More Than Just Walking Routes
The impact reportedly extends beyond dog walkers.
A children’s environmental education centre within the new exclusion zone has paused operations. Reports also suggest that two families living in nearby cottages were required to leave.
The Crown Estate has stated it is working with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust to find alternative arrangements for the education centre.
Meanwhile, park management says alternative parking remains available nearby — though some residents argue it is not a practical replacement.
“This Isn’t Their Back Garden”
A key frustration for locals, Tina says, is what she believes is a misunderstanding about ownership.
Windsor Great Park and Forest Lodge are owned by the Crown Estate — a public body whose revenues go to the UK Treasury — not the Royal Family personally.
“They’re supposed to manage it in the national interest,” she says. “This isn’t the royals’ private garden.”
Tina questions whether fencing off large swathes of public land for enhanced security serves the broader community.
“It’s like closing Regent’s Park and saying it doesn’t matter because Hyde Park is still open,” she argues.