Work completed on £35,000 Countryside Stewardship project at Chester House Estate!

The Chester House Estate near Irchester was awarded £35,000 by Countryside Stewardship to clear scrubland and create access with stunning views across the estate.

At the Chester House Estate, we are pleased to be running a Higher Tier Stewardship Scheme. Our programme started back in December 2020 and has now been completed! Our programme included introducing and replacing over 3000m of fencing, clearing large and dense areas of scrub and creating footpaths with both pedestrian and vehicle gates ready for the estate to open later this year.

Gary Akehurst, Chester House Estate Facilities Supervisor who oversaw the delivery of the scheme explained that he is “delighted to have finally completed a challenging but rewarding stewardship scheme, we would like to thank Natural England for their support and guidance throughout. We look forward to opening the gates later this year and continuing the wildlife conservation work with our facility volunteers”.

The main aims of a Natural England Stewardship Scheme:

Wildlife and nature: restoring habitats, providing food and nesting places for birds, insects and other animals creating areas for rare flowering plants and managing hedges.

Pollinators: providing pollen and nectar sources, providing nesting places, and making sure the right resources for wild pollinators are where they are most needed.

Water/flooding: making water cleaner, reducing the risk of flooding by encouraging changes to farming practice (such as crop management), improving farm infrastructure, and creating woodland.

Woodland: funding tree health, the creation of new woodland and supporting the management of existing woodland, and developing management plans.

The Natural England Countryside Stewardship also helps to improve the historic environment, landscape character, genetic conservation, educational access, and reduce the effects of climate changes.