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South downs 'wildlife showpiece' is ploughed up
7 April 1997
New Erringham Farm, near the Shoreham bypass, has been used by the Government to demonstrate the success of its Sussex Downs ESA scheme, which paid the previous owner an estimated 25,000 of taxpayers' money to convert the land to a wildflower-rich grass down. However, the new owner, David Robinson, has taken advantage of a special clause in the ESA agreement which allows him to plough up the land to plant crops, and earn at least 70 per acre more than that received under the ESA scheme.
Matt Phillips, wildlife campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
"We are horrified that this Government flagship scheme has been destroyed and 25,000 of taxpayers' money wasted. The ESA scheme is failing because the Ministry of Agriculture pays farmers a fortune to plant arable crops instead of protecting our natural heritage.
"The scheme should offer farmers an incentive to protect the environment and the Downs must be given the protection they deserve as part of a national park-style body. Only then will their future be secure from the plough and the developer."
Notes to Editors
[1] The land has been part of a programme to rehabilitate chalk grassland - a much endangered habitat type - on the South Downs. The Government has promoted the ESA scheme as the best way to protect the South Downs landscape along with an interim management body, the Sussex Downs Conservation Board. The SDCB is expecting a grant cut of 500,000 over the next three year period (down from 1.3m to 800,000).
[2] According to the Daily Telegraph [7 April 1997]
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Dec 2008
