Weston Woods Community Purchase

East Wood, Weston, near Otley (known locally as Weston Woods) is nearly 20 acres of mature mixed deciduous woodland, alive with wildlife including red kites, goldcrests, tree creepers, warblers, woodpeckers and tawny owls. Oak, birch, beech, elder and sycamore are underlain by bluebells, wild garlic, brambles and other woodland flowers. 

Over 1500 people have supported the acquisition with donations so far, and from the comments left on the fundraising site it is clear that this area of woodland is beloved by a large number of people; some children have even donated their pocket money. It is valued for the memories of playing there as children, the peace people find there, and also as a place where nature thrives. There is a growing understanding that mature woodlands like these are not only vital for the wonderful habitats they provide, but also for the important part they play in holding and soaking up carbon, mitigating the release of carbon dioxide which adds to global warming.

The wood has been purchased for the Friends of Weston Woods which is a collaboration with a number of local environmental and community groups including Otley 2030, Wildlife Friendly Otley, Menston Area Nature Trust (MANT), Wharfedale Naturalists, Addingham Environment Group, Ilkley Clean River Group, Climate Action Ilkley, Climate Action Menston, Protect Earth, Yorkshire Rewilding Network & Woodland Savers. MANT is now the legal purchaser on behalf of the groups and community.

Acquisition of this site was made possible by a philanthropic loan from Julia Davies, through her Funding Nature Project. We need to raise more money in order to repay this loan.

Julia is an environmental campaigner, lawyer, philanthropist and ‘green innovation’ investor who uses her personal funds to enable charitable projects (including land acquisitions for nature restoration) to progress. She is kindly supporting our community purchase on the understanding that we will do all we can to pay back the loan she has provided as a priority. We can’t progress work on the site until the loan is repaid. Equally Julia can’t support the many projects which contact her weekly until her commitment to this project is substantially reduced.

We plan to hold East Wood for the community and nature, in perpetuity. In the short term, there will be some essential administrative and legal costs, managed by experienced civic sector leadership, and a portion of excess funds raised will be used to cover these. Any surplus raised would be used for ongoing woodland management projects at East Wood which may include improving pathways, removing invasive species, repairing dry stone walls, enhancing biodiversity (e.g. through coppicing, planting etc), welcome/information signs and tree management for public safety.

1st December 2023: The legal process of acquiring the woods has been drawn out due to a complicated Title and the need to have the Title registered with the Land Registry. However, we are delighted that as of today we are legal owners of the woods. We hope the community will now be able to enjoy the woods as well as protect them for our wildlife and for future generations. Please continue to support us and help us pay off the remaining loan.