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£8.5 million scheme to protect Bolton’s Smithills estate

The Woodland Trust have set up an £8.5 million conservation scheme to protect Bolton’s Smithills estate.

The trust is buying the 690 hectare estate from Bolton council.

It is hoping to successfully protect the wildlife and promote greater access to the countryside

The trust also plans to double the tree cover in the estate over the next five years.

Mark Gordon, Smithills project lead for the Woodland Trust, said: “Smithills estate is an exciting opportunity for the Woodland Trust to turn around a declining upland estate.

“We are excited to work with tenants and the public to create and restore a landscape with vibrant wildlife habitats that can be enjoyed by people and remain a source of local pride.

“With the right investment, the right management and careful, long term planning for the site’s future, Smithills will stand proud as an example of how all our uplands can be saved, transformed and preserved, long into the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .