Groundwork awarded a £250,000 grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to conserve and restore the Lindow Moss landscape.
Groundwork has received a grant of £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership for an exciting natural heritage project it is coordinating in Wilmslow, Cheshire: Lindow Moss – A Landscape In Discovery.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project will start in February and will help to deliver a programme of work that will conserve, restore and interpret this important landscape.
The Lindow Moss Landscape has been described as ‘archaeologically and historically one of the most important lowland wetlands in Britain’. For many years, peat extraction on an industrial scale, along with continual drainage to support low grade farming and pasture has led to ecological and environmental decline. At the heart of the landscape is a ‘cut over’ peat bog – at the centre of which is the find site of Lindow Man – Britain’s most intact Iron Age Bog Body. The site is unmarked.
Harnessing community support
Supported through the Heritage Fund, the project will harness community support through a programme ecological restoration and interpretation. It will also train a new generation of people in the Green Skills needed by the emerging green economy – specifically woodland management, peat conservation and nature recovery – all areas with a current skills deficit nationally.
Groundwork is one of the founding partners of the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership which was enabled by the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan. It is a collective of liked-minded partners, land owners and organisations that are committed to working together in order to conserve, restore and interpret the wider Lindow Moss landscape.
The vision
The partnership has developed a 10 year plan to deliver its vision of a ‘landscape in recovery – for nature, for the climate and for our citizens’. This includes:
- Ensuring Lindow Moss is recognised, celebrated, conserved and protected for its unique heritage
- Improving bio-diversity and nature recovery, with a practical programme of conservation volunteering
- Realising the potential of Lindow Moss to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere
- Harnessing the potential of Lindow to support the health, wealth and happiness of the community with the involvement and support from local businesses
- Providing a training ground to develop new skills for a greener economy
- Creating a social action programme that enables communities to take the lead.
Lindow Moss is one of the most important sites in the North West from an archaeological and environmental perspective.
Andrew Darron, Groundwork Executive Director said: “We are delighted to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players. Lindow Moss is one of the most important sites in the North West from an archaeological and environmental perspective. This funding will not only enable us to conserve and protect its rich history but ensure that it also plays a significant role in the future prosperity of the local area.”
We are thrilled to support this project that will ensure these important wetlands are safeguarded while giving local people a chance to connect with this amazing landscape.
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we are thrilled to support this project that will ensure these important wetlands are safeguarded while giving local people a chance to connect with this amazing landscape. It is vital that we value and protect our natural heritage so it is sustained for the future, and this project has that at its core.”
The Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan Implementation Group has harnessed the latent and active interest of many groups and individuals to form the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership.
Brian Donohue, Chair of the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership added, “The Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan Implementation Group has over a two-year period harnessed the latent and active interest of many groups and individuals to come together to form the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership and participate in a planned 10 year programme. It is a credit to all involved that this important partnership is now active.”
Main image: Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership Members (L-R):
Richard Doran (Cheshire East Green Infrastructure Manager), Prof. John Handley (Transition Wilmslow), Cllr John Kelly (Wilmslow Town Council), Lisa Russett (Groundwork BID Manager – Wilmslow), Andrew Darron (Executive Director, Groundwork CLM), Jane Selva (Transition Wilmslow), Brian Donohue (Chair Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership) and Gary Parker (Chair Friends of Lindow Moss)
Lindow Moss Peat Bog
Reconstructed head of Lindow Man. 
About the Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership Groundwork
The Lindow Moss Landscape Partnership is a collective of like-minded partners, land owners and organisations that are committed to working together in order to conserve, restore and interpret the wider Lindow Moss landscape for the benefit of nature, the climate and people. It involves experts on issues that include nature recovery, peat restoration, local heritage and the needs of the local community. The group includes Groundwork Cheshire Lancs & Merseyside, Wilmslow Town Council, Transition Wilmslow, Friends of Lindow Moss, Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Mersey Rivers Trust, Natural England and Cheshire East Council.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment. The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are. The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy. www.heritagefund.org.uk.