Fields and hedgerows on the edge of Sawbridgeworth, with the church spire in the distance

Keeping Sawbridgeworth Green. Forever.

Sawbridgeworth Land Trust buys local land and keeps it as green belt – protecting our countryside today and for generations to come.

Support Our Mission Learn More

We Buy Land

We purchase green belt land around Sawbridgeworth to protect it from development.

We Protect It

The land is held in trust and will never be developed – now or in the future.

For Our Community

We act for the community, ensuring our green spaces remain for everyone.

For Future Generations

We’re safeguarding the natural landscape and rural character of Sawbridgeworth.

Our Mission

Sawbridgeworth Land Trust is a community benefit society run for the people, by the people.

Our mission is simple: to buy land in and around Sawbridgeworth and keep it as Green Belt land, in perpetuity.

About Us

A field gate on a green lane with a sign reading: protected for wildlife, nature and community

Community led

Run by local people who care about our town and our future.

Independent & transparent

We’re accountable to our members and the community.

Every donation makes a difference

Your support helps us buy and protect more green spaces.

Donate Today

How it works

From donation to protected land

Every pound we raise goes towards land, and the land we buy stays green.

We raise the funds

Donations, community share offers and membership subscriptions build a fund that we can draw on when land comes up for sale.

We buy the land

We watch for parcels of green belt land around the town and buy them on the open market, at a fair price, as an ordinary buyer.

We hold it forever

An asset lock in our rules means the land cannot be sold on for development or taken out of community ownership.

A footpath running between fields towards a line of mature trees

Why now

Green belt is only protected until it isn’t

Green belt designation is a planning policy, not a promise. Boundaries get reviewed, policies change, and land on the edge of a growing town is always under pressure.

Ownership is different. Land the community owns and has committed to keeping open is protected by more than policy – it is protected by title.

Read our purpose See the land

What we’ve been up to

Placeholder · Update

Our first parcel is now in community ownership

Placeholder story. Replace with your own news once the site goes live.

Placeholder · Event

Come and walk the land with us this spring

Placeholder story. Replace with your own news once the site goes live.

Placeholder · Fundraising

Thank you – our first appeal has closed

Placeholder story. Replace with your own news once the site goes live.

Help us buy the next field

Land comes up for sale without much warning. A standing fund, built from regular donations and memberships, is what lets us act when it does.

Donate Become a member