Durham Wildlife Trust is to become the owner of land on the edge of the Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve, at Houghton-le-Spring, ensuring it will be protected from housing development and preserved for nature.
Today’s announcement follows the spectacular success of a fundraising campaign, launched by the Trust last summer, when a £54,000 target was surpassed within a week.
The Trust needed to raise 10 per cent in match funding to apply for a grant of £540,000 from Biffa Award, as part of the Government's Landfill Communities Fund.
While negotiations continued with the vendor of the fields, a charitable lender purchased the land to hold it for the Trust until it had enough funds to buy it outright.
Now that the Biffa Award has been confirmed, the legal process is progressing, and the Trust expects to take ownership by March.
Emily Routledge, Head of Development and Communications, thanked supporters for their “extraordinary response” to the Trust’s biggest ever fundraising appeal.
“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the support and the speed at which we reached, then exceeded our ambitious target,” she said.
“Purchasing this land will not just protect Rainton Meadows from the risk that development of the fields would pose, it will enhance the wild space and improve vital habitat for species such as curlew and lapwing. We would like to thank everyone who donated to our appeal and Biffa Award.”
Rachel Maidment, Biffa Award Grants Manager, added: “We are delighted to support Durham Wildlife Trust in securing this vital piece of land for nature. Through Biffa Award, we are committed to funding projects that create lasting benefits for wildlife and communities, and this initiative will do just that. The overwhelming response to the appeal is a testament to how much people value and want to protect their local wild spaces.”
The appeal’s success marks an exciting new chapter in the history of Rainton Meadows, which was the site of Rye Hill Opencast Mine until it was transformed into a nature reserve in 1996 through a conservation partnership between Durham Wildlife Trust, UK Coal, and the City of Sunderland.
The Trust says the land at Rainton Meadows has “incredible potential to deliver nature recovery” at a time when more than 97 per cent of the UK’s species-rich grassland has been lost in less than a century.
Additional plant species will be introduced using green hay from the neighbouring Rainton Meadows reserve, with conservation grazing implemented to boost the creation of species-rich grassland.
Ponds and wetland habitats will be created, and hedges planted to screen the site and prevent the disturbance of birds. New public viewing areas will also be established.
Local resident Dianne Summerson, who began volunteering for the Trust when it opened a gift shop at Rainton Meadows, welcomed the success of the appeal.
“I live within walking distance of Rainton Meadows and have watched it develop over the years. The expansion of the site is wonderful news for the area and for nature,” she said.
The Trust is seeking further support so it can carry out even more nature restoration at the site.
