White Peak Landscape Recovery
What is Landscape Recovery?
It’s a Defra scheme to recover nature and benefit farming across whole landscapes.
In the White Peak, it's for farmers and land managers working together with the National Park and Natural England to enhance wildlife and support nature-friendly farming.
What area will it cover?
The ambition is to include the whole of the White Peak, though this depends on interest from farmers and may take some years to achieve – the more farms involved the better.
In September 2023 we submitted a bid including 44 holdings, where farming is central to the business, in addition to 14 smallholders, conservation organisations, estates and quarry companies – a total of 58 signatories. Thank you to everyone! Unfortunately we were unsuccessful but we are continuing to develop our ideas.
What sort of work might a Landscape Recovery project include?
Everyone involved will help decide what it covers, it could be...
- traditional and nature-friendly mixed farming with legume-herb swards
- planting scattered trees along field edges and corners
- enhancing existing flower-rich grasslands and hay meadows
- low-input woody pasture or agro-forestry on the dale-tops.
Development work in 2024/2025/2026
With funding from Natural England and the National Park Authority we are developing our collective ideas for what nature recovery means for Peak District Farmers in the White Peak and how green finance can help support this. This may lead on to a new application for landscape recovery in the future. We have held farmer meetings, commissioned a consultant to find out more about green finance opportunities and are exploring how the group could become a legal entity and so take on more responsibility.
Interested?
Please email or phone us: farming@peakdistrict.gov.uk or
As soon as we hear anything from Defra on the success of the bid we will be in touch.
Useful documents
- White Peak Landscape Recovery information sheet (417KB)
- White Peak Landscape Recovery flyer (435KB)
- White Peak Landscape Recovery Development Phase project costs (112KB)
- White Peak Landscape Recovery project proposal form (303KB)
Steering Group Members
- Jane Bassett, Sennilow farm, Hartington
- Rachel Morley, Topley Head Farm
- Robert Thornhill, Standhill Farm, Great Longstone
- Rosemary Furness, Beech Farm, Taddington
- Stuart Fairfax, Longstone Moor Farm
- Tom Howe, Mayfield farm, Litton Slack
Project area map
