend their time and skills in helping us manage this precious site. More information and how you can help is available here: Conservation Volunteering with Countryside Regeneration Trust 

How we will keep residents updated 

We have already responded to many resident questions and you can see our feedback here: www.thecrt.co.uk/green-farm-vision-qa  We will host an information day in 2026 once we have more details on the felling plans where we will then discuss finer details on how these operations will take place.  

We’re committed to working with our forestry contractors to ensure minimal disruption. 

Sign up to hear about updates as soon as they go live on our website by providing your email to: [email protected]