STORY
The Government has announced a £30 million fund to restore and create wildlife habitats across some of England’s best-known protected landscapes, including National Parks, National Landscapes and the Broads.
The Wildlife-Rich Habitat Fund will provide £10 million a year from 2026 to 2029 and is intended to support thousands of hectares of new or restored habitat. Ministers said the funding would help species including hedgehogs, hazel dormice, water voles, curlews and turtle doves, which have been affected by habitat degradation.
Nature Minister Mary Creagh said the programme would help restore nature “field by field” across England’s most iconic landscapes. The funding forms part of the Government’s wider Wild Again programme, which aims to halt species decline by 2030 and support the UK’s international commitment to protect 30% of land for nature by the same year.
Projects will be delivered through the existing Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, with 36 of England’s 44 protected landscapes participating in the first year. The Government said schemes would be rooted in local priorities, working with conservation groups, farmers, land managers and communities, and would contribute to the Environment Act target to restore more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042.