One-off opportunity

Project Name

Ughill Farm, Land Purchase

Project Type

FCC Flagship Programme - Conservation and Natural Environment

Our Funding

£500,000

Total Project Cost

£1,200,000

Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust were invited to bid for funding through the FCC Flagship Programme in 2023 and presented an application for £250,000 to help purchase the land at Ughill Farm, Sheffield.

Ughill Farm lies within the Sheffield Lakeland Landscape area. It is 345 acres and comprises a mixture of ‘improved’ pasture, rough pasture, woodland/stream corridor, an old quarry (now a mosaic heath habitat with a small water body) and a piece of land that is part of the Eastern Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA).

The Trust intend to farm the land using a low intensity farming model that has been tried and tested elsewhere. By balancing the level of stock with nature in mind, fewer inputs (feed, fertiliser, seed, glyphosate, machinery etc.) are needed to maintain the pastures.

It was a one-off opportunity to purchase the farmland, which included an area of designated heathland, and take the whole farm out of intensive agriculture and put it into a low intensity nature friendly farming model.

By using the farm to demonstrate the effectiveness of nature-friendly farming techniques which benefit the environment, the Trust hope to encourage other farmers to adopt these same techniques. The environmental benefits include Biodiversity Net Gain, maintenance of nature ‘corridors’ improving connectivity between the moorland and lower ground; improved carbon capture through management of wetlands; reduced flood risk by Natural Flood Management techniques; and reduced use of chemical fertilisers.

The FCC Communities Foundation Board were keen to support the Trust with the land purchase and offered an increased grant of £500,000 to help the Trust secure the purchase.