CHOBHAM COMMON NNR - Surrey Wildlife Trust

The site is heavily used for a range of activities so the challenge is to facilitate public
enjoyment of the site while minimising damage to the site fabric and to sensitive
habitats, and disturbance to wildlife.
General access
The severe erosion that occurred on the site in the past as a result of the ad hoc
development of access routes in the second half of the 20 th Century has largely been
prevented by the provision and maintenance of a network of good quality tracks
which was formalized by the creation of the present network of rights of way and
agreed horse rides based on the fire track network following the 1996 public enquiry.
The maintenance of this network should remain a priority in order to maximise
appropriate visitor access.
Most visitors stay on these routes, which minimises disturbance by walkers and
horse riders. As people will avoid walking in Calluna dominated areas (Boorman &
Fuller, 1977) if given an alternative, disturbance to nesting Dartford warbler and
nightjar by walkers without dogs is minimised by the provision of the track network.
Nesting density of woodlarks is lower on disturbed sites than on undisturbed,
however extensive visitor distribution has a greater negative impact than visitor
numbers alone, below certain threshold levels, (Mallord, 2005); this means that
disturbance can be minimised by encouraging visitors onto some routes. As 93% of
visitors come by car (WSP Environmental 2004) this can largely be achieved by
managing the provision of car parking and encouraging visitors onto main routes
leading from car parks and away from sensitive locations. Roundabout Car Park links
into several well-maintained circular routes that visitors enjoy, and the deep valley
mires, areas of deep heather, busy roads to the south and west, and railway to the
north all serve to channel people onto the main routes in this area. As part of this
strategy to encourage visitors onto the main routes on the northern section of the
Common, Roundabout Car Park has been developed as the main car park on the
site. Further improvements to Roundabout Car Park should be considered as part of
this strategy. The remaining car parks on the Common are less formal and tend to be
used more for their views (Staple Hill and Jubilee Mount), for short walks or by model
fliers (Longcross and Staple Hill) or by anglers (Fishpool).
At present most pedestrians visiting the Common come from Chobham village,
entering the Common from the Burrowhill and Red Lion Road area, with many using
the numerous small routes across the south eastern part of the Common.
Improvements to make Bridleways 87 and 90 more pedestrian friendly could
enhance the enjoyment of the Common by walkers from Chobham. Improvements to
pedestrian access to the Common from Sunningdale and Windlesham, in order to
reduce the number of car journeys to the Common would be compatible with the
strategy of encouraging visitors to use the main access routes on the northern
section of the NNR and should be discussed with the relevant local authorities.
However given the plans for a major development to the east of Burma Road any
proposed provision of pedestrian access from Virginia Water could create access
and increase visitor numbers to the Common from that development.
Information boards together with regular Ranger’s reports, information on upcoming
walks and events and copies of the Byelaws should be maintained in each car park,
with appropriate signage at other access points to help visitors make the most of their
visits. These paper copies should be supplemented by quarterly updates on the web.
The three self guided trails, the site leaflet and the interpretive areas in Roundabout
Car Park should be maintained and up-dated as necessary. Regular volunteer
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