Major financial backing turns tide for Langholm Moor buyout bid

The Langholm Initiative hopes to double the size of its planned nature reserve in southern Scotland

A £1m award from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) has been described as a "major game-changer" for a community buyout effort in southern Scotland.

The Langholm Initiative has already sealed a deal with landowners Buccleuch 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.

It would allow it to expand its plans for the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve but it needs to have funding in place by an extended deadline of 31 July.

The SLF support is the biggest award being made in its latest round of grants.

The project is one of three to benefit from the latest round of SLF funding

They also see the Moray's Portgordon Community Trust receive more than £150,000 toward its plans to buy the former Richmond Arms Hotel to convert into a hub and cafe.

A similar sum goes to the Cranhill Development Trust in Glasgow to purchase a building it currently leases along with land surrounding it.

Jenny Barlow, the Tarras Valley nature reserve's estate manager, said the support for the south of Scotland scheme had come at just the right time.

"With the clock seriously ticking if we are to achieve this once-in-a-lifetime community purchase, this award from the SLF is a major game-changer," she said.

"It has really turned the tide in our favour, and we are hugely grateful."

She said they were now about £450,000 shy of their overall target and would "work tirelessly" to reach it.