Dearne Valley in South Yorkshire and Upper Nidderdale in North Yorkshire will both receive first-round development grants so they can progress exciting plans under the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Landscape Partnership (LP) programme. 

HLF’s LP programme - which has been running for eight years –  helps conserve some of the UK’s most diverse and locally distinctive landscapes by supporting schemes that provide long-term social, economic and environmental benefits for rural areas. It is the most significant grant scheme available for landscape-scale projects and is at the cutting edge of delivery. 

HLF has to date invested a total of £132m in 83 different areas in the UK. The projects help forge new partnerships between public and community bodies ensuring people are better equipped to tackle the needs of their local landscapes in a co-ordinated and practical way. Alongside essential conservation work to the built heritage and a wide range of training opportunities which enable people to learn new skills, the projects also help protect valuable habitats and enhance local biodiversity.

Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “Upper Nidderdale is a dramatic part of Yorkshire’s countryside and of particular importance due to its huge diversity of flora, fauna and bird populations, while the Dearne Valley is a landscape that has been heavily shaped by industry and then its subsequent loss. We’re delighted to be giving our initial support for these Landscape Partnership programmes which will help conserve built, natural and cultural heritage and offer lots of excellent opportunities for people to benefit from and connect with their local environments.”

These Landscape Partnership projects in Yorkshire are two of thirteen around the UK (totalling over £20m investment) to receive initial support today:

Dearne Valley LP, South Yorkshire – first-round pass £1,882,000, including £89,500 development funding 
Dearne Valley, spread across Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster in South Yorkshire, has a fascinating past but has suffered greatly due to rapid de-industrialisation, particularly the loss of the coal mining industry. The area has a comprehensive range of built, natural and cultural heritage and this scheme aims to enhance and reconnect people with them, focusing on the unifying theme of industrial heritage. Complementing this conservation work will be a programme of community outreach, including oral history, exhibitions, workshops and festivals. A community forum will help energise existing and new volunteers with the aim of involving people in the development and implementation of the scheme.

Cllr Linda Burgess of Barnsley Council said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support for the Dearne Valley Area. It is a unique living landscape but it is overlooked or misunderstood. The Dearne Valley Green Heart Landscape Partnership will provide the chance to ‘Reveal the Hidden Dearne Valley’ with its hidden landscapes and heritage, particularly industrial heritage having immense potential. RSPB Old Moor demonstrates the potential for the area, attracting over 100,000 visitors every year. It is opportunities like this that can be built on, encouraging more visitors into the area, providing people with a chance to learn new skills, making more people aware of the area and protecting the precious heritage and environment.”

Upper Nidderdale LP, Yorkshire – first-round pass of £1,213,400, including £48,400 development funding
This dramatic upland valley landscape in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, is characterised by moorland, drystone walls and gritstone farmsteads and barns. It is internationally important for its flora and fauna, such as the Elephant Hawk Moth, marsh ragwort and ragged robin, and also has a large population of breeding upland birds, including merlin, curlew and golden plover. It has vast reserves of peat which are important to the prevention of downstream flooding. Training in local heritage skills is a highlight of the scheme and includes: training days; practical skills courses for schools; upland management apprenticeships for young people; and landowner training days.

Harrogate Borough Councillor Nigel Simms, Chair of the AONB’s Joint Advisory Committee, said: “This is just the best news for the Nidderdale AONB and we are extremely grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are delighted that this award will help to meet the cost of getting Upper Nidderdale’s natural and historic environment back into tip-top condition once again.” 

Notes to editors

HLF’s Landscape Partnerships are helping bring together members of the community as well as local, regional, and national organisations to deliver schemes which benefit some of the UK’s most outstanding landscapes and rural communities. Grants currently range from £250,000 up to £2m. From 2013 this range changes to £100,000 up to £3m. The next closing date for LP applications is May 2013.  
  
Further information

HLF Press Office: Vicky Wilford, 020 7591 6046 / 07973 401 937, email vickyw@hlf.org.uk.