Langholm Moor

Langholm Moor Nature Reserve: Community Land Buy-Out

The Langholm Moor Working Group are working on a community land buy out to establish the Langholm Moor Nature Reserve to benefit the local people, nature conservation & tourism.

25,000 acres are to be made available for sale by the Buccleuch Estates. In response, The Langholm Initiative created the working group to demonstrate local support for and work towards community ownership of the land. We believe this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the community to take the lead in managing this land that has a significant cultural and natural heritage.



25% of the population of the DG13 & DG14 Postcode areas (over 800 people) signed a petition supporting community ownership of the land. Following this Buccleuch Estates agreed to postpone the sale, to allow community organisations time to investigate the purchase of this Land.

We are now discussing with the Scottish Land Fund and Community Land Scotland about preparing a bid to purchase the Dumfries and Galloway side of the moorland. This area is a designated SSSI and SPA (hen harriers) and also encompasses both residential and farm properties.

Newcastleton District Community Trust is preparing a separate complimentary proposal for the Borders side.

Where we need your help

We are at the first of the Scottish Land Fund's 2 stage process

We need to conduct a thorough feasibility study, to agree on a fair price and establish a sustainable case for community ownership.

This includes
Independent valuation of the land.
Developing a Business Plan
Appraisal of assets, liabilities and opportunities.
Legal fees

Looking at development potential and income sources in relation to,

A Visitor centre
Business development
Buildings Assets
Agriculture
Woodland Management and Development.
Nature Reserve
Renewable Energy
Culture and Heritage
Art & Environment

We need to complete this work to make a request to the Scottish Land Fund's second stage to secure the resources to purchase the land.

Through this crowd funder, we hope to raise £5000 towards these costs. By giving you are also making a further demonstration of support for the project.

For further info see our website, or to keep up to date with our progress on find us on Facebook .



Thanks to Laurie Campbell for use of the cover image of Langholm Moor and Hen Harrier, and Kevin Cumming for the image of the Wild  Goat on Langholm Moor. 

Use of Donations

The feasibility study will allow the working group to explore how the land can be sustainably managed for the benefit of the community, wildlife and tourism. It will identify sources of income that can support this.

 Following the feasibility study, we hope to have a robust plan for how the land will be managed.  This us a prerequisite to securing the resources to purchase the land.  However, this does not guarantee that we will be successful in doing so. It is also possible that the feasibility study will lead to the conclusion that community ownership is not a sustainable option, in which case we will share the findings of this work with organisations that would find it useful.  We will not be able to return donations under these scenarios.

 If we raise more than the costs of the feasibility study through this page, The Scottish Land Fund and other sources your donations will be put towards the costs of purchasing and managing the land.

If we are unable to secure enough funds to carry out the feasibility study then doners will have the option of having their donation returned, or put to an alternative use.

More information about The Langholm Initiative:
An award-winning development trust for Eskdale, working to help individuals reach their full potential, and make ours a great place to live, work and visit. Working on employability, enterprise, anti-poverty and environmental protection and education.