The Loddington sites of the SOWAP project are being hosted by the Allerton Project under the direction of Alastair Leake.

The Allerton Research and Educational Trust was formed in 1992. With 823 acres at Loddington in Leicestershire for research and projects to demonstrate wildlife management alongside commercial farming, The Game Conservancy Trust spotted an opportunity – the chance to create habitat diversity and mitigate the cost using the subsidy payment made for set-aside.

Together the two Trusts set about implementing the findings of research conducted by The Game Conservancy Trust over the previous 30 years. The project was visionary because it aimed to reconcile commercial food production with wildlife management. The field margins, woods, wetland areas, hedges and set-aside have been managed to a wildlife-friendly agenda. During three years of predation control, our gamekeeper had protected nesting birds from common predators and provided supplementary food during the seasons where there is little natural supply on a modern arable farm. During these three years, many bird species which had declined locally over the previous 30 years, had recovered to levels last seen when records began in the early 1960s. The Allerton Project is now in its eleventh year.