Attingham Park feeling the 'catastrophic impacts' of climate change with one of their 'worst' winters

High winds during Storm Darragh caused several trees to fall and has left the site with a huge on-going clean-up operation.

Attingham's general manager, Mark Agnew has described this winter as one of the toughest they have faced and said the site is feeling the full force of climate change, alongside an increase in costs.

Mark said the National Trust site has had to close its Deer Park more times than he can remember due to flooding and tree damage.

"With all the massive storm events we have lost a massive amount of trees", he said. "We have had quite a lot of damage caused which then all has to be cleared up which then causes parts of the park to be closed.

"Because the ground is so saturated it is then very difficult to get heavy vehicles to move the timber out, so a lot of it is still in situ and we cannot clear that up in the winter.

"Unfortunately that has a big financial impact on lost business but we are having to spend a lot of money clearing up the devastation afterwards.

"It is why we have to do everything we can to get off fossil fuels and get onto renewable energy to have a sustainable model because nobody can afford to keep paying out these sums of money because of the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

"In the last two years we have seen the impacts of man-made climate change and it is accelerating across Shropshire and we know that is going to get worse.

"I have been working for the trust for more than 20 years and we have been working to mitigate the effects of climate change for that whole time, but it is happening faster than we thought and the impacts are proving to be much more costly for us.

"Farming has been very badly hit. It has not stopped raining for two years so there has been a flooding impact on the River Severn and the Tern which we have floodplains for.

"We have done a lot of work already to be able to hold huge quantities of water on the estate and on the floodplain, because if we don’t do that, it will flood Ironbridge and Bewdley.

"With our visitors, if it is raining, they don’t come, and if they do on the drier days and all of our grass overflow car parking is underwater then we can’t fit them in."

Mark added that the site has been working with the Environment Agency, Shropshire Council and Natural England to look at ways they can hold more water on the estate.

National Trust has looked after the 18th-century estate and popular attraction for more than 75 years.

Alongside its Grade I listed manor house which was built for the first Lord Berwick in 1785, Attingham Park boasts more than 200 acres of parkland.

Mark said 10 per cent of the estate is covered in trees, and that the National Trust is currently in the process of increasing that number to 20 per cent through their 'ambitious' Tree Recovery Programme.

He added: "The reason for that is because trees are really good at soaking up carbon release by fossil fuels.

"By planting more trees and woodlands we are not only helping nature but we are mitigating and dealing with the massive amount of carbon that is in the atmosphere."

Sustainable 

Attingham has also moved off oil and to a biomass heating system which is fuelled by wood chippings and trees from across the estate.

Trees which have fallen during the winter have been used to make fencing and gates while any unusable wood has been chipped to use in their modern renewable energy source. 

Mark added the site is planting and regenerating hundreds of metres of hedgerow and is looking at restoring ponds in the estate. But, he admitted their actions to combat difficulties and climate change means they have to reduce agriculture and their arable land space.

The site's general manager added: "The trust across Shropshire is doing a massive amount of work to make us ready for the impacts of climate change. Shropshire is very vulnerable and we need to do more.

"We are doing everything we can to try and make sure that Attingham is a shining light to show what is sustainable to reduce the effects of climate change, and make a sustainable business for our farmers."

Attingham's general manager is proud that the site has kept its entry prices 'as low as possible' but admitted that they are "struggling to generate" the income required to cover their expenses while being competitive in the market.

He said residents and tourists visiting remains crucial to the site, alongside donations they receive.

Mark also spoke of plans and aspirations to open new outdoor hub at the former Royal Air Force station in Atcham which could provide 10 miles of multi-use trail for visitors.