DEFRA PLEDGES £1.94M TO ROTHBURY ESTATE BID

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has pledged £1.94m towards The Wildlife Trusts’ bid to buy the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland. Defra announced the grant at the COP17 biodiversity conference in Armenia on 24 October. The Wildlife Trusts and Northumberland Wildlife Trust are seeking £30m to buy the estate, and their appeal stands at around £29m. The charities say the purchase would support nature recovery and nature-friendly farming. Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, called the pledge “this rubber stamp of approval from the government”.

The estate includes moorland, woodland, rivers and farmland around the Simonside Hills. Area figures differ, at 3,800 hectares and 9,486 acres. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £5m, while individuals have donated more than £17m since the appeal began. The charities are considering low-interest loans because Defra’s grant and some other pledges will arrive after the appeal deadline at the end of October. They also plan to improve public access and keep the land under single ownership.

At a parliamentary committee hearing, chairman Alistair Carmichael questioned the pledge after farmers missed out on Sustainable Farming Incentive funding. The scheme’s £253m application budget was allocated within six hours of opening on 22 September. Carmichael called the grant “an expensive press release” and asked what a purchase would mean for tenant farmers on the estate. Defra farming director Mike Rowe said the grant came from outside the farming budget and that the department would examine the implications for tenants. Rowe said Defra had not yet settled any conditions attached to the funding.