TEN million pounds has been allocated to four peat restoration projects in England – including more than £7.4m to two in the North.

The 4,200 hectare area – equivalent to more than 6,700 football pitches – stretches from the Peak District to the Scottish border and has been funded by Defra.

The work will contribute to the UK’s climate change goals by helping the peatland landscape to lock in carbon, instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

The North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership has restored peatlands since 2006 and is leading the £6m EU funded Pennine PeatLIFE project to restore 1,300 hectares of peatland by 2021.

Chris Woodley-Stewart, partnership director, said: “With 90,000 hectares of peatlands in the AONB, we welcome this much needed support from Defra that will help us restore many more sites and secure a sustainable future for these vital areas.”

The sites include Wemmergill Moor in Durham, which has gullies measuring one to two metres in depth that require blocking with sediment traps. It also has areas of bare peat and vegetation limited to hag tops.

Cotherstone Moor in Durham has an extensive area of deep gullies, often deeper than two metres.

Some have eroded to the mineral base but the majority still have vegetation. Vegetation is limited to hag tops and areas between gullies. The gullies need blocking with sediment traps to address hydrological issues.

In Cumbria, Moor House NNR and Murton Fell feature gullies one to two metres deep which also require blocking. They also feature bare peat and sparse vegetation.

The North of England Peat Partnership, led by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, will restore 394 hectares of lowland raised bog and 1,679 hectares of blanket bog across 21 peatland sites.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust, one of the partner organisations involved, will work with landowners on five large areas of the Cumbrian fells over the next three years, in both the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

The grant will employ people to help turf grow back in eroded areas and to block drains to prevent further erosion of the delicate peatland habitats, some of which are currently releasing sediment into rivers and reservoirs.

Dr Tim Thom, peat programme manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “It’s fantastic to see peatlands on the Government’s agenda and getting the recognition they deserve – both in terms of the benefits they bring and the parlous condition we have let so many of them reach.

“This funding will enable us to restore some of the most important and beautiful sites across the north – from England’s largest lowland raised bog in South Yorkshire to Northumberland’s highest point near the Scottish border.”

The work will make a big difference to the UK’s target to reduce carbon emissions by at least 80 per cent of its 1990 levels by 2050.

Steps will be taken to re-wet moors by constructing dams to trap water. This will help stop peat being carried off the hills by rainwater into streams and reservoirs and will increase the water table on the moors, supporting plant and animal life, and reducing the risk of flooding downstream.