Thirty years of voluntary work on the iconic hill in the view from Yat Rock was rewarded when Coppett Hill Common Trust won the hotly contested AONB Farming Awards for 2017.

The chairman of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Ross-on-Wye Councillor Phil Cutter, presented the Award to the winners at the Monmouthshire Show on July 1st. This is the 10th year of the Awards, which celebrate farmers and land managers who make an outstanding contribution to conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the AONB landscape.

Ray and Frances Thomas, founding members of the Coppett Hill Common Trust (CHCT), received the Farming Awards’ Trophy, along with a cheque for £400 and the winner’s certificate, on behalf of all the shareholders of CHCT.

“We are very pleased to have won the award,” said Ray and Frances, who are joint Presidents of CHCT, “it is a fantastic achievement and a testament to all the hard work put in by the management team and the volunteers over recent years.”

“It is really nice to have such a lovely pat on the back and recognition of the part we play in managing the AONB” said Patrick Chatterton, CHCT Company Secretary “and it will be great to share the news with all our local supporters. It is good to realise that at 250 acres we are a significant part of the AONB.”

The 250 acres of Coppett Hill was designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 2000, and is one of the largest in Herefordshire. The LNR and Common is unusual in that it is owned by a company limited by shares and has been run and managed by local volunteers for the last 30 years.

The Trust works to maintain and improve the habitat for wildlife whilst allowing access to the Common by the public – a very delicate balancing act. The current management works hard to retain the original philosophy of the founding fathers of the Hill “to safeguard Coppett Hill and its wildlife for future generations to come.”

Please see the full report in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette.