Westland Countryside Stewards (WCS) was set up by the WGP Group in October 2010 with the aim of securing and managing land of environmental value in the Kilkhampton area. Wherever possible, the aim is to make such land available for the benefit of the local community. With financial help from WGP and an initial most generous gift of woodland made by Mr and Mrs Hindle, WCS has secured parcels of land that have a proven environmental value, a fact that is confirmed by a survey commissioned from Cornwall
Environmental Consultants, the commercial arm of Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Armed with the findings of this survey, and a statement from the Directors and Trustees confirming the public benefit aims of the organisation, WCS has in February 2012 been granted charitable status by the Charity Commissioners. We are now registered charity number 1145929. This should herald exciting new developments in the near future and will enable WCS to secure funding from a variety of new sources.
The latest such development is the purchase of the land known as “Kilkhampton Commons”. This land has been purchased by WGP Group and leased to the new charity at a peppercorn rent with the mission of improving the existing public footpaths on the land and adding permissive access to all parts of the Commons in the near future as work on the land progresses.
Although not a Common in legal terms, it is hoped that the land can become a valuable asset to the community and provide a focus for local wildlife, educational and environmental initiatives. One idea is to create a “Kilkhampton Commoners” local group whereby residents can support the improvements to the area by participating in various stages of the work. Contributions to a designated fund will also be welcomed.
Work on the land has already started and a Michael Vanstone digger will be busy over the next month on a variety of land and drainage tasks prior to fencing work aimed at running sheep on the areas of land that need to be managed as pasture. We apologise in advance for the unavoidable mud!
The Trustees welcome questions and ideas as to how our new charity can benefit the local area and you can contact us on 01288 321114 or team@westlandcs.co.uk