Gresham House and Borders Forest Trust complete joint purchase at Moffat

A Gresham House Forestry Fund (GHF) and Borders Forest Trust (BFT) have completed the purchase of farmland near Moffat.

Under the deal, the two organisations will work together on the overall approach, with the ownership of the site split between the parties. BFT will expand their existing new native woodland at Corehead, with the same principle of extensive volunteer and community involvement whilst GHF will develop a productive forest to expand their own holding of productive forestry along the M74 corridor. This purchase will achieve the linkage of many thousands of hectares of woodland, managed as a combination of productive forestry, native woodland, montane scrub and peatland.

The deal means that BFT now have full ownership of the Devil's Beef Tub, a site of great local scenic and cultural significance, which was previously only part owned by the charity.

Jason Sinden of Gresham House Forestry explained;

"We are delighted to be working with Borders Forest Trust on this deal because it allows us to deliver sustainable land-use together at landscape scale."

"The combination of forestry, native woodland, montane scrub and peatland offers an exciting vision of the future. By working together, we are able to utilise the strengths of both organisations, together with different funding sources to achieve a common aim."

Charles Dundas of Borders Forest Trust said;

"This purchase gives us a unique chance to work with a big firm like Gresham House and help productive forestry work as sympathetically and sustainably as possible, alongside conservation woodland."

"Borders Forest Trust's aim has always been to improve the ecology of the landscape of the South of Scotland, mainly by growing new native woodland. The land at Ericstane is a great chance to build on the work we have already done next door at Corehead, Carrifran and over in Talla and Gameshope. However, none of this is cheap and the fundraising task to pay for it will keep us busy for some time"