In 2021, Charlton Kings Parish Council created a partnership of local organisations that secured a grant of £175,000 from National Grid as part of their Landscape Enhancement Initiative, which aims to offset the landscape intrusions of electricity transmission lines and pylons within protected National Landscapes like the Cotswolds.

The initial three-year grant was extended to four years and our 'Restoring Cheltenham's Escarpment Grasslands' (RCEG) project will conclude in March 2025. It aims to improve the landscape, biodiversity, archaeology, public access and enjoyment across the Cotswold Escarpment between the Devil's Chimney, Charlton Kings Common, and the electricity transmission line and pylon on Ravensgate Common.

Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common is a nationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and Ravensgate Common a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust Key Wildlife Site. Together they form a wildlife haven and a beautiful backdrop to the town.

This collaborative project is a partnership between Charlton Kings Parish Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Friends of Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common (FOLK); with oversite from the Cotswolds National Landscape which is our formal link with National Grid.

Grassland restoration: A further area was 'Robomowed' in 2023, and this treatment will become an annual fixture to support the effects of cattle grazing. 10 sets of 'Nofence' cattle collars were purchased in 2023 and some of Five Acres Farm's South Devon cattle have been trained in their use. They will be seen on the Common later this Spring and will stay on the southern corner of the site until mid-May to try to remove some of the accumulated grass.

Restoration of limestone grassland by tree clearance: Contractors completed the felling of 53 Ash, 6 multi-stem Hazel, and 3 Hawthorn in 2022. Some felled material was removed and some chipped, but arisings at the foot of the slope had to be left and will be removed this Summer. A solitary veteran Ash pollarded on the lower boundary of the Common is now showing vigorous regrowth.

A project to widen and level the bottom track and Hollow Way has been rescheduled for this Summer. It will allow better vehicle access for the management of the grazing animals and facilitate access to manage the lower parts of the common.

Lynch Lane: The top gate and posts have been replaced by the Cotswold Wardens with new gates that will allow better access to the lane.

Our application to Cheltenham Borough Council's Coronation Grant fund was successful, and we have dug a 'Coronation Pond' on the site of an old pond that had silted up over many years. It quickly filled and we're looking forward to this new habitat being enjoyed by the many walkers, runners, and riders that will pass by. A 25-metre section of the track in the vicinity of the pond will be reinforced with stone this Summer to improve the path surface.

We have had to carry out safety works to 19 Ash trees along the lane. A few have been felled, but most have been high-pollarded in the hope that they will survive Ash die-back disease. If they don't, they will be left as valuable standing deadwood habitat. Access to this part of the common is difficult, and we would like to thank our neighbouring landowners for agreement to access the lane across their land.

Drystone wall restoration: The National Grid walling target has been achieved, but work will continue to use up the remaining stone purchased by the project.

Grassland restoration: The principal challenge on Charlton Kings Common is Gorse removal as it must be carried out on steep slopes. However, significant further clearance has been achieved and the benefits for the grassland will be further enhanced by the winter cattle grazing regime. Further work is planned this year.

Larch removal: Removal of this intrusive and non-native element of the Leckhampton Hill skyline landscape was a key target offered to the Landscape Enhancement Initiative. A contract was completed in 2022 to fell around 50 over-mature and degenerating trees, over an area of some 1,300 m². We completed the National Grid target of 1800m² in Feb 2024 with another 50 felled / pollarded.

Restoration of 10 Veteran Ash trees on Leckhampton Hill: Sadly, specialist advice showed that only five of the original 10 old Ash pollards were able to be saved, with another two younger trees possibly able to be prematurely aged as successors. Work was completed in winter 2022/23 to create a 'halo' around the old trees by clearing growth and nearby shading trees. Additionally, a solitary veteran Ash pollard on the lower boundary of Ravensgate Common was high-pollarded in 2022, and is now showing vigorous regrowth.

Restoration of Lime Kiln: Preliminary site clearance has shown that this will be a bigger project than initially anticipated with further specification required before work is undertaken.

The first two meetings of the Working Group were held in February and September 2023.

Membership is drawn widely from Parish Councillors, the two Commoners, and those with specialist interest and knowledge.

We would welcome anyone who is interested in contributing to the conservation and management of the Common to attend. Please make contact via the Parish Office.

