Our Coast, Our Sea - Loving the Region’s Living Landscapes

24 May 2010

Northumberland Wildlife Trust has received £81,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) towards funding of the development of the Coal and Coast Project at Druridge Bay on behalf of The Druridge Bay Partnership.

The money will be used for developing a landscape conservation action plan and associated community consultation, landscape audit and inspection works throughout 2010/2011.

HLF has ‘earmarked’ a further £1,817,9001 for the Druridge Bay Partnership to fund the employment of a dedicated multi-disciplinary team to deliver the project over five years which could be in place as early as 2012.

The Partnership is made up of Northumberland County Council, seven town and parish councils, the National Trust, Northumberland Wildlife Trust plus local businesses and farmers in the Druridge Bay area. Its aim is to ensure that by 2025 Druridge Bay will be recognised nationally for the outstanding quality of its landscape and environment and that the positive management of the area will lead to increased visitor numbers and stronger communities.

The Druridge Bay coastline, which stretches the 7 miles from Amble in
the north to Lynemouth Bay in the South is treasured for its beautiful beaches and rolling sand dunes.

The Coal and Coast Project will conserve the natural features and cultural features of the landscape, particularly the nationally recognised sand dune system which is being affected by coastal erosion and climate change.

Made up of a number of former pit villages, the surrounding area has high
levels of social exclusion with people feeling little connection to their immediate surroundings. One of the aims of the Project is to work closely
with the community to help people learn more about the whole area.

Ivor Crowther, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund North East, said:
“Landscapes play a huge role in all our lives but we mustn’t take them for granted. The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted to be providing an initial investment into these exciting plans for Druridge Bay, particularly in this International Year of Biodiversity. We look forward to seeing the project progress over the next year or so.”

Steve Scoffin Northumberland Wildlife Trust Druridge Bay Development Manager who co-ordinated the bid to HLF said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this money to enable us to involve the communities in shaping the project. This project is not just about biodiversity, even though the area we want to work in is recognised as being important within the region for its wildlife. It’s also about working with farmers and landowners, as well as communities, to manage the area for the future and to understand and celebrate its past”

He continued: “Druridge Bay is not just a beach it’s a living
landscape. Behind the seven mile sweep of beach lies a wonderful
legacy of Northumberland industrial past. Some sections of the hinterland have already been restored as wetland nature reserves while other landscapes have change little since Anglo Saxon times.”