Cotswolds Champions

A newly launched £400,000 programme is set to promote projects that lead the way in looking after the Cotswolds

- Sian Ellis

The snappily named Cotswolds Champions Programme will, Scott Brown says, “support, celebrate and tell the stories of people and organisations that are already doing important work to conserve and protect the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), as well as showcase how we as the Cotswolds Conservation Board (CCB) work with them to deliver projects that genuinely make a lasting difference at the landscape scale.”

Scott is Cotswolds Champions Project Officer and over the past few months since the launch of the programme he has been busy talking with potential partners whose activities chime with CCB priorities. The idea is that by joining forces, so much more can be achieved, and while it’s still early days the programme is attracting huge interest.

Cotswolds Champions has funding to the tune of £400,000, secured through negotiation by CCB from Network Rail to mitigate and compensate for adverse impacts of rail electrification works in the AONB along the 10km section of line between Old Sodbury and Alderton. Now the challenge is on to make the most of the money. The programme initially runs until winter 2021/22 and ambitions are high.

GOOD STORIES

“Our lead project, which has a budget of £200,000, is the Cotswolds AONB Rail Corridor Enhancement Project itself, including line-side planting to help screen or soften the visual impact of the rail electrification works,” Scott says. “We’ll be working with farmers and landowners, and there’s also potential for us to help them with land surveys and long-term sustainability plans that might attract other investment, or funding through the Environmental Land Management scheme.