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Community Rewilding Allestree Park

Allestree Park

Allestree Park is a much-loved Derby City Park and a haven for wildlife. The site of a Community Rewilding Project, Allestree Park is undergoing changes led by nature and supported by the people of Derby, making it even richer for people and wildlife.  

Community Rewilding Allestree Park is a partnership project between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby City Council (the landowner and manager) and the University of Derby and is the largest urban rewilding project in the UK. Through the project, wildlife will flourish, species will return, and the site will be more accessible, providing the people of Derby and surrounding areas with an even more beautiful place to visit.  

You can see the timeline and next steps here

The Vision for Allestree Park is:  

People and wildlife are sharing Allestree Park, and all are thriving.  

The project has three main aims: 

1. Allestree Park is abundant with good quality wildlife and responding to the nature and climate emergency; nature is leading nature’s recovery, natural processes such as hydrology, natural regeneration, and nutrient cycling, have been kick started to ensure they are present and sustained, and more carbon is being stored.  

2. People are at the heart of caring for Allestree Park; people are benefiting from an increased connection to nature through having good quality nature experiences on their doorstep and are more likely to support and deliver positive environmental actions.  

3. Allestree Park Community Rewilding is an exemplar urban community rewilding project, influencing policy and practice in urban green spaces across Derbyshire and beyond.  

Incline media - Allestree Park (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA1tv_LTz_o)

Incline Media

Local video and audio producers, Incline Media have created a short documentary film about the Community Rewilding of Allestree Park. Watch their film to find out more about Allestree Park, the project and what this natural space means to people

FAQs

With such a large site and so much interest, there is a lot to talk about, here are some of the most frequently asked questions: 

Key Information

Find out about Allestree Park by clicking the link below:

Learn More

What's happening and when?

Based on the wide range of conversations about what people want to see happen in Allestree Park, we have created a timeline of programmes and activities which will help us all to get there together. 

View Timeline

What is rewilding?

There are lots of different definitions of rewilding. A clear example comes from Rewilding Britain. 

"Rewilding seeks to reinstate natural processes and, where appropriate, missing species - allowing them to shape the landscape and the habitats within" - Rewilding Britain, 2021 

Read more here

Community rewilding places people at the very heart of nature recovery and celebrates the benefits a wilder place brings to the community.

What this looks like in Allestree Park is an end to mowing across most of the site and taking a more nature-led approach, that will see animals and plants change the habitat themselves. We expect more wildflowers, grasslands, scrub and small trees - but what emerges will be guided by nature. Of course, people are a really important part of this process and by continuing to walk, play and use the park in all the ways we do now, people will also affect what develops. 

How will you know if it's working?

We are working with the University of Derby and local interest groups to develop and implement a site-wide monitoring programme, including assessing impacts on stored carbon, so we can measure and look at the impacts as the rewilding changes happen over the next few years. 

How will this affect areas for ball games and dog walking?

People's ability to walk, run or play games in the park will not be lost. It is important that everyone is able to enjoy Allestree Park safely. The project will also enable nature to use more of the park and will lock up carbon too - it's got massive potential and could encourage other city parks to work in the same way.

Won't untidy areas just attract more litter?

Litter is always a concern and we will still encourage people to use bins and take litter home. We hope this will be such a beautiful place, that people won't want to spoil it with lots of litter.

What is happening with Allestree Hall?

Allestree Hall is a 19th-century former country house situated in the centre of Allestree Park but has been unoccupied for many years.

The Grade II*-listed building was first put on the market in 2019 but a deal to turn it into a wedding venue fell through in 2022, following the pandemic, the Hall was put back on the market in summer 2024. The council does not have the resources to bring the building back into use, so it has been decided that disposal of the building by a long lease would allow it to be renovated, safeguarding its future and preventing it from falling into further disrepair.

The new owners will be expected to take immediate action to prevent further deterioration of the hall, and to maintain access to public toilets at Allestree Park. They would also need to confirm that they will work with the council and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to ensure the future use of the hall aligns with the ongoing community rewilding project at Allestree Park.

Check out the latest Allestree Park Newsletter:

Check our our Interactive Allestree Map

Click here

Climate Action Fund

In order for us to achieve the vision, we applied for funding to the National Lottery Climate Action Fund to support people to take positive action for nature in Allestree Park. We are delighted to announce that the partnership made up of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby City Council and University of Derby has been successful with £1.1 million in funding to deliver community and nature benefits in Allestree Park and across Derby City. The funding reflects what you have asked for at Allestree Park, focussing on light touch interventions to improve the site for nature, community involvement projects such as Citizen Science monitoring and potentially Citizen Zoo volunteering projects to reintroduce mini-but mighty species such as dung beetles. The funding will allow us to provide a natural outdoor shelter and pond dipping pond, deliver nature tots on site for pre-school children, set up junior rangers sessions for young people and work with local schools to improve their own sites. This will also include looking at ways of improving access and inclusion on site with accessible benches, improved interpretation and signage and well-maintained circular paths. People will be able to take part in self-led and organised outdoor activities, which will benefit their mental and physical wellbeing, through a connectedness to nature.

derbyshire wildlife trust, derby city council,, university of derby

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