Langholm Moor buyout efforts granted extension to deadline

Plans are in place to create a large nature reserve across Langholm Moor

The fundraising deadline for a bid to double the size of the south of Scotland's biggest community land buyout has been extended.

The Langholm Initiative completed a £3.8m deal with Buccleuch last year for more than 5,000 acres in the area.

It now hopes to raise another £2.2m to buy a similar sized slice of land as part of its plans for a nature reserve.

It had been set a 31 May deadline to gather the funds, but that has now been extended to 31 July.

There were concerns the project could face a £450,000 shortfall by the original date agreed with Buccleuch - one of Scotland's biggest landowners.

It now has an extra two months to raise the funds needed to allow Tarras Valley Nature Reserve to expand to 10,500 acres.

Jenny Barlow said the deadline extension gave the project "breathing space"

The project hopes to help regeneration, tackle climate change and develop outdoor tourism in the Langholm area.

The reserve's estate manager Jenny Barlow said it gave them "breathing space" in order to ensure they did not "fall at the final hurdle".

"We now need all the support possible to get this historic buyout over the line and safeguard this land for future generations," she added.

Benny Higgins, executive chairman at Buccleuch, said it had been happy to extend the timescale.

"We hope this additional time will help them in their quest to double the size of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve and build on the success achieved so far," he said.