Chesworth Farm gains wildlife site accolade

The farm - owned by Horsham District Council - has officially been designated as a ‘local wildlife site’ for nature conservation, joining other council-owned sites such as Leechpool and Owlbeech Woods, Monkmead Woods and Southwater Country Park.

A council spokesman said: “Local Wildlife Sites are non-statutory sites that contain features of substantive nature conservation value.

“In Chesworth Farm’s case these are the extensive high quality hedgerows and wildflower meadows.

“Local Wildlife Sites such as Chesworth Farm play a critical role in the conservation of the UK’s natural heritage.

“They each provide essential wildlife refuges in their own right as well as acting as stepping stones, corridors and buffer zones to link and protect other site networks and the open spaces of our towns and countryside.”

The council’s parks and countryside team, in partnership with the Friends of Chesworth Farm and Horsham Green Gym, have been putting in many hours of practical conservation management, as well as wildlife recording, which have all contributed to achieving conservation protection for the farm.

The council spokesman added: “Careful management of the hedgerows and grasslands, provision of sacrificial crops for farmland birds, regular dormouse monitoring, wildflower surveys and breeding bird surveys have all proved how important the farm is for wildlife.”