A Greener Bolton Abbey
A spirit of stewardship is ingrained in the day to day running of the Bolton Abbey estate: the conservation of buildings, woodlands, water courses, moorland, hedgerows, and pasture require a cycle of management which continues to sustain this special landscape for future generations.
Long term thinking is part of our DNA at Bolton Abbey. We recognise our role in addressing global sustainability challenges such as climate change, natural resource shortages and declining biodiversity. In 2015, we won the Green Tourism Gold Award in recognition of our commitment to environmental management and best practice.
Lord Burlington, son of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, chairs a steering committee which aims to promote awareness of sustainability across the estate. Under guidance from the committee, we measure annual performance in terms of our social, economic and environmental contributions. Reporting has been developed to assess the impacts of policies and initiatives that deliver social equity, economic prosperity and environmental protection: our Triple Bottom Line.
We are committed to supporting renewable technologies in appropriate locations. For instance, we facilitated the development of a community hydro scheme at Harry’s Dam, Thruscross. Covering an area of approximately 1.5 hectares, the dam was built 200 years ago to supply water to power the flax mills at West End and has not been used for this purpose in living memory. The hydro scheme generates between 30,000 and 60,000 units (kilowatt hours) of green electricity per year, the same amount of energy used by up to 12 homes. Over its lifetime, the scheme is expected to save around 750 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Green Ideas
If you have any questions or suggestions about sustainability at Bolton Abbey, please complete the following form.