Parkland management
Currently, one of the most important aspects of this work is our Parkland Management Plan.
Working together with Natural England, English Heritage, the Peak District National Park Authority and heritage consultants, Historic Landscape Management, a comprehensive survey of the park and everything within it was undertaken in 2013. A plan was developed and set out, identifying all the works needed to maintain and enhance its beauty.
Biodiversity
The survey revealed the spectacular biodiversity value of the Chatsworth parkland, finding it to contain:
- over 605 veteran trees supporting a range of protected fungi, lichen and invertebrate species
- 250 species of fungi
- 44 nationally scarce invertebrates
- at least six species of bat
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
The wider estate includes over 4,600 acres which have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Ranging from broadleaved mixed and yew woodland to calcareous grasslands, we continue to work with Natural England to monitor their condition and management.
The estate also includes around 3,800 acres of woodland, over 1,300 acres of which are either ancient semi-natural woodland or ancient replanted woodlands.
In total, these woodlands have been calculated to sequester around 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year (almost 4 times the annual emissions from owned and operated property in the Chatsworth estate).
Since 2009, the Chatsworth forestry team has worked with the Forestry Commission and other stakeholders to plant a further 180 acres of woodland, with the aims of increasing the amount of native woodlands and reversing the decline of woodland birds across the East Midlands.
