Letting the light back in: a little tree work at The Chace

If you’ve walked or driven past the Chace Hotel recently (formerly the Iliffe Hotel), you may have noticed the grounds looking a little different.

That’s not just your imagination.

Over the years, the line of leylandii trees that bordered parts of the site had grown rather enthusiastically. Leylandii are often used as hedging because they grow quickly and provide great screening. The downside is that if they’re left to their own devices, they grow very quickly—sometimes a bit too quickly. In our case, they had become so tall and overgrown that some were starting to lean and collapse, creating a potential risk to both passers-by and people on site.

Unfortunately, leylandii are not the easiest trees to tame once they get to that stage. Unlike many other hedging plants, they don’t rejuvenate well if you simply cut them back hard. Reducing their height doesn’t encourage them to bush out again, which meant there wasn’t really a safe or attractive halfway option.

So, after careful consideration, the decision was made to remove them.

The result? For the first time in years, sunlight is streaming through to neighbouring windows that had long been shaded by the towering trees. It’s been quite a transformation to see how much light the space now receives.

Of course, we know not everyone will be celebrating. Some people appreciated the greenery and may feel a little sad to see the old trees go—and that’s completely understandable. To those who are missing them, we genuinely sympathise. Change isn’t always easy when it comes to a familiar landscape.

But please bear with us.

Once the roots of the old leylandii have been fully grubbed out, we’ll be planting a new selection of native trees across the site. Our aim is to bring back greenery in a way that’s healthier, more manageable, and ultimately more varied and interesting than before. Think less towering wall of hedge, more diverse and characterful planting.

Elsewhere around the grounds, we’ve also been giving some of our protected trees a little attention. Several trees on site are covered by Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs), and these have been carefully tidied up with all the necessary local authority permissions in place. Other trees have undergone risk assessments and have been pruned or maintained where needed to ensure they remain safe and healthy.

And if you’re wondering about the rather enthusiastic laurel hedging that had begun to take over parts of the site in recent years—yes, that has also had a fairly substantial haircut.

The good news? Laurel is wonderfully resilient and grows back quickly. With a bit of ongoing care, it will soon return as neat, tidy border hedging rather than the jungle it had become.

All of this landscaping work is happening well in advance of the refurbished hotel opening, giving everything plenty of time to settle in and grow back beautifully. By the time guests arrive, the grounds should be well on their way to looking lush, welcoming, and full of life again.

So if things look a little bare at the moment, don’t worry—it’s all part of the plan. Think of it as a garden reset.

And like any good makeover, the best bit is still to come. 🌿