Sawbridgeworth Land Trust Preserving our green belt. For now. For future generations.

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The land

What we own, and what we’re working on

We publish what we hold and, where a negotiation allows it, what we are working towards. All details on this page are placeholders.

Placeholder map of the parcels around Sawbridgeworth
Placeholder map. Replace with an interactive map (Leaflet with OpenStreetMap, or an Ordnance Survey licence) or a static export of your parcel boundaries.
Owned since [year]

Parcel A – [field name]

Roughly [00] acres of permanent pasture with mature hedgerows on three sides. Bought with funds raised by our first appeal.

Area
[00] acres
Access
Public footpath along the northern boundary
Management
Hay cut in late summer; hedges laid on rotation
Owned since [year]

Parcel B – [field name]

Around [00] acres of river meadow beside the Stort, wet in winter and valuable for wading birds.

Area
[00] acres
Access
No public access – ground-nesting birds
Management
Light grazing, no drainage works
Under negotiation

Parcel C – [field name]

An arable field on the edge of the town. We are in discussion with the owner and will say more when we can.

Area
[00] acres
Status
Heads of terms under discussion
Funding needed
£[000,000]

How we choose what to buy

We cannot buy everything, so we weigh each opportunity against a few practical tests:

  • Does losing it change the shape or setting of the town?
  • Does it join up land that is already open or already ours?
  • Is there habitat worth protecting, or worth restoring?
  • Is the price honest, and can we fund it without borrowing against the rest?
  • Can we look after it for the long term with volunteer effort?

If you know of land coming up for sale, we would rather hear about it early. Tell us quietly – we treat those conversations as confidential.

A footpath between fields on the edge of the town

Visiting

Walking the land

Where there is public access, please treat the land as you would any working countryside: keep dogs under close control, take litter home, leave gates as you find them, and keep to paths during the nesting season.

We run occasional guided walks across parcels that are not normally open. Those are announced on our news page and to members by email.

Please note. Some of our land has no public right of way. Where a parcel is marked as having no access, that is usually to protect ground-nesting birds – not to keep people out for its own sake.