The Future
When the nursery closed at the end of the ‘80s many of the fruit growing areas had become derelict. Only 10 years later, local people had successfully re-established part of the site as a Community Orchard with large areas in fruit production. There is a renewed national interest in the preservation of traditional orchards and especially in local and heritage fruit varieties, long gone from commercial sale.. This orchard site is seen by national fruit experts as an important repository and is viewed as “The Holy Grail of English Fruit Production” by RHS Wisley.
The Rivers Nursery Site & Orchard Group(RNSOG) represents the interests of the community of the Sawbridgeworth area at large and all of the supporters of Rivers Nursery Orchard in particular in preserving the site as an historic orchard and a managed green space.
The group has drawn up a set of action plans to address the many issues that threaten the future of this horticultural site and will seek the support of our local councils, key individuals and organizations as we aim to secure the Rivers Nursery Site & Orchard for future generations.
The declared aims of the group are:
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To preserve and revitalise the nursery and orchard site in line with best management practice of old/historic and community orchards
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To formalise a lasting robust statutory protection of the site within current demarcation lines as mapped out in the Management Plan
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To develop the archive collection and find a permanent home, befitting its cultural, scientific, historic, local and national importance
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To protect and preserve flora and fauna on the site
ACTION PLAN 
1. Conserving what is there
Actions to include Increased Awareness of Site,
Maintenance Plan, Lobbying, Community usage for Cultural & Educational purposes,
Harvesting & Local Produce and Development of the Historical Archive.
2. Future Statutory Protection
Steps outlined contributing towards the future protection of the site include
Fruit varieties & site mapping, Renewal of heritage varieties,
Identification of unique elements, Biodiversity Surveys,
Planning Application scrutiny.
3. Communication Plan
RNSOG have a agreed that communication about the orchard site will be reliable, consistent, timely, open, straightforward, jargon-fee and customized wherever possible to the specific needs of target audiences. The group is entering correspondence re the future of the orchard with District and County Councils, National, Regional and Local Organizations, Key fruit advisers, the general public and other parties.