The large site at West Chevington near Druridge Bay was acquired from regeneration specialist Harworth Group plc. It sits atop a former opencast coalmine, like many of Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s existing reserves in the area, and will showcase how nature can recover in this manufactured landscape.

The new land at West Chevington will provide opportunities to explore the rewilding concept further, and to work across a much larger scale.  It will become a game changer for nature recovery, and will be one of the most ambitious lowland rewilding projects in the north of England, forming an integral part of the wildlife charity’s fight against global warming. 

Close to a number of the wildlife charity’s nature reserves, the West Chevington land, which is near to Amble, Morpeth, and Ashington, will allow conservationists to test a number of rewilding methods with the aim of storing carbon, boosting biodiversity and connecting wildlife habitat on an unprecedented scale locally.  They will restore natural processes to reduce climate change impacts and encourage people to become more engaged with their natural heritage and take action for nature and climate.

The site is currently a mosaic of woodland (108 ha), grassland (110 ha) and lower-quality arable land (109 ha), with a system of ponds, ditches and streams that will add significantly to the connectivity and resilience of existing nature sites and the whole landscape around Druridge Bay.  The Trust will seek to involve the local community, farmers and landowners in achieving wider gains for nature across the area.

The wildlife charity has a long-term vision to improve the whole area for wildlife and people.  Plans include expansion of the existing broadleaf woodlands to store more carbon, reduce carbon emissions, and improve air quality.

The site will also see the creation and restoration of wildflower meadows and grasslands to boost pollinators including bees and butterflies, development of wetlands and watercourses to improve water quality and reduce flooding downstream, and enhancement of ponds with reed beds to encourage birds and other species.

Also included in the plans is the encouragement of scrub and more broadleaf trees and the re-introduction of species such as water voles and harvest mice, to complement the nearby harvest mice population at East Chevington Nature Reserve.  Other missing species that will contribute to the ecosystem will also be restored over time.

The Trust will join forces with the Flexigraze conservation-grazing scheme and introduce extensive targeted cattle grazing on the rough grassland on as they enjoy a much wider range of plants and grasses than commercial breeds, which promotes a more diverse range and prevents more aggressive species from taking over.  They really are biodiversity boosters!

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has long held a vision to develop a large network of sites for wildlife in the Druridge Bay area. The opportunity exists here, perhaps more than in any other part of our county’s lowlands, to develop that network.  This whole area has the potential to be a spectacular example of a ‘Living Landscape’, a large-scale network of connected land where wildlife can move freely, adapt and thrive.

West Chevington will be the Trust’s largest area of land in the lowlands complementing the large holdings of Whitelee, Benshaw and Butterburn in the uplands and Border Mires.  It is hoped that in 30 years’ time, the West Chevington site will help to deliver fully restored water catchments that alleviate flooding and filter out contaminants.

Anne Reece, Chair of the Reece Foundation said: “We are very excited to fund and gift this purchase and see the development of this rewilding project as it helps deliver our commitment to the protection and restoration of wild land and the enhancement of nature to improve the wellbeing of the region. We hope it will be start of something even bigger.”

Mike Pratt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Chief Executive said: “This is an amazing opportunity to restore a key area of Northumberland’s lowlands, inland, from Druridge Bay, potentially making the whole area much wilder and restoring nature at scale, delivering multiple benefits for nature, people and climate.

“We are enormously thankful for the vision and generous commitment of the Reece Foundation in making this happen and we hope our supporters and the public generally will now help us with the transformation plans to make such a big difference and impact.

“Over the next 5, 10 and many more decades, we will bring about a natural regeneration of woodland and scrub, restore farmed land and promote diverse grasslands and wetlands that support a huge variety of wildlife. Nature will recover and flourish, rather than decline, something we will all be very proud of being part of and which will contribute positively to people’s lives and the local economy.”

Peter Massie, Development Manager at Harworth Group, said: “We are pleased to have worked closely with the Northumberland Wildlife Trust to complete this sale. The Trust’s work will transform this former coalmining site into one of the largest and most ambitious rewilding projects in the north of England, in turn inspiring more communities to protect and preserve their natural heritage.”

Alice McCourt, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Conservation Officer, who has been involved in the West Chevington project since the start said: “The site has enormous potential for the restoration of nature and natural processes, but it also already has a lot of wildlife interest.  

“Visits last summer revealed a thriving butterfly population, with a staggering number of skippers to be found in the grasslands on site.   The wetter areas also already support rare and declining breeding waders, including lapwing.  We’re all really excited to follow the development of the site over the next 10 to 20 years, and see it realise its full potential.”

The Trust still needs to raise additional funds to help it develop and manage the site to realise its full potential.  Anybody wishing to support the work can do so via its 30 by 30-public appeal which is aimed at helping the charity put nature back into recovery in the region. Anybody wishing to donate can do so by visiting www.nwt.org.uk/30by30

Across the UK, all 46 wildlife trusts are calling for at least 30% of our land and sea to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030. Making more space for nature to become abundant once again will give struggling wildlife the chance to recover and also restore beautiful wild places - places that store carbon and help to tackle the climate crisis.