How people enjoy the Hills, use them and access them will not be affected by the new Malvern Hills Bill.

The Trust needs to bring its governance up to date. The Bill will bring changes to how the Trust is run, not how the land is managed.

None of the public rights that exist under the current legislation are being taken away.

The new Bill will not:

• Allow the Trust to reduce public access to the Hills.
• Allow the Trust to introduce charges to walk on the Hills.
• Allow building on or the sale of Trust land, including for commercial use or solar farming.

You can learn more about the proposed Bill, why the Trust is doing it and its benefits on the Malvern Hills Bill Facts page.

Who will be affected?

Public rights to access the Hills and Commons will not change.

This means how visitors and levy payers use the Hills for recreation and enjoyment will not change.

You can read more by checking Rights to Access on the myth-busters page.

The groups affected

Event organisers and business users

Event organisers and businesses are already asked to get in touch with the Trust before planning activities on the Hills.

This helps the Trust to make sure events do not affect other people’s enjoyment or cause unnecessary harm to the landscape that is cared for.

The Bill proposes to put this on a more formal footing.

The right of access to the Hills is for public recreation, so the Trust already sometimes makes a charge to people wanting to use the Hills as part of their business. The Bill will let the Trust charge an administration fee in some cases.

This applies mainly to larger, profit-making events that use the Hills to attract participants. These events place extra demands on the land and on staff time. At the moment, those costs are largely covered by levy payers and parking income.

Charging a small admin fee helps ensure those costs are shared more fairly.

Changes you may notice

One small change you may notice in due course relates to grazing.

The Trust wants to secure areas of common land that are grazed, so animals do not wander off the common.

Roads that cross the common are still part of the common, so the Trust will not be fencing along roads, for example the main B4208 road that crosses Castlemorton Common.

Any plans to secure the commons will require the consent of the Secretary of State under the Commons Act 2006, meaning plans would need to be publicised and consulted on. 

Find out more

If you want more information you can read the frequently asked questions page or if you are still unsure you can send in a question to info@malvernhills.org.uk