THE OWNER of a stately home near Wareham has pledged that no development will take place on 150 acres of land he recently bought at auction.

Former Cherries chairman Norman Hayward, who bought the 18th century Creech Grange 25 years ago, has bought two parcels of land from quarry company Imerys, formerly English China Clays.

The businessman bought a plot of ancient woodland, part of the Great Wood, and the valley below it, Grange Wood, for £430,000.

Four plots of land were put up for auction last week by Imerys, and bidders included Dorset Wildlife Trust which raised £300,000 in two weeks, following an emergency appeal.

The trust purchased Kilwood Coppice and meadows which lie next to one of its reserves for £80,000.

Mr Hayward, who already owns part of the SSSI Great Wood, said: "I will leave the wood as it has been for hundreds of years.

"This was once all part of Creech Grange and I want to bring it back to how it was.

"It really is the most beautiful area and I have been gradually trying to restore the valley.

"It is going to stay the same as it has always been - people have enjoyed it for hundreds of years and I don't want any development of any sort, I'm not interested."

For some 300 years, Creech Grange was the home of the landowning family the Bonds.

Imerys originally bought the house along with the estate lands and Mr Hayward bought the magnificent property when it was put up for sale 25 years ago.

The recent sale came as a result of Imerys deciding to dispose of the land and the auction took place at Springfield Country Hotel, near Wareham.

Dorset Wildlife Trust spokesman Alastair Cook said: "We are very happy with the piece we got. It was top of our list and has ancient woodlands, paths, ponds and grassland habitats."

First published: September 1