Farmers to help deliver £30m wildlife habitat fund

Farmers and land managers in England’s protected landscapes are set to help deliver a new £30 million government-backed wildlife habitat fund.

The Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund will support the creation and restoration of wildflower meadows, wetlands and native woodlands across National Parks, National Landscapes and the Broads.

The government said the scheme would help deliver thousands of hectares of new and restored habitat over three years.

Projects will be delivered through the existing Farming in Protected Landscapes programme infrastructure, with farmers, land managers, conservation groups and local communities expected to play a key role.

The fund will provide £10 million a year from 2026 to 2029.

In the first year, 36 of England’s 44 protected landscapes are expected to take part.

The government said the funding would support its aim to protect 30% of England’s land for nature by 2030.

Species expected to benefit include hedgehogs, hazel dormice, water voles, bees, butterflies and wading birds.

Rare birds such as curlew and turtle dove could also benefit, with habitat degradation identified as one of the main drivers of decline.

Nature Minister Mary Creagh announced the fund on 25 May, saying protected landscapes were home to some of the country’s most threatened species.

Ms Creagh said: “Our national parks and protected landscapes are home to some of our most marginal species.”

She added that government funding would mean “more birdsong, flower meadows full of bees and butterflies, and new areas of native woodlands.”

The minister said nature recovery was being funded “field by field, across England’s most iconic and beautiful landscapes”.

One project highlighted by the government is in the Peak District, where the National Park Authority is working with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, volunteers and contractors at Gun Moor.

The work includes restoring 24 hectares of wet heath, re-wetting deep peat and creating native woodland on the lower slopes.

The site has suffered years of degradation, with deep peat drying out and wildlife retreating.

Martin Lines, chief executive of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said the funding recognised that farmers were essential partners in restoring protected landscapes.

He said farming businesses had already shown through the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme that productive farming and nature recovery could work together.

Mr Lines said: “When farmers are trusted and supported to lead, nature can recover at scale.”

Mary-Ann Ochota, independent chair of the Protected Landscapes Partnership, welcomed the multi-year investment.

She said protected landscape teams would be able to make “smart, efficient decisions” and get support to local delivery partners quickly.

Ms Ochota said locally rooted partnerships would be central to the fund’s success, adding that the aim was to create “thriving, wildlife-rich landscapes” supported by farmers, land managers and communities.

Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, said the funding was needed to help reverse the decline of nature in protected landscapes.

She said climate change, land use pressures and pollution had damaged habitats and weakened people’s connections with nature.

Ms Edwards said the new funding was a step towards restoring “flourishing wildlife and habitats” and meeting Environment Act targets.

The government said the new fund is separate from, and will not affect, the farming budget or the wider Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.