Purchase of Middleton Moor

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT) has a unique opportunity to acquire a regionally significant 55.33-hectare site within a priority nature recovery network, linking DWT reserves with Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Areas of Conservation, and Local Wildlife Sites. In ownership, the land will create connected space for wildlife to move throughout the Derwent Valley nature corridor, an aggregation of seven sites, each within 1km of each other, spanning 350ha of land. The corridor is the heart of the Derwent Living Forest programme, an ambitious 30 year landscape recovery initiative aiming to create 30,000ha of new connected habitat in the Derwent Catchment, reconnecting north and south Derbyshire. The wider vision was co-created by a subgroup of the Derwent Catchment Partnership (DWP), ensuring support and co-delivery by 17 key agencies.

Middleton Moor (MM) lies within the White Peak, immediately north of the Peak District National Park. In an elevated position on the western edge of the village of Middleton, the site is accessible by a stone track. MM has a number of public rights of way and three Scheduled Ancient Monuments; two mining complexes to the north, and a Bronze Age moor bowl barrow to the western edge. Divided into parcels by dilapidated stone walls, the site has a derelict stone building, and there are a number of mine shafts, some of which have been capped. The land is modified grassland, which contains pockets of calcareous meadow with potential for large-scale habitat restoration. Around 2.1ha is designated as a SSSI where it adjoins Via Gellia Woods (VGW) a DWT owned reserve at the western boundary, and the only location in Derbyshire where the endangered burnt tip orchid (Neotinea ustulata) exists.

Acquiring the site will allow DWT to restore and enhance a mosaic of species-rich grassland, scrub, and woodland, connecting it with neighbouring land to restore natural processes, ensuring the landscape is resilient and adapts to a changing climate. Linking the sites will help to protect fragile ecosystems, support key species like curlew, skylark, pied flycatcher and green hairstreak butterfly. The project is nationally significant, contributing to Environment Act targets to restore wildlife-rich habitat and the apex goal of England’s Environmental Improvement Plan.