Fears over town’s £2.2m buyout of duke’s land for nature project
THE future of one of the UK’S largest community-led nature and climate projects, which is based in Scotland, is “hanging in the balance” due to fundraising issues.
Led by a local charity, the town of Langholm is aiming to raise
£2.2 million for a community buyout of 5,300 acres of Langholm Moor, which is owned by the Duke of Buccleuch.
If successful it would double the size of the new community-owned Tarras Valley Nature Reserve.
Despite hopes of a £1m donation from a major funder – and a surging public crowdfunder attracting donations from thousands of people from across the world – there were fears the project could face a £450,000 shortfall by the time it reached the original May 31 deadline.
If the £1m donation does not come through, which the Langholm Initiative charity believes is unlikely, the shortfall will rise to £1.45m.
However, Buccleuch Estates has now offered an additional two months for the Langholm Initiative to pursue donations from large funding bodies, meaning the total funds now need to be raised by July 31.
Some 2,300 villagers of Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, a few miles north of the English border, have been working to turn Langholm Moor into a model for climate-friendly and sustainable ecological restoration, powered by small-scale wind and solar farms, spurred on by an upsurge in community buyouts across Scotland.
A year-and-a-half ago villagers managed to agree plans for the nature reserve project, which was then one of the most ambitious community fundraising campaigns ever seen – with the community raising the final funds needed in the nick of time.
That involved spending £3.8m for over 5,000 acres of land in a deal between the Langholm Initiative charity and Buccleuch – paving the way for “the creation of a huge new nature reserve to help tackle climate change, restore nature, and support community regeneration”.
The Tarras Valley Nature Reserve was established last year, after the first stage of what is south Scotland’s biggest community land buyout.
Since then discussions continued over the remaining land the community has expressed an interest in buying.
Jenny Barlow, Tarras Valley Nature Reserve’s estate manager, said the extension of the deadline by Buccleuch gave them “breathing space” to ensure the landmark project for people and planet does not fall at the final hurdle.
“Despite the wonderful outpouring of support from people worldwide, there was a real risk we might have been some £450,000 short on deadline day – putting at risk our ambitious plans for tackling the nature and climate emergencies while boosting community regeneration. We now need all the support possible to get this historic buyout over the line and safeguard this land for future generations,” she said.
The moves for Langholm Moor, famous among conservationists as the site of a 25-year-long research project into the survival of widely persecuted hen harriers on grouse moors, has been seen as significant for Scotland’s land reform movement.
On the reserve, globally important peatlands and ancient woods are being restored, native woodlands established, and a haven ensured for wildlife including hen harrier, short-eared owl and merlin.
The charity says community regeneration and the creation of new jobs through a nature-based approach is a central aim of the project.
Benny Higgins, a former banker, who is chairman of Buccleuch Estates, said: “We’re pleased to be able to extend the timescale for the Langholm Initiative to raise the funds necessary to make this second-phase community buyout a reality. We have worked closely with the Langholm Initiative in recent years and have been impressed by their tenacity, vision, and co-operation to bring their plans to fruition. We hope this additional time will help them in their quest to double the size of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve and build on the success achieved so far.”
Leading charities which have backed the buyout include Borders Forest Trust, John Muir Trust, Rewilding Britain, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Trees for Life, and the Woodland Trust.
The Duke of Buccleuch, a hereditary title dating to 1663, was once the UK’S largest private landowner, and the family still holds 217,000 acres of moorland, farms and forestry, and a £250m urban property portfolio.
There was a real risk we might have been some £450,000 short on deadline day