Led by CCGHT, the Landscape Partnership is delivering significant investment in the conservation and promotion of unique heritage assets in the Binevenagh area.
Between 2020 and 2027 over £4.2 million will be invested in a diverse suite of natural, built and cultural heritage projects. Delivery and monitoring of the scheme is overseen by the Landscape Partnership Board supported by three advisory groups focused on natural heritage, outdoor recreation, the historic environment and defence heritage.
The Landscape Partnership has enabled CCGHT and 27 public, private and voluntary sector organisations to deliver coordinated activities which enhance the natural environment, promote and support access to the built and historic environment, and improve access to outdoor recreation activities on the land, in the sea and in the air.
Key achievements in 2025 and 2026 will include:
• Restoration of 180ha of upland blanket bog at Altikeeragh Nature Reserve.
• Implementation of Farm Resilience Plans and Water Quality Improvement Plans across the project area.
• Development and promotion of Northern Ireland’s largest UK and Irish Sourced
and Grown (UKSIG) native tree nursery in partnership with HMP Magilligan.
• Enhanced walking access and interpretation facilities at Downhill Forest, Ballycarton Wood, Binevenagh Forest and Binevenagh National Nature Reserve.
• Accredited training and skills development which enables the local community to lead with confidence, groups and individuals in
the hills, the lowlands and in the air via the Ulster Gliding Club at Bellarena, including Level 2 and Level 3 OCN Tour Guide Training.
• Conservation and public to WWII sites of international and national significance at the WWII Dome at Aghanloo and WWII Anti-Aircraft Battery at Magilligan Point.
• Delivery of a new Atlantic Defence Heritage Trail connecting sites of Napoleonic, WWI, WWII and Cold War interest.
• Development of proposals to recognise the Binevenagh area and adjoining Landscape Character Areas as Northern Ireland’s first UNESCO Biosphere area.