RICH moorlands from the Forest of Bowland down to Scout Moor in Rossendale could be restored as part of a £9million eco-project for the north.

No fewer than seven peatland sites in Lancashire could be enhanced as part of a five-year programme, backed by the European Union.

Under the EU Life+ initiative, a swathe of rugged countryside from the southern tip of the Bowland Fells, through the northern end of the Ribble Valley and down to the South Pennines.

Part of the bid also covers Cowpe Moss in Rossendale, which also incorporates sites at Clay Lane and Ashworth Moor, and is part of the wider Scout Moor area.

Just over £1.2million of the £1.5million locally will be invested in moorland like Hareden, Brown Sykes, Whitendale and Hard Hill Top, to Holme House and Langden, to the north-west of Chipping.

And an estimated £250,000 from the scheme will also be set aside to the Rossendale valley locations, if the overall funding is confirmed.

Three years ago the Forest of Bowland Area of Natural Beauty (AONB) office and the Environment Agency commissioned a joint study, by the Wildlife Trust, to examine a ‘restoration plan’ for the peatland, which is an excellent source of generating carbon in the atmosphere.

Further work was carried out during late 2013 and early 2014 by a separate set of consultants, to draw up ‘priority peat’ reports.

Work totalling £250,000 was also undertaken on the Bleasdale Estate, in Bowland, as a forerunner to the current scheme, by the AONB and agency, over a similar period. The same location had also been subject to an environmental stewardship scheme by Natural England.

This work will all inform the wider project, also involving the North Pennines AONB, Northumberland National Park and Yorkshire Peat Partnership.

The bid to the EU is £4milllion and this would release match-funding from United Utilities, Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “We will find out from the EU Commission if the funding bid has been successful in March 2015. If it does then go ahead, the project would start in June of that year.”