THE WATERSHED Landscape programme has received a top prize at the Landscape Institute Awards.

The project, which highlighting the attractions of the South Pennines, took the top accolade in the Communications and Presentation category.

The award came after three years of projects to showcase areas such as the Brontë landscape and Ilkley Moor above Riddlesden.

Major initiatives have included artists Char March and Angie Rogers working with local people and exhibiting the results at Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley.

In another project, Worth Valley photographic artist Simon Warner produced work inspired by Top Withens, the reputed location for Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights.

Watershed Landscape leaders said the programme had again proved its outstanding achievements communicating with many different sections of the South Pennines community.

Pam Warhurst, chairman of Pennine Prospects, the rural regeneration company responsible for the management of Watershed Landscape, explained that the award was all down to strong teamwork.

She said: “The partnerships we have developed across the South Pennines are continuously working together to protect, enhance and promote the key features of this distinctive region, which we hope will continue to provide a healthy and thriving landscape for today’s society and for future generations.”

Watershed Landscape focussed on the uplands of the South Pennines between Leeds and Manchester – where Lancashire and Yorkshire meet – which are internationally significant for their biodiversity and historic features.

The Heritage Lottery funded programme ran from 2010 to 2013, and during that time £2.8 million was invested in the landscape.

Overall the project received a grant of £1.87 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as funding through South Pennines LEADER and from project partners.

Robin Gray, Pennine Prospects development manager, received the Landscape Award on behalf of the Watershed Landscape team, at a ceremony ceremony in London last month.

Watershed Landscape had been among 34 British and international landscape projects, from Hong Kong to Canada, battling it out in 16 categories.