The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has expressed disappointment over Natural England’s decision to designate Penwith Moors as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
It believes the SSSI designation, which was confirmed yesterday, will likely be “disastrous for many”.
“Not only will land managers now have to apply to Natural England for consent to carry out every day activities, the consent would be temporary, likely take a long time to be considered and may not be granted at all,” it said.
The CLA said that Natural England “chose to ignore the concerns of the farmers and land managers” by going forward with the designation.
“Our members do incredible work to restore nature on their land, with some engaging in pioneering activities for nature’s recovery. Yet this designation has not taken into account the ability of farmers to make land management decisions in a timely fashion,” it said.
“Many farmers within the boundary will have concerns as to the ongoing viability of their already stretched businesses.”
It called on Natural England to “bring forward all management plans and agree sufficient funding arrangements with Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) well before designation is implemented”.
It also called for a wider conversation on the entire designation process.
“We also believe the designation of Penwith Moors as a SSSI lays bare some of the problems with the designation process more widely that need to be addressed,” it said.
“Lessons have clearly not been learnt from previous designations and we feel that the government needs to undertake an urgent review of its processes for environmental designation and ongoing site management, as in its current format they cause real distress to farmers and landowners.”
Penwith Moors
Natural England chair Tony Juniper said deciding whether to make the area an SSSI was “complicated and difficult”.
“But in the end we decided that the balance of evidence confirmed that these moors and downs should be a SSSI,” he said.
The area was designated for SSSI status due to its lowland heathland; fens and dry acid grassland; lichens; wetland valley mires; a breeding population of Dartford warbler; invertebrates including the rare Perkin’s mining bee and tormentil nomad bee; and a number of vascular plants, such as coral necklace, a declining plant which grows along wet tracks.
“While this inevitably creates uncertainty for farmers and others living and working in the landscape, Natural England will continue to provide advice and support to assist land managers in applying for the Countryside Stewardship scheme, to help secure funds to continue the type of farming that is essential to maintaining the natural heritage of this special part of England,” Juniper said about the decision.
He added that Natural England wants to work in “partnership” with farmers to “support them in delivering the best possible management to sustain nature in the SSSI and in the surrounding countryside alongside running their farm business”.
Natural England is also giving advice to Defra to make sure those who manage SSSIs such as West Penwith Moors and Downs are properly rewarded for the results for nature that they deliver.
