Harrogate Wildbelt
A continuous ring of restored landscape around Harrogate, connecting the town to the woodland, meadow, wetland and farmland that surround it.
We host and coordinate the Wildbelt as a long-term community landscape initiative — bringing together residents, landowners, schools and local groups to protect green separation, restore nature, and strengthen the relationship between the town and its edge.
A shared framework
Wildbelt is guided by six principles, applied locally across each bioregion:
Edge — protecting clear green separation between settlements.
Nature — restoring ecological function across woodland, meadow and wetland.
Movement — creating continuous walking and cycling connections.
Commons — enabling shared stewardship across different landholdings.
Culture — strengthening the everyday relationship between town and landscape.
Food — reintegrating orchards, market gardens and regenerative farming at the urban edge.
Wildbelt grows through participation
Landowners exploring regenerative management or habitat restoration, community groups supporting conservation and clean-ups, schools using the landscape as an outdoor classroom, and residents contributing local knowledge and time are all part of how Wildbelt develops.
Why Wildbelt
Harrogate sits within a wider landscape of valleys and corridors — Crimple Valley, Oakdale and Nidd Gorge — much of which remains fragmented, undervalued or under pressure from development. As growth increases, the town risks losing the green separation and ecological connections that define its character.
Wildbelt is a community response: a way of identifying and stitching together the landscape at Harrogate's perimeter so it can be protected, restored and used, rather than left vulnerable piece by piece.
