THE Coppett Hill Common Trust last week hosted a tea party to celebrate 40 years since the first shareholders bought their shares for £100 each to secure the purchase of the land.

Coppett Hill includes 238 acres of common land, grassland and woodland bordering the River Wye and was also featured in the Harry Potter film ‘The Deathly Hallows’,

Shareholders include people living in Goodrich and Welsh Bicknor, working in partnership with Herefordshire County Council and Goodrich Parish Council who together formed Coppett Hill Common Trust Ltd.

The celebration tea party included many residents who had been shareholders continuously since 1986.

They were also delighted to welcome Jesse Norman the local MP, who is offering support to the Trust and enjoyed listening to the discussion.

John Edwards said that before the trust acquired the land, he said it was his playground and added: “As a child it was a wild overgown wilderness. But its neglect has led to it becoming the wildlife haven it is today.”

Frances Thomas, one of the first shareholders along with her husband Ray, shared several anecdotes of the first few years of the Trust developments.

Other attendees could remember stories of how they maintained the Hill over the coming years by caring for the grassland and ensuring paths could be kept open for visitors.

However, the introduction of some wooden steps caused controversary with a letter writer to the Ross Gazette in February 1988 describing them as looking like something from a snakes and ladders game, a name which the steps are still referred to.

In 2000, the hill achieved Nature Reserve Status and in 2017 it was voted the as a winner in that year’s National Farming Awards.

The attendees also heard that George Woodward is a key Trust representative who is an expert at driving the tractor, keeping the grassland under control and has a wealth of knowledge of the deer population and how to keep it under control.

The essence of success for survival of the Trust has been the dedication of all the volunteers who have helped in a variety of practical ways, monitoring biodiversity and keeping the paths open for people to continue to enjoy this area of countryside. This is in addition to fundraising and offering management skills.

Today, the Hill is still supported by residents in Goodrich and Welsh Bicknor who own shares which can be transferred to new homeowners when they move away.

Funding is provided by different grants from the Rural Payment Agency and Wye Valley National Landscape.

The future is dependent on the continued provision of these grants to support the next 10-year Woodland Management Plan overseen by the Forestry Commission.

MP Jesse Norman said: "Coppett Hill is one of the little-known treasures of Herefordshire, and it has been sustained for decades now by fantastic local community support.

"It was an honour to talk to local residents about the Hill, its history, ecology and landscape, and the many ways in which they use it.

"The Rural Payments Agency have been slow in responding to their application for continued support, But I and my team will press this case until we get a result."