How we manage Ashtead Common

Managing Ashtead Common

Ashtead Common is a 200-hectare area of public open space owned and managed by the City of London Corporation. It is a wooded common, home to over 1000 living ancient oak pollards. Its natural and cultural heritage are of national importance, the legacy of centuries of interaction between people and the environment. Ashtead Common is part of a wider Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is a designated National Nature Reserve owing to its community of breeding birds and rare invertebrates associated with ancient trees and deadwood. 

As we progress through the 2020's and beyond, the challenge of protecting this valuable resource will increase as pressures from environmental and human factors mount. To meet this challenge we have adopted a 10-year Plan to explain how we will manage Ashtead Common to protect and enhance it for wildlife, people and landscape.

The Plan covers everything from the management of nationally important oak pollards and specialist species, to improving our conservation and interpretation of the reserves heritage features, how we wish to work with our local community, partner organisations and volunteer groups, provide educational opportunities, improve our visitor provision and much more. You can read more about how we hope to achieve this in the Plan below.

456 people, mostly from the local community, helped shape this Plan by contributing to a consultation exercise conducted throughout the summer and autumn of 2020. 

Ashtead Common Management Plan 2021-2031