Archived press release

Gummer orders farmer to stop ploughing wildlife site

18 April 1997

South Downs farmer Justin Harmer has been ordered by Environment Secretary John Gummer to stop ploughