Heathland Heartland

The Derwentside district of County Durham has a legacy of former colliery/brownfield sites which, in some cases, have reverted to heathland and related habitats as well as some relict primary heathlands. The project has been designed to link these habitats in order to contribute to the development of a coherent network of priority habitats across a large area. Management operations on each site will vary from:•scrub control to restore heathland and grassland habitats and allow their expansion;•provision of fences and gates to allow sites to be grazed to improve condition and allow expansion of priority habitat types;•measures to prevent damaging erosion that is degrading habitats and preventing their expansion and;•control of bracken.