Land purchased by council secures region’s biggest rewilding greenspace

The council has spent just under £1.8 million on 133.3 acres of land at Tin House Farm, Great Bowden, Leicestershire, to create a unique project of national significance to restore nature at a landscape scale, bringing benefits to wildlife, people and communities.

With the support of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, the Market Harborough Rewilding Project will work to restore a nature-depleted area, reestablishing natural processes and building a network of nature sites where wildlife can thrive.

People will be at the heart of this project, with the site being publicly accessible and the creation of opportunities for learning and the wider benefits that nature can bring.

By working with other adjacent landowners and key public sector partners, a major opportunity has been created for a new publicly accessible open space, country park and huge rewilding opportunity to reconnect to nature - featuring footpaths, car parking and maybe visitor facilities including refreshments and toilets.

Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and South Leicestershire contains some of the most heavily modified and nature-depleted areas in lowland England. The project will drive the recovery of nature on this land so that it can support an abundance of wildlife that enriches the immediate area and enables wildlife to spread out to surrounding countryside and communities. Not only will the countryside be richer, more resilient and productive but people and communities will benefit from being closer to wildlife and all the benefits this brings.

As well as protecting the site from long-term housing development, the project will help the council meet its carbon reduction and nature recovery ambitions and provide more opportunities for residents to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting with nature-rich greenspace.

The council is also now considering declaring a nature emergency to ensure that rewilding and nature recovery are embedded into the day-to-day thinking and work of council services. A report will be brought before councillors in the coming months.

This purchase could also facilitate a new waste depot which the council has been seeking. The council made budget provision over four years ago for a potential depot purchase but has been interested in securing a site for many years.

Cllr Phil Knowles, Leader of Harborough District Council, said: “I am delighted we have finally got this land secured after 12 months of hard work by Cabinet and officers. We have been able to facilitate an amazing opportunity to restore nature on a nationally important scale in an area where this has never been achieved before.

“Not only will we see nature restored on this land, but this project will provide a catalyst for the creation of a network of sites that will link wildlife across the district and beyond. This will be a catalyst for a strategic partnership that will rewild large swathes of nature-depleted countryside, protecting it as public open space for generations to come and bringing nature back to the area. I am so pleased for our district and local communities.

“In addition, not having our own waste depot to house our own fleet and equipment has been costly for taxpayers, but due to this land being adjacent to the existing depot site we now have options for the future.”

Mat Carter, CEO, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust said: “This rewilding project is an amazing opportunity to restore wildlife and natural processes at a nationally significant scale. Only through ambitious and innovative projects like this can we reverse the decline in nature and realise the benefits that it can bring.

“The project will showcase how land can be restored to support thriving wildlife and bring benefits to the communities that live around them. We will be working with partners to create a network of sites that supports greater diversity and migration, providing increased resilience for wildlife to adapt to the challenges they face. We will work with nature to restore natural processes such as connecting rivers with their floodplains and enabling natural regeneration and succession to occur. This is an opportunity to create an amazing legacy.”

Groups and people who are interested in getting involved in the Market Harborough Rewilding Project can email: rewildingproject@harborough.gov.uk