Natural England accused of wasting taxpayers’ money

Natural England is restricting effective moorland management in the Peak District by insisting that private landowners plant failing sphagnum moss plugs at great expense following heather cutting. 

Natural England has banned heather burning across most Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and only grant limited licences for heather cutting. These licences are almost exclusively granted on condition that cutting is followed by moss inoculation. 

A review commissioned by the Peak District Moorland Group has determined that: “No consideration is being made with regard to the condition of the landscape by Natural England when prescribing moss inoculation to approved cut zones.” 

Across Woodhead and Snailsden moors, 360,000 sphagnum plugs costing £1 each have been compulsorily planted, with some areas experiencing a success rate of below 1%. 

Former NGO Chairman Lindsay Waddell told ST: “There are vast areas of heather moorland that have never carried much of a moss layer simply due to the hydrology. That being the case, many areas where there are attempts to plant or seed it are doomed to failure. It is very convenient for those who do not like management as such to use lack of moss as a reason to curtail it.”