The Wildlife Trusts raise £6m in bid to purchase Rothbury Estate in Northumberland

The charity have reached 20% of their target of £30m needed to buy the remainder of the 9,500 acre estate, after already purchasing a section of the land including the Simonside Hills.

Rothbury Estate was put up for sale last year by Lord Max Percy, son of the Duke of Northumberland. The Wildlife Trusts agreed a two-phase purchasing deal over two years, in partnership with Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

By acquiring the estate, the trust aims to enhance its natural heritage for future generations, create a sustainable future for local farmers and avoid the land being broken up into multiple ownerships.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust communications officer, Fiona Dryden said: "At this stage our work is focused on having conversations with local people, developing a management plan and, as spring emerges, we’ll start to do baseline habitat monitoring on surveys. All these things will determine what happens in future.”