Cheviot Summit Peat Works

DEFRA have awarded funding to four peat restoration projects in England, based on carbon capture and the value to wildlife.

Northumberland National Park Authority is one of the organisations in one of two northern England partnerships, which in total will work on 21 peatland sites.

The site in Northumberland National Park is Cheviot Summit (an approx.

276ha of peat cap around NT 9007 2045).

This is the highest point in Northumberland.

Extreme weather, historic grazing patterns and recreation have probably all contributed to hagging and bare peat areas.

Apart from the weather, these issues have been addressed on site - currently no sheep on the summit area and a flagged path has been provided on the Pennine Way.

No burning occurs on this site.

Hagging of the blanket peat on the flatter areas has occurred and at the edges of the peat cap, where the ground becomes steeper, there is some gully formation.

There are no artificial drains on the site.

In places some of the gullies have revegetated naturally, but some have not.

In order to restore a target of 9.02ha of bare peat, this project requires: - Reprofiling / returfing 57,100m of gully walls and hags; - Harvesting sphagnum-rich heather brash from 9.02ha into 2,816 helibags and airlifting these to Cheviot Summit; - Scattering the sphagnum-rich heather brash on bare peat; - Supplying and spreading lime and fertiliser, and spreading grass / dwarf shrub seed onto the bare peat / brash; - Planting 45,100 cotton-grass and dwarf shrub plug plants into the bare peat.

In order to meet the need for the practical work on Cheviot Summit, Northumberland National Park Authority is inviting tenders from eligible contractors able to deliver these services.