Bid to buy Rothbury Estate on verge of reaching £30m target after Government pledges nearly £2m
A fundraising bid to purchase The Rothbury Estate in Northumberland has been boosted by a £1.94 million pledge from the UK Government.
The grant was announced 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 donations from funders, 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.
The Wildlife Trusts’ says its ambitious appeal to raise £30m to purchase the 9,500-acre 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.
Its website states that more than £27m has been raised.
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.”