The next meeting will be at 4.00 on 2^nd April in the Stanton Hall.

The Cotswolds escarpment

From the Devil's Chimney on Leckhampton Hill in the west, to the National Grid transmission line pylon on Ravensgate Common in the east, and with the steep slopes of Charlton Kings Common between, the limestone grasslands of the Cotswolds escarpment form a beautiful backdrop to Cheltenham's southern flank.

Public ownership

After the Leckhampton Riot of 1902 following the withdrawal of historical free access to the hill, and after continuous public unrest, the Hill and Charlton Kings Common was purchased by Cheltenham Borough Council in 1929. Ravensgate Common also had years of disputed ownership as a result of there being no registered title to the land until in 2009, Charlton Kings Parish Council took the role of Custodian of the Common under a Higher-Level Environmental Stewardship Scheme agreement with Natural England.

Land management history

Despite the full extent of these grasslands then being under the control of two public authorities, and despite the areas all being in receipt of Environmental Stewardship payments, it has proved hard for there ever to be sufficient resources allocated to carry out necessary land management. The Borough Council's Green Space team allocates part of its Senior Ranger's time to manage work on their land and this is significantly enhanced by the co-ordinated work of volunteer work parties from the Friends of Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common(FOLK – formed in 2000 to help conserve and promote the public enjoyment of the land). There are no registered Common Rights on these Commons.

Ravensgate Common relies for its management on the goodwill of its two registered Commoners (who hold Common Rights of grazing), a small number of local residents, a local grazier whose beautiful South Devon cattle graze the common in winter, and the continuing interest and commitment of the Parish Council.

Special interests represented across the escarpment

All the land lies within the Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB) and the importance of its landscapes and panoramic views across to Wales to residents and visitors alike is recognised in the Cotswolds AONB Management Plan.

Similarly, the Plan recognises the immense biodiversity interests across the escarpment as it is all designated either , by Natural England, as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

The industrial archaeology of its oolitic limestone quarries is among the best such artefacts in the country, having been in use for centuries. Most remaining quarrying features date from the period of the late 18^th century to the 1920s, when quarrying ceased and include features such as the trackways and inclines, and the massive lime kilns for the production of agricultural lime. More ancient archaeology is represented by the hill fort and round barrow that are Scheduled as an Ancient Monument.

Public use and recreation

That Leckhampton residents were prepared to risk jail, and in at least five cases were tried and jailed to preserve the rights of ordinary people to enjoy the right to roam the hills, is testament to the enduring importance of these special places. Today, these rights are enshrined by public ownership, a right of access to walk or ride across Common Land, the designation of statutory footpaths and bridleways, and the creation of National Trails like the Cotswold Way that attracts 100,000+ walkers a year over our section, together with others who walk the Cheltenham Circular Trail.

The costs of maintaining landscapes, biodiversity, archaeology, and public access.

Land management of unproductive land that nevertheless needs farming management comes at a cost. Both Cheltenham Borough Council and Charlton Kings Parish Council enthusiastically contribute money, staff and councillor resources to the care and maintenance of some 100 ha of public land, but once in a while, an opportunity arises to make a step change series of management interventions to 'catch-up' on necessary management works and infrastructure repair.

The National Grid Landscape Enhancement Initiative

In 2018, we learned of an innovative grant scheme being offered in protected landscapes by National Grid to reduce the landscape and visual impact of its existing electricity infrastructure and to enhance the quality of the affected designated landscapes. Where the visual impacts of the electricity transmission line are not able to be directly screened or otherwise mitigated, the objective will be to shift emphasis away from the transmission line by enhancing the landscape in other ways.

A partnership was quickly established and the combined knowledge, skills and enthusiasm of the Borough and Parish Councils, FOLK, and the Cotswold Conservation Board put a complex bid together in under three months. It was submitted in May 2019 and finally signed off by National Grid and, importantly, its regulator Ofgem, in April 2021.

The grant is for £175,000 over three years, with a commitment to a further three years of monitoring and restorative management as required. With cash contributions from the two Councils and an allowance for costed volunteer time, the whole project will contribute over £1/4 m to the restorative management of the most significant landscapes and biodiversity hubs in Cheltenham Borough.

In July 2021, the very first contract to be let as part of this project was for 40 tonnes of walling stone for Leckhampton Hill and further information and updates will be provided as the project progresses.