Shooting set to be banned on Northumberland estate

Fieldsports could be banned on an ancestral sporting estate following its sale to a group of wildlife charities. 

The Wildlife Trusts and the Northumberland Wildlife Trust (NWT) purchased parts of the 9,500-acre Rothbury Estate in October and have started a £30m appeal to buy the remaining land over the next two years. The estate was owned by the Duke of Northumberland’s youngest son, Lord Max Percy, and had been in the family for 700 years. 

The land includes 12 farms, 1,800 acres of woodland, 23 residential properties and a pub. But it was famed for its grouse shooting, driven pheasant days and salmon fishing on the Coquet. However, the estate was advertised as the “single largest ring-fenced carbon offsetting opportunity” and in July Northumberland County Councillor Steven Bridgett warned the land was “being flogged off to corporations”. He added there would be “no opportunity for the next generation to work the land.” 

Following the sale, Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, confirmed shooting “would not be appropriate” and would not be allowed on Rothbury. However, Mike Pratt, chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, told ST: “We’ll be talking and listening to people who live and work in the area over the coming months to evolve a long-term plan for the estate that respects its traditions and the livelihoods that depend on it.”