The Malvern Hills Conservators are a

body corporate In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''legal'' person" is t ...

responsible for the care and management of the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit af ...

and commons. They were established in 1884 and are governed by five acts of Parliament. They became a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

in 1984 and since April 2017 use the working name of the Malvern Hills Trust.

Membership

The

conservators In certain areas of England, conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, role and powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...

are a body of twenty-nine voluntary members, which meet as the Board four times a year; three Board Committees meet more regularly and conduct most of the day-to-day business.

Elected

Eleven members are directly elected under the Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 (

SI 2006 This is an incomplete list of Statutory instrument (UK), statutory instruments of the United Kingdom in 2006. 1–100 * Public Contracts Regulations 2006S.I. 2006/5 * Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006S.I. 2006/6 * M6 Motorway (Junction 36, ...

/3304) by the residents of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es who contribute to the conservators' funds through a

levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...

in their council tax (similar to the precept raised for parish councils). The town of Malvern and the parish of

West Malvern West Malvern is a village and a civil parish on the west side of the north part of the Malvern Hills, on the western edge of Worcestershire, England. It has become effectively an outer suburb of Malvern and part of an urban area often called '' ...

together return six members (one elected by each of the six district wards constituted), the parishes of

Malvern Wells Malvern Wells is a village and civil parish south of Great Malvern in the Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England. The parish, once known as South Malvern, was formed in 1894 from parts of the civil parishes of Hanley Castle, Welland ...

and

Little Malvern Little Malvern is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, south of Malvern Wells, near Great Malvern, the major centre of the area often referred to as ''The Malvern ...

together elect one member (they constitute one district ward), the parish of

Colwall Colwall is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB. Areas of ...

elects two members, and the parishes of Mathon and Guarlford each elect one member.

Appointed

Further, twelve members are appointed by the local authorities that cover the Malvern Hills (eight by

Malvern Hills District Council Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Malvern railway station, Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourn ...

, two by

Herefordshire Council Herefordshire Council is the local authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority, combining the powers of a district and county council. History Herefordshire was one of the historic counties of England. Elec ...

and two by

Worcestershire County Council Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. Its headquarters are at County Hall in Worcester, the county town. The council consists of 57 councillors and there is no over ...

), the parish councils of Colwall and Mathon each appoint a member, Worcestershire County Council appoint further members on behalf of parishes (one each for

Powick Powick is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district of Worcestershire, England, located two miles south of the city of Worcester, England, Worcester and four miles north of Great Malvern. The parish includ ...

, Newland and

Castlemorton Castlemorton is a village and civil parish close to Malvern in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It consists of a village centre, a large common and many farms and houses within the area. In 2013 the Worces ...

) and one member is appointed by the

Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

Statutory duties

The conservators are governed by five acts of Parliament: the ( 47 & 48 Vict. c. clxxv), the ( 9 Edw. 7. c. xxxvii), the ( 14 & 15 Geo. 5. c. xxxvi), the ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5. c. lxxii), and the Malvern Hills Act 1995 (c. iii). Under these acts, the Malvern Hills Conservators have the following statutory duties placed upon them: * To prevent encroachment * To keep the hills and

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

as open space for

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

* To conserve the hills and commons * To protect the rights of commoners to graze their

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

on the land.

AONB Partnership

The formal Partnership for the Malvern Hills

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

(AONB) is a separate organisation, though does include the conservators and is also based at Manor House in Great Malvern.

References

External links

*
Malvern Hills Conservators National ArchiveMalvern Hills Act 1995 c. iiiMalvern Hills Bill Hansard, 8 March 1993Malvern Hills Bill Hansard, 15 February 1994
{{Authority control Conservation in England Environmental organisations based in England Charities based in Worcestershire Malvern Hills Local government in Herefordshire Local government in Worcestershire Malvern, Worcestershire