A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

The natural environment of the Estate deserves preservation, but we also have an opportunity as land stewards to enhance it. Our farmers endeavour to find ways to improve their agricultural practices, with soil health as a top priority. We are proud to be founding members of the Candover Valley Farm Cluster, a network of neighbouring farmers working together to share knowledge and drive forward conservation at a landscape scale. We are also looking at repurposing areas of less reproductive land for strategic biodiversity enhancement.

Wildlife thrives on the Estate when given the space to flourish, and we actively support it through a range of conservation projects. The Estate is home to some of the last remaining native populations of White-Clawed Crayfish, which are being bolstered and safeguarded by Ben Rushbrook of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Our songbirds are supported through winter with wild bird seed mixes, ensuring food sources during the lean months. Looking ahead, we are creating a new wetland at Fobdown – a project designed to filter out nitrates and phosphates from the chalk stream – that is already seeing new wetland flora and fauna taking up residence.

We have invested in renewable energy across the Estate. At Abbotstone Farm, a wood-chip boiler is fuelled by sustainably sourced timber taken from our own woodlands. Lake House Cottage is on a ground-source heating system that harvests the latent heat from the nearby lakes. Our Estate Office and Winery have both had solar panels installed, making use of the available roof space to reduce our carbon footprint. In our tenanted properties we are looking at increasing thermal efficiency and upgrading the heating systems when appropriate.

We are continually looking for ways to reduce our footprint – and we encourage our guests to do the same by following the 5 Rs of recycling: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle. At our events, the skips we hire are sorted through at the depot so as much material as possible can be recycled. Food waste is collected from our short-stay properties to feed our Hotbin Composter, producing a rich compost that can be spread on our herbaceous borders and veg patch.

We are conscious of the impact the Estate has on our local community, not only as a place of heritage and nature, but also as a source of opportunity and employment. From The Grange Festival to our local arborist team, the Estate supports a wide range of livelihoods – and as custodians, we are committed to growing these opportunities responsibly. When it comes to our events, we don’t have ‘suppliers’, we have hand-picked partners who share our passion and values. Many are drawn from the local community – people we have built relationships with and worked alongside so we can trust every event is delivered to the highest standard.

We are always seeking feedback – from our guests, colleagues and collaborators – so that we can continue to grow and improve. If you have any ideas about how we could do better, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us.