Angus Glens Programme

We held nine public events, two online surveys, and many consultation meetings. These helped us better understand the priorities of local stakeholders and communities.

Broad support for more native woodland creation was a common theme. Increasing biodiversity and river restoration were also important. Our detailed plans will address issues raised around:

• deer fencing
• public access
• fire resilience

We’re pursuing opportunities with the wider community and businesses. These include: 

• putting the built assets to sustainable use
• creating new jobs
• forming new partnerships
• providing an income

Food and drinks manufacturer The Bothy Distillery have leased a complex of industrial buildings and two other properties on the estate. They’ll open a small craft distillery in the industrial buildings and a visitor experience with accommodation. 

Two of the estate houses are currently occupied by tenants.

We intend to seek ‘green finance’ as part of a mix of funding. Green finance means investment in nature-based solutions such as:

• carbon storage and sequestration
• flood risk reduction
• enhanced wellbeing
• biodiversity recovery

This is an emerging area for which policy and standards are still being developed. Angus Glens can contribute to piloting such approaches. We’ll also see revenue generated from:

• the on-site hydro scheme
• venison sales
• leases of estate buildings and land
• partnership opportunities
• grants and philanthropy

We recruited a Programme Manager and Planning Forester in August 2023. In 2024, we recruited a Wildlife Ranger and Craftsperson to work in the Angus Glens.

We're working to reduce the deer population across the site. We’re also undertaking deer management for NatureScot in Corrie Fee National Nature Reserve. This lies between Glen Prosen and Glen Doll.

We're selling venison into the food market from deer culled on the estate.

Our Long-Term Plan relies on new deer fencing to help us achieve our objectives for habitat recovery and native woodland creation.

We've completed harvesting operations to clear some of the windblown areas. This’ll provide better access for future work.

We collaborated with Angus Council and Timber Transport Forum to improve road access. This allows for safer haulage of timber. 

We've undertaken a range of surveys to inform our land management planning. These include: 

• soils
• breeding birds
• habitats
• archaeology

We're continuing to carry out ecological surveys and establish baseline monitoring, including: 

• fixed point photography
• drone footage
• peatland survey
• river restoration and freshwater habitats
• natural regeneration tree survey
• wildlife camera trapping