Heathland Management Works

We are about to embark on a collaborative heathland restoration project with one of our closest neighbours, the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club.

The Royal Wimbledon golf course forms part of the same Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation as the Commons and during recent years the ground staff at the Club have developed a programme of works to improve and extend the heathland and acid grassland aspects of the course.

The first part of the work has been to increase areas of heather - this is done by creating “scrapes” and laying cut heather on top of the bare earth. This has established really well and they are now turning to the next stage of their programme - the establishment of an area of acid grassland.

And this is where we come in.  As they have no areas of acid grassland on the course, they will cut turfs from areas of the Commons where it is well-established, and then fill these bare areas with heather cuttings, encouraging further growth of young heather on the Commons.

This is work we had already planned as part of our management of the Commons, but by collaborating with the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club, we can make use of all their equipment and machinery - saving us money and staff time!

This will gradually take place in various areas all around the Commons golf course but the first area will be along the edges of the Commons’ golf course along Sunset Road and will start in early-November.