The festival celebrated the rich biodiversity of the Abbey area while highlighting the urgent importance of climate action and wildlife conservation. Families, students, conservationists, and visitors of all ages gathered to explore how nature can thrive in the centre of our town.

A wide range of inspiring stall holders shared ideas, projects, and practical advice, covering topics from cleaning up local habitats and protecting Suffolk wildlife to creating natural spaces for wildlife at home. Visitors discovered fascinating talks and displays including Prickly Friends in Your Garden at Night, Bury’s Swifts, The Future of Gardening, Rejuvenating Biodiversity in the Abbey Area, and Strings of Beads: The Rivers Lark and Linnet through Bury St Edmunds. The Journey from Trout Lakes to Nature Reserve also showcased the remarkable transformation of local landscapes.

Guided walks proved especially popular throughout the weekend, offering visitors the chance to experience nature first-hand. Activities included Bird Walks, Tree Walks, Incredible Insects, Plant Walks, and the thought-provoking walk exploring how Bury’s Lark Valley has changed over the centuries. Younger visitors enthusiastically joined the family-friendly bug safaris, discovering the miniature wildlife hidden within the Abbey grounds.

The festival continued beyond the weekend with a multi-sensory, interactive exhibition in the South Cloister of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, showcasing the creative response to our natural environment of the 165 primary school children who attended the Festival on Friday 15 May.

Together, the festival demonstrates how heritage, education, and community action can help shape a greener and more sustainable future for Bury St Edmunds.

Additionally, on Saturday 16 May, the Abbey Gardens will host a special Bury Wildlife Festival ‘Revealing our living landscape’ organised by the Bury Water Meadows Group, celebrating the natural environment at the heart of this project. This event will highlight the ecological significance of the Abbey site and offer opportunities for visitors to engage with nature, conservation and local wildlife.

Looking ahead

Through conservation, storytelling and collaboration, the Abbey of St Edmund Reborn project will reanimate this historic site for new audiences. With 47 planned activities spanning heritage engagement, creative programmes, biodiversity initiatives and volunteering, the project will create lasting opportunities for communities across Suffolk.

Together, the partnership is building a sustainable future for the Abbey, one that secures its place as a centre for heritage, learning and community for generations to come.

This once-in-a-generation initiative will reunify the 60-acre Abbey site, fragmented since the Dissolution of 1539, re-establishing it as a nationally significant cultural destination.

Building on the momentum of the 2022 Abbey 1000 celebrations, the three-year delivery project positions the Abbey as a powerful place-maker for West Suffolk, driving long-term economic growth and cultural recognition.

Urgent heritage action is required. Conditions surveys confirm increase in structural defects across the ruins due to prolonged exposure, climate change and severe weather. Immediate conservation will stabilise the Abbey ruins bringing them into a sustainable condition for future generations.

A new Visitor Centre will sensitively restore and adapt the 18th-century Anselm Building, and buildings facing the Angel Hill, complemented by a contemporary West Cloister as a connection between Cathedral and Abbey Garden.  An improved 1.4km accessible circular route, including new ramps and a ruin viewing point will ensure an inclusive experience for all.

Environmental ambition underpins the project, targeting an 18.5% biodiversity net gain, supporting chalk stream habitats and working toward Net Zero through renewable energy solutions.

Immersive stories of Edmund’s Town, and 47 coordinated activities, including heritage engagement, biodiversity programmes, creative projects and volunteering placements re-animate the Abbey for diverse audiences.

Together, the partnership will deliver a new sustainable business and governance model creating a unified vision to secure the Abbey’s future as a place of heritage, learning and community.

Consultation and Partnerships

Our activity plan has been shaped through consultation with a wide range of local partners, including learning providers, health and wellbeing organisations, and community groups. This collaborative approach ensures that activities are inclusive, meaningful, and responsive to local needs, supporting learning, wellbeing, and a deeper connection to place.

Heritage Engagement Activities

The project will deliver heritage engagement activities, offering varied ways to explore and experience the Abbey. These include guided tours, talks, heritage trails, taster sessions, reminiscence events, student-led projects, and pilgrimages, providing opportunities for discovery, reflection, and shared learning.

Biodiversity and Landscape

Nature is central to the Abbey’s story. The activity plan includes biodiversity-focused activities, such as a biodiversity festival, riverland, wetland and grassland conservation projects, and citizen science initiatives. These activities will support ecological recovery while encouraging people to engage with and care for the Abbey’s green spaces.

Archaeology and Discovery

Two archaeology projects will invite communities to uncover the past. A community project  will engage youth groups to academics , while a second project will improve the Historic Environment Record, strengthening understanding of the Abbey’s archaeological significance.

Creative Engagement

Creativity will flourish through seven arts-based activities, including music, drama, and visual arts inspired by the Abbey and Cathedral. These will range from intimate workshops to large-scale events and temporary exhibitions, bringing heritage to life through contemporary expression.

Building Skills and Capacity

The project will strengthen long-term capacity through investment in people. Alongside two existing posts, Visitor Experience and Learning Manager, we will recruit three new roles in volunteering, community engagement, and events management. There will be 20 training opportunities, 19 volunteer roles, and 190 new volunteer placements, supported by forums, health networks, internships, and apprenticeships.

Together, these activities will ensure the Abbey of St Edmund Reborn Project leaves a lasting legacy for heritage, nature, and community.

Over the past 16 months, our professional design team has worked intensively to develop detailed proposals for vital ruin repairs, a new Visitor Centre and West Cloister, improved accessible path networks, and site-wide biodiversity enhancements. This work has been carried out in close collaboration with our three Project Partners: St Edmundsbury Cathedral, West Suffolk Council, and English Heritage – as well as the site’s individual landowners: St Edmundsbury Cathedral, West Suffolk Council, and Suffolk County Council.

The response so far has been extremely encouraging. Feedback from statutory consultees, amenity societies, and the public consultation held in September has been overwhelmingly positive, reflecting strong support for the project’s sensitive and thoughtful approach.

Given the Abbey’s exceptional historic importance, the planning process is necessarily complex. Multiple consents are required, including planning permission and listed building consent from the local planning authority, Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England, and approvals from both the Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee and the Fabric Advisory Committee.

Separate Scheduled Monument Consent conservation repairs approvals to the ruins are being developed in close consultation with English Historic, alongside England Heritage, the guardians of the site. Additional access improvements within the Great Churchyard also require statutory Faculty approval from the Diocesan Advisory Committee.

Altogether, the applications are supported by more than 140 detailed drawings and 23 specialist reports and surveys, all demonstrating the need for the project and its long-term benefits. This milestone reflects the dedication and collaboration of many partners working together to protect, enhance, and share one of England’s most remarkable historic places. Together, these improvements deliver lasting social, educational, and environmental benefits for Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk and beyond.

Participants expressed a deep sense of pride and connection to the Abbey. Conservation of the Abbey ruins was unanimously recognised as the project’s most important priority, and the protection of this historic site emerged as the strongest source of excitement and support. Many highlighted the Abbey’s vital role in defining Bury St Edmunds as a town of culture and heritage.

There was also strong endorsement for biodiversity improvements, which respondents saw as contributing to the health and wellbeing of both visitors and the local environment. People were eager to learn more about Edmund’s Abbey – its scale, economy, daily life, and the ruins as they stand today.

The consultation revealed a community deeply invested in ensuring the Abbey’s story continues to inspire future generations, while maintaining a thoughtful balance between the Cathedral, Abbey, and Gardens.

The public consultation supports forthcoming planning applications to the various statutorily consultees (The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, The Local Planning Authority and Historic England) in November 2025. The anticipated delivery phase of the project is scheduled from summer 2026 for a three-year period.