Charlotte Church’s hippy forest school being shut down over concerns about its negative effect on nature

CHARLOTTE Church’s hippy forest school faces being given the chop — over concerns it may be damaging nature. Planning bosses said the site did not “enhance” its environment and failed to comply with “protected sites and species” policies and conservation. Singer Charlotte Church’s hippy forest school faces being given the chop — over concerns it may be damaging nature Credit: WNS Mum-of-three Church and songwriter husband Jonathan Powell launched the project in a former piggery Credit: WNS Singer Church, 40, had also failed to submit any ecological reports for her Awen Project scheme at Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It was launched as an outdoor education centre for up to 20 home-schooled children aged 11 to 16 — and offered sessions covering rewilding and edible landscaping. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! Mum-of-three Church and songwriter husband Jonathan Powell launched the project in a former piggery. Neighbours questioned whether the remote location with its temporary facilities, including a compost loo, was safe for kids. She and her husband had run it without council say-so since 2024 so applied to Vale of Glamorgan Council for retrospective permission. Planning officers rejected their bid, raising concerns over road safety and noise as well as the environmental shortcomings. They said the location was unsuitable as pupils and staff would have to travel along a narrow, unlit private lane with no pavements to get there. Church has appealed against their decision to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales, part of the Welsh Government. Most read in Showbiz The star, a campaigner for alternative education, set up the Awen Project after taking her own children out of mainstream school. It was originally based in woods in Dinas Powys before moving to nearby Wenvoe after a dispute which ended in 2023 when the Woodland Trust charity said it was putting wildlife at risk. Despite the latest setback, Church was upbeat about Awen in the project’s 2026 annual report. She said: “Young people have been actively engaging with the new landscape.” Comment now