Chestnut Centre Conservation & Wildlife Park Chestnut Centre Closing

MagpieGoose

MagpieGoose

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Announcement from the zoo's facebook;

Carol and Roger Heap, owners of the Chestnut Centre wish to announce the proposed permanent closure of the centre from December 31st 2017.
Roger and Carol have decided it is time to semi- retire and take a back seat allowing their son Ed (General Manager) and his wife to continue the management and development of their two other sites New Forest Wildlife Park in Hampshire and Battersea Park Children's Zoo in London.
All the Chestnut Centre animals and birds will be re-located to the New Forest Wildlife Park where they will continue to be cared for by experienced keepers under Carol and Roger's direction.
Over the years they and their animal staff have cared for and returned to the wild over 200 otter cubs, countless owls and birds of prey and other native species . This work will continue at the New Forest Wildlife Park along with their involvement with local and international conservation otter related projects.
Thanks go to all the schoolchildren who have visited us over years who have brought great delight and pleasure to us. Some, of whom, have been inspired and gone on to work with animal conservation etc.
Thanks also to all the local rescue centres, wildlife trusts, members of the public and vets who have rescued and brought in native wildlife for continued rehabilitation and eventual release. Thanks in particular to all staff at RSPCA Wildlife Hospital Stapley Grange Chesthire whose advice an support has always been welcomed.
Finally thanks to all our staff and visitors who have worked with us and supported us throughout the years.
 
Think this is a real shame! I only visited once, last year, but it was a great setting and nice collection. Too far away for me to make a final visit now too ( and I was nearby only 2 weekends ago!)
 
Very sad indeed. Will miss the place.
 
Went to visit this place last week as it's close to me and because it's closing and it's another park I never even knew existed despite being less than an hour from me.

I wonder how much the reason these smaller parks struggle comes down to lack of advertising and people not even knowing they exist.

It was a nice little place and like someone said above the whole collection will move to the New Forest Wildlife Park. The staff ironically were only told the morning that the Facebook post was made ! so they knew the same time as the general public.

Sadly the park will be left empty with no decision on whether to sell the property as the owners live in the big house. So it's likely within a year or two it would become overgrown and naturally damaged which would be a shame.

It's in a cracking location and loads of ground to expand and natural environments could be so good for a number of animals.

If this place was put up to sale, I would love to buy it. Would be a cracking place to have your own collection.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
Went to visit this place last week as it's close to me and because it's closing and it's another park I never even knew existed despite being less than an hour from me.

I wonder how much the reason these smaller parks struggle comes down to lack of advertising and people not even knowing they exist.
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The fact that so many of us are close to collections we were unaware of was one of my reasons for making this map, which you might find helpful: A map of British (and Irish) zoos
 
Went for a final look around a very snowy Chestnut Centre today. If anyone's still planning a visit before it closes on the 31st, I can confirm most species are still present and correct, with the notable exceptions of the Red Fox and, significantly, the Giant Otters. Both species have already moved to the New Forest centre.
 
I remember the Chestnut Center as difficult to get round, and pretty empty for its size. Could someone with a budget add to and advertise the collection, as the grounds could house an ABC zoo collection. Or like Blackbrook, is the site too isolated?
 
It's not as isolated as Blackbrook's site (Manchester is really not far beyond, and A roads almost all the way) but the site's capacity is limited by the terrain as much by the scope for car parking as anything. There just isn't much flat land. That said, the centre wasn't struggling as far as I'm aware - it's just that the owners have chosen to retire. It seems to have been a sudden decision so it's likely the long-term future of the site hasn't been fully hammered out yet. It's certainly be nice to see something carry on there.
 
Maguari said:
It's not as isolated as Blackbrook's site (Manchester is really not far beyond, and A roads almost all the way) but the site's capacity is limited by the terrain as much by the scope for car parking as anything. There just isn't much flat land. That said, the centre wasn't struggling as far as I'm aware - it's just that the owners have chosen to retire. It seems to have been a sudden decision so it's likely the long-term future of the site hasn't been fully hammered out yet. It's certainly be nice to see something carry on there.
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Maybe another use of the land far from the animals, such as a campsite, would be a good idea? Or un-flat land is good for ovicaprines. try and obtain some Asian sheep, Caucasian turs and so on. I can easily think of animals like Alpine marmots and hares that are rare in British zoos.

Welsh Mountain manages, does it not? Suboptimal scarcely means the same as impossible.
 
SealPup said:
Maybe another use of the land far from the animals, such as a campsite, would be a good idea? Or un-flat land is good for ovicaprines. try and obtain some Asian sheep, Caucasian turs and so on. I can easily think of animals like Alpine marmots and hares that are rare in British zoos.

Welsh Mountain manages, does it not? Suboptimal scarcely means the same as impossible.
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There is a lot more flat land at Welsh Mountain than Chestnut! It's on a hilltop, with some undulations but overall far more usable land. Chestnut's car park, which isn't even all level, but represents the bulk of the truly flat land, would almost fit in Welsh Mountain's tiger enclosure footprint.

The deer park area always felt sparse, and could use some more ungulates (even if just rare domestics), but the woodland area that the bulk of the animals are in is actually quite densely developed. I'm not sure cramming it any more full would make it more pleasant.
 
Maguari said:
There is a lot more flat land at Welsh Mountain than Chestnut! It's on a hilltop, with some undulations but overall far more usable land. Chestnut's car park, which isn't even all level, but represents the bulk of the truly flat land, would easily fit in Welsh Mountain's tiger enclosure footprint.

The deer park area always felt sparse, and could use some more ungulates (even if just rare domestics), but the woodland area that the bulk of the animals are in is actually quite densely developed. I'm not sure cramming it any more full would make it more pleasant.
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I agree about the woodland area, but the path down felt it was crossing a vast area of grass years ago, when I was at school. Maybe my memories are spoiled because of poor health, but my impression was of a small animal collection that seemed set to expand into what felt like large grounds.

I remember the access to the otter dens as good presentation, but worried if the CC were more popular, idiots would be banging on the glass. Otherwise it was an average small animal collection with owls and otters, and I was thinking of other animals would fit the feel of the place, even then - ravens, red pandas, wolves even.
 
It was always mostly otters and owls, but that's what the owners always set out to do.

Beyond four species of otter and the collection of owls, this year they also had/have Fallow Deer (still a sign up for the two sika but not picked them out for a while), Harvest Mouse, Red Fox, Scottish Wildcat, European Polecat, and Pine Marten.
 
Maguari said:
Beyond four species of otter and the collection of owls, this year they also had/have Fallow Deer (still a sign up for the two sika but not picked them out for a while), Harvest Mouse, Red Fox, Scottish Wildcat, European Polecat, and Pine Marten.
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Worth noting that the European Polecat include both pure and impure stock!

Pretty sure I spotted the Sika back at the end of November, for what it is worth :)
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Worth noting that the European Polecat include both pure and impure stock!
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Yes - some of the animals are studbook-pure, others are basically ferrets!
 
I'm very fond of otters and owls, I can fly owls. But there is a certain template of British zoo, a wildlife park devoted to stereotypically British species (such as native otters and owls), plus their global relatives. If the Highland WP takes this to extremes, this kind of zoo caught on in the 70s and 80s as a format of low budget collection. The CC was a typical example, species wise.

Had I been in charge, given the lack of flat land or of outbuildings to convert, I would probably have chosen similarly. But maybe a bit more adventurously, as I said. Lynx, wolves, wild boar? Wolverine - you KNOW it makes sense.
 
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I was sad to hear they are closing. I visited a few years ago back when I lived in Lancashire. I had been for a drive in the Peak District and came across it entirely by chance. I had always meant to go back, but that won't happen now, sadly (live too far away now and have too much going on to get there in time).
 
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