Langholm Moor extension for community buyout

THE Langholm Moor community buyout has been given an extra two months to raise the money it needs to purchase 5,300 acres in Dumfriesshire.

The Langholm Initiative needs to raise £2.2 million to buy the land from Buccleuch Estates.

A deadline of 31 May had been set to complete the deal, but the landowner has now given the community buyout a further two months to raise the cash.

The Langholm Moor buyout’s crowdfunding campaign has almost reached its initial target of raising at least £150,000 towards the £2.2m needed.

Last year, Buccleuch Estates sold 5,200 acres and six homes in what was hailed as the South of Scotland’s largest community buyout.

That land has now become the Tarras Valley nature reserve.

Benny Higgins, executive chairman at Buccleuch, said: “We’re pleased to be able to extend the timescale for The Langholm Initiative to raise the funds necessary to make this second-phase community buyout a reality.

“We have worked closely with The Langholm Initiative in recent years and have been impressed by [its] tenacity, vision, and cooperation to bring [its] plans to fruition.

“We hope this additional time will help [it] in [its] quest to double the size of Tarras Valley nature reserve and build on the success achieved so far.”

Read more stories about conservation on Scottish Field’s wildlife pages.

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