Northumbria Area Team
Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomBiodiversity, Biology, Ecology, Environment
The Northumbria Team area incorporates Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Tees Valley. It has a rich natural heritage that includes stretches of rugged coastline, extensive upland tracts and industrial and arable lowlands. It includes hugely contrasting areas, from the upland areas of the North Pennines and Cheviots to the industrial lowlands of the Tyne, Tees and Wear valleys.
The natural and historic environment is of great importance and includes:
One third of the area is designated as a protected landscape.
2 World Heritage Sites
4 National Trails.
15 National Nature Reserves covering around 16,000ha, attracting over 825,000 visitors per year.
246 SSSIs covering 107,000ha (12.5% of the land area)
18 Special Areas of Conservation, 8 Special Protection Areas, 5 Ramsar sites.
Northumberland International Dark Sky Park
North Pennines GeoPark
Nearly 80 % of the agricultural land (534,397ha) is covered by a form of agri-environment agreement.
Northumbria also features Kielder Forest, the largest man-made forest in Europe, an important habitat for the endangered red squirrel, the largest and most important softwood resource in England, and a valuable setting for the local tourism industry.
The team has identified a series of focus areas and their associated habitats, on which we will concentrate our resources. These encompass the saltmarshes of Lindisfarne and the Tees Estuary; the heaths, bogs and traditional upland hay meadows of the North Pennines; the arctic-alpine flora of Upper Teesdale; and the Magnesian Limestone grasslands of East Durham.
Our CSF Priority Catchments include the Tweed, Aln, Coquet and Coastal Streams