Woodland to reclaim area after trust deal

Jan 15 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A DEAL to create the Woodland Trust’s biggest holding in the North of England has now been completed.

As revealed in The Journal this month, the plan involves a major extension to Elemore Woods on the County Durham and Sunderland border.

In a £1.35m deal, the trust has now acquired and will manage 203 acres of mostly arable land next to its 175-acre Elemore Woods at Easington Lane, Houghton-le-Spring.

The purchase has been made with help from local fundraising and grants from County Durham Environmental Trust (CDent), the Heritage Lottery Fund, Sita Trust and Biffaward.

The Elemore Woods extension is part of a rare magnesian limestone landscape and includes a small quarry area and site of special scientific interest.

Over the next two years the land will be planted with more than 90,000 native broadleaved trees and shrubs to become part of a continuous area of woodland stretching for 2.5 miles between Easington Lane and South Hetton to Littletown in County Durham.

About 3km of paths and rides will be accessible on foot from South View, just off the A182 South Hetton Road at Easington Lane.

The Woodland Trust aims to involve the community in the creation of the wood and local schoolchildren will be involved in planting trees on the site as part of the trust’s nationwide Trees for All programme.

Trust regional development officer Sara Lyons said: “We are delighted, and are very grateful to everyone who contributed their efforts to produce such a brilliant result. The extension enables the Woodland Trust to put a large area of accessible woodland within easy reach of thousands of people in the North-East.”

CDent chairman John Wearmouth said: “As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations, CDent was delighted to initiate and support this significant project with a grant to start the ball rolling and enable the project to proceed.

“We are pleased to see other major funders have come on board and hope others in the region will continue to give it their backing.”

Biffaward chairman Martin Bettington said: “Woodland once cloaked most of Britain, but we now have one of the lowest coverage levels in Europe. This vast woodland area will create a living landscape, connecting pockets of existing wildlife and enabling species to thrive over a much wider area.”

Liz Lowery, of Sita Trust, said: “Elemore Woods, with the extension, will be a huge natural asset for everyone in living in Durham, Chester-le-Street, Sunderland and Seaham.”