Home > Press releases > 1997
15th Dec 1997
The Peatlands Campaign Consortium today welcomed the decision of the
Government's nature agency for England, English Nature not go ahead
with its controversial plan to strip legal protection from parts of
Thorne and Hatfield Moors [1] and called for urgent changes to wildlife
law. The Consortium pledged support for English Nature if the peat industry
threatened any legal action as a result of the decision and called for
the Government to join with plans to save the Moors once and for all.
English Nature's decision, announced today [Tuesday 2 December] follows
intense campaigning from the Peatlands Campaign Consortium [2]. But
even though much of the sites retain their Site of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) status, the UK's finest peatland areas remain weakly
protected by the law. Furthermore the consortium believes the Government
must act to save the Moors by ensuring the permissions to extract peat
are revoked.
A spokesperson for the Peatlands Campaign Consortium said:
“We're delighted that English Nature has done the right thing
by Thorne and Hatfield Moors. Now we need a full and positive solution
to saving these sites and others like them from peat extraction. That
means Government action to save them before they are completely stripped
of peat.”
The Peatlands Campaign Consortium wants the UK Government to fulfill
its international commitments to giving peatlands a future. This means
revoking ancient peat extraction permissions on important wildlife sites
and changing the law [3], decisions which would prove popular with local
communities.
Urgent action is needed on Thorne and Hatfield to revoke the peat extraction
permissions(granted in the 1950s) as part of a positive program to save
the Moors [4]. By the time new laws are introduced (at the earliest
this would be 1999), the sites could have nearly all their peat stripped.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] English Nature proposed withdrawing legal protection through SSSI
status from hundreds of hectares of Thorne and Hatfield Moors in July
1997, despite the fact that they are the largest lowland raised peatbogs
in Britain, home to over 3,000 species of insects and internationally
important for their populations of breeding birds such as the Nightjar.
The proposal was based on English Nature's view that the wildlife interest
of the areas had been eliminated by peat extraction. Scientific evidence
including three reports commissioned by the PCC demonstrated that English
Nature's view was faulted as the areas retain wildlife and archaeological
interest and contribute to the viability of the rest of the sites. The
Environment Agency, local MPs Caroline Flint and Kevin Hughes and Doncaster
Metropolitan Borough Council also objected to the proposal. In a meeting
with conservationists, local MPs and English Nature in October, Environment
Minister Michael Meacher asked English Nature to reconsider its evidence.
The final decision was taken by the Council of English Nature at a
meeting on Tuesday 2 December.
[2] The Peatlands Campaign Consortium consists of the UK's major environment;
wildlife;geological and archaeological conservation groups: BANC; Butterfly
Conservation; British Dragonfly Society; Council for British Archaeology;
Friends of the Earth; Geologists Association; Geological Society; Greenland-White
fronted Goose Study Group; Irish Peatland Conservation Council; Plantlife;
RSPB; WWF-UK; The Wildlife Trusts; Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
[3] Many damaging peat extraction permissions were granted in the 1950s
and 1960s.They have never been subject to environmental assessment,
were granted before modern developments such as industrial-scale milling
were envisaged and companies involved long ago recouped their investment.
The Government is presently reviewing the protection and management
of SSSIs following its manifesto commitment to improve protection for
wildlife. 22 wildlife organisations launched the Wildlife Charter in
Monday 17 November detailing the changes that must be made to the law
if the Government is to meet this commitment. Environment Minister Michael
Meacher has stated that he would like to see new legislation in the
next Queen's Speech (Autumn 1998), however, it remains unclear what
form that legislation will take and whether it will be introduced at
all.
[4] No independent assessment has been conducted of the commercial
value of the peat on Thorne and Hatfield Moors, consequently the cost
of revocation is unknown although it may amount to millions of pounds.
There are powers under planning legislation (Section 116 of the 1990
Planning Act) which allow the revocation of permissions without compensation.
The PCC would like to see this matter addressed as a matter of urgency
by the Government.
In August of this year 400 local people attended a public meeting over
Thorne and Hatfield Moors and took a unanimous 'vote of no confidence
in English Nature on this issue'.
Doncaster Council has expressed its: “grave concern at its
inability to protect SSSIs
which are subject to old planning permissions, in particular the Humberhead
Levels sites of international importance.”
Press Contacts
Friends of the Earth 020 7490 1555
RSPB 01767 680 551
WWF-UK 01483 426 444
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
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