Crawley Park Estate Railings

This was achieved by planting trees in the parkland near the house, and by installing tree guards (of a traditional style) around the trees.  In addition a new fence, of a traditional railings style, was installed separating the garden from the parkland, further enhancing the aesthetic and historic setting of the house and landscape.

The house and parkland is visible from a public footpath running through part of the parkland, and thus the improved heritage and visual aesthetics of the house and parkland are evident to anyone walking through the nearby countryside of the Greensand ridge, as well as to the residents of the house itself.

The historical character of the parkland surrounding the house – as well as the main visual setting of the house itself – has been significantly enhanced by the new planting and by installing boundary features (fence and tree guards) that are of a more heritage / traditional style.

By planting more trees in the parkland biodiversity should improve, particularly when taken together with additional tree planting projects that have been undertaken nearby.  Additional advice from parties involved with the Greensand Country project has also helped improve the management of the parkland to better benefit wildlife.

The main challenge was gaining planning permission for the project, as it involved the curtilage of a listed building.  This proved somewhat tricky given the constraints of existing trees running very close to the planned fence, but was overcome through maintaining a dialogue with the council planning officers and tree experts.

Landscape projects take time, not least because of limits on time of year that trees can be planted and if planning permissions are required, so plan ahead and don’t try and do anything in a rush!