A £1.94 million pledge from the UK Government has provided a welcome boost to The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to purchase The Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. The grant was announced yesterday at the UN Global Biodiversity Conference, COP17, taking place in Armenia.  

Together with a £5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as several other transformational donations from funders, anonymous philanthropists and members of the public, the grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is one of the largest received during the two-year fundraising appeal. It joins over £17 million donated by individuals since the campaign began. 

At almost 9,500 acres, The Rothbury Estate offers an extraordinary opportunity to restore nature at scale, strengthen nature-friendly farming and improve public access. The Wildlife Trusts’ ambitious appeal to raise £30m to purchase the estate in its entirety, if successful, will help create a bigger, better and more joined-up area for nature and people to thrive in the North East. Ultimately, it is this combination of ambition, scale, and its potential to contribute towards the government's 30by30 target that has helped to secure the funding announced yesterday. 

However, as the appeal enters its final week, efforts are ongoing to secure the future of entire estate for nature and the nation. As the government grant and a number of other pledges will not be released until after the fundraising deadline, The Wildlife Trusts remain committed to fundraising and are also exploring how low-interest loans could help the appeal to meet the target by the end of the month. 

Craig Bennett OBE, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says: 

“We’re thrilled to have the UK Government’s support and recognition of the scale of our ambitions at The Rothbury Estate, and this grant will take us another step closer to realising our vision for one of the largest nature recovery projects England has ever seen. 

“Together with the millions generously donated by philanthropists, charitable funds and thousands of members of the public, this rubber stamp of approval from the government makes The Rothbury Estate a nationally significant landscape and we look forward to hearing how our vision for the estate will join with government plans to deliver 30by30 across the country.”   

The Rothbury Estate is a historic 9,500-acre stretch of moorland, woodland, rivers, and farmland in the heart of Northumberland - equivalent to the size of central London – and includes the much-loved Simonside Hills. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust are working together to secure the site, which lies at the heart of a potential 40-mile nature recovery corridor stretching from the north-east coast to Kielder on the central Scottish border. It offers an unprecedented opportunity for restoring nature at scale to benefit both wildlife and people.