A campaign to buy a historic Northumberland estate is on the verge of success after donations of more than £5.5m arrived in recent days, pushing the total past £26m.
Northumberland Wildlife Trust and the national Wildlife Trusts announced less than a fortnight ago that they had reached the £20m mark in their drive to buy the Rothbury Estate for £30m. That announcement prompted a wave of large donations, bringing the total to over £26m, ahead of an October deadline to purchase the 9,500-acre estate from the family of the Duke of Northumberland.
Match funding extended
Opportunities for donations to be effectively doubled through match funding have been extended to the end of September. The charities have also indicated they could, if necessary, take low-interest loans to complete the £30m needed to buy the land. The trusts said they were within “touching distance” of meeting the estate’s asking price.
Nature corridor vision
The Wildlife Trusts want to create a 40-mile wide “nature corridor” linking the Northumberland Coast to Kielder Forest through the estate, as well as preventing the land from being broken up into multiple ownerships. Their plans focus on nature recovery and regenerative farming, with the possibility of reintroducing species such as beaver, bison and golden eagles as longer-term possibilities.
The trusts say they will work alongside local people and farmers on their plans. They aim to improve the land’s resilience to hot and dry summers by re-wetting the landscape, creating pools and ponds, restoring peat bogs, and creating healthier river corridors to help hold water back during both droughts and significant rainfall.
Support from around the world
The two-year fundraising campaign has included local efforts such as wreath-making workshops and selling Christmas trees, as well as donations from around the world, including from Finland, Bermuda, the US and the Philippines. Naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who called the estate a “very special place,” provided a boost to the appeal’s visibility.
Mike Pratt, CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, said: “It has been both heartening and humbling to see how many people have been inspired by this opportunity and are choosing to support our success at Rothbury. It is clear that stories of hope and positive action are resonating with people far beyond The Rothbury Estate’s boundaries.
“Having marked the incredible £20m milestone moment only last week, it has been the most extraordinary few days for the appeal and we’re really excited to now be within touching distance of the £30m needed to purchase the entire estate. This has been a remarkable collective effort and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone that has supported so far – now let’s make it happen, let’s get this over the line.”
The latest local fundraising effort sees businesses in Heaton, Newcastle, raffle a number of unusual items for the appeal. Music instrument shop Curvy Sounds is raffling a bespoke Tokai Les Paul guitar customised by founder Andrew Mills, another guitar worth more than £1,000 has been donated by local singer-songwriter Nev Clay, and items have also been donated by local businesses and the band Maximo Park. Tickets can be bought by emailing the shop at curvysounds@yahoo.com.
