The Barns: our new home for people and nature

A new chapter for Chiltern Rangers

For more than a decade, our depot has been the base for everything we do: storing tools and equipment, welcoming volunteers and training the next generation of conservationists. But our current site is no longer fit for the scale of our work.

We’re turning this challenge into an opportunity. The Barns is our proposed new headquarters and community hub in High Wycombe, built to match the growing demand for our work and to bring people and organisations together for nature.

What we’re proposing

The Barns is set to be built at Abbey Barn South, just three miles from our current depot, keeping us rooted in the community we already serve.

The project is planned in phases:

• Phase 1: Our new headquarters and depot. Office, meeting and training space for our team, alongside a secure compound for vehicles, tools and machinery.
• Phase 2: A shared community hub. Flexible space for like-minded organisations to work alongside us, supporting training, events and volunteering.
• Phase 3: Community gardens. Allotments and an orchard, giving residents and schools the chance to grow, learn and connect with nature on their doorstep.

Together, this will give us the space to welcome more volunteers, support more young people and manage a growing network of sites across the Chilterns. This isn’t just a relocation for Chiltern Rangers, it’s a catalyst for community collaboration – the aim is to create a place where a school group, a corporate volunteer team and a local conservation organisation are all working side by side, at the same time.

Have your say

If The Barns matters to you or your organisation, if you’ve volunteered with us, learned with us or enjoyed one of the places we look after, please tell the council why The Barns matters to you. It takes about ten minutes and you don’t need to live locally.

Go to: publicaccess.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/online-applications
Register or log in
Search for PL/26/06760/FA
Open the “Comments” tab and click “Make a comment”
Choose “support” and write a few lines in your own words
The deadline is 30 October. Thank you💚

The design taking shape

Our design team, HAP Architects, have finalised the proposed design for the site, drawing on the character of local barns and timber buildings across the Chilterns.  The layout groups the buildings into distinct areas – the Chiltern Rangers office at the heart of the site, a workshop and compound for tools, vehicles and equipment, a garden and covered area and a separate event space for community use.  Click below to view the planning pdfs.

The site sits within Berkeley’s Abbey Barn development in High Wycombe, just off The Ride, with dedicated parking for both Chiltern Rangers and the neighbouring allotments.  The wider setting is a mix of woodland, homes and open space – Keep Hill Wood and Deangarden Wood to the north, Pine Trees to the west and Abbey Barn to the east, with The Ride running alongside.

Why it matters

Since 2013, we’ve grown from two staff to a team of 16, delivering 60-70 projects a year across 126 sites.

In 2025 alone, we engaged 6,000 people and delivered almost 30,000 volunteer hours. The Barns will take us further still, from 711 sessions a year in 2026 to 1,000+ by 2030, a step change in our reach and impact.

But our current premises can’t keep up. We don’t have the space to store equipment safely, train larger groups, or welcome everyone who wants to get involved, and we’re increasingly having to turn people away.

The Barns will change that. It will let us:

• Manage more sites and deliver more conservation work, safely and efficiently
• Welcome larger and more diverse volunteer groups, year-round
• Offer dedicated, accessible teaching space for children and young people, including those with additional needs
• Create a shared base where other organisations can work alongside us for nature and community

Built on sustainability

Sustainability isn’t a feature of The Barns, it’s the foundation. From the design stage onwards, the building will reflect the same values we ask our community to live by.

The new site will support our ambition to reach Net Zero across our operations. It will give us the infrastructure to store, charge and maintain a growing fleet of electric tools and equipment, reducing our reliance on petrol-powered machinery over time.

The development itself will be nature-positive planting mixed native hedgerows and trees, creating pollinator-rich habitats and a pond & bog garden too. The buildings incorporate swift, bird, bat boxes and bee bricks as part of the design.

Where our current site holds us back, The Barns will let us lead by example, for our operations and for the wider environment. We will be waterwise; collecting, storing and using rainwater for irrigation and toilet flushing!

Where things stand

The site at Abbey Barn South is secured, and initial feasibility work has confirmed it can accommodate the proposed buildings. We’re now seeking outline planning permission, following early engagement with the local planning authority and a well-received pre-application meeting with Buckinghamshire Council in March 2026.

Our design and planning team, Arrow & HAP, are both based in High Wycombe and specialise in community buildings that are welcoming, practical and built to last.

How you can support The Barns

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Chiltern Rangers, and for nature and communities across Buckinghamshire. Here’s how you can help:

• Be involved. We are aiming to submit our planning application in August so watch out for events and opportunities to get involved in the coming months.
• Get in touch. If you’d like to know more, arrange a visit, or discuss supporting the project, we’d love to hear from you.

Unlike a grant-funded project that ends when the money runs out, The Barns is built to last. It’s an asset for Buckinghamshire and the Chilterns, not a programme with an end date, and the coalition of partners needed to make it happen is already forming and growing.

For more information, please contact Chiltern Rangers:

thebarns@chilternrangers.co.uk

01494 474486