Esher Commons SSSI Restoration and Management Plan

The Esher Commons covers over 4% of the Elmbridge Borough, 360 hectares - that's 800 full size football pitches! The run from Esher to Cobham, Oxshott to West End and are said to date back to Medieval times. they have a rich variety of habitats including plants, animals, heathland, grassland, scrub, woodland and a variety of wetlands. The Esher Commons are considered so special for wildlife that in 1955 it was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Sadly though, with the loss of traditional management such as grazing and cutting one of these habitats, heathland, is disappearing: the UK has lost 90% of its heathland in the last 200 years, far greater than the loss of tropical rainforest. The Esher Commons are no exception; species of rare wildlife and plant life have already disappeared as open grass and heathland have declined. Elmbridge Borough Council has a legal obligation to conserve and enhance the SSSI, achievable by restoring grass and heathland on the Esher Commons. This means restoring grass and heathland to areas which are at present, mainly pine. To ensure the future protection of this site, the Esher Commons SSSI Management Plan has been produced and approved by Elmbridge Borough Council and Natural England (formally English Nature) with support of The Forestry Commission.

The Esher Commons SSSI Management Plan

The Esher Commons SSSI Management Plan sets out a schedule of works, which has taken place on the Esher Commons between 2006 and 2010.

Works included:

• Improving facilities. Maintaining pathways and the current car parks and resurfacing the all weather route making it accessible to users of wheelchairs and pushchairs. Planned parking provision for disabled drivers in consultation with Surrey County Council, will help visitor's to The Esher Commons.
  
• Remove areas of pine for grass and heathland clearings as well as retaining small groups (clumps) of trees. This will create and enhance pleasant views and provide perches for Owls and Sparrow Hawks found on the Esher Commons.
  
• Thinning woodland. This will increase light to the ground, encourage plant growth. Once the trees have been thinned or removed, the remaining leaf litter will be scraped away, removing the highly acidic pine needles that have fallen. Underneath the heather seed is capable of surviving for 80 years. Once exposed, the seeds will germinate to create new heath on which the rare species can colonies. Existing areas of wetland, grassland and heathland will be maintained and enhanced for both wildlife and people. This has already been successfully carried out around Black Pond in Esher.
  
• Controlling invasive plants (plants that have been introduced to this area) such as Rhododendron and Himalayan Balsam. These plants have pushed out many less competitive native species such as bluebells, which has affected the wildlife on the Esher Commons.

If you would like to be kept up-to-date with works taking place on Esher Commons SSSI, |why not register for the Countryside Newsletter.

If you would like to read the full Esher Commons SSSI Management Plan please see below. Due its size, the Management Plan has been split into five sections, all of which are available to download in Adobe Acrobat format below:

|1. Introduction

|2. Section 2

|3. Section 3

|4. Maps

Amended 1:40pm Monday 7 March 2005 to include correct version of Map 10

There was also a display of these maps in the Civic Centre, High Street, Esher.

|5. References

If you cannot view these documents, Adobe Acrobat reader can be downloaded for free from the |Adobe Website