Grazing cattle could be brought to West Wycombe Hill (From Bucks Free Press)

Grazing cattle could be brought to West Wycombe Hill

7:30am Sunday 14th October 2012 in News By Rebecca Cain

WEST Wycombe Hill could see grazing cattle maintaining the area, depending on the results of a public survey.

The National Trust is looking for the public's view on how to manage the hill, which has St Lawrence's Church and The Dashwood Mausoleum at the top.

The land is currently maintained by the Trust and volunteers, who clear away some of the invading scrub.

But it also has to hire out contractors and machinery, which they say is expensive and affects the biodiversity.

Instead the Trust wants to allow grazing animals on the land, which is Chilterns chalk grassland, in the form of belted Galloways.

Because of the A40 a fence would have to be put up around the hill with access points.

But it points out because the hill is one of around 200 commons in the Chilterns, the Trust said the fence would be done sympathetically.

The survey offers three options- mechanical cutting of all the grasslands and scrub by NT staff, volunteers and contractors; mowing/ conservation grazing model and non intervention.

The survey lists the pros and cons of both. To take the survey go to http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/west-wycombe-village-and-hill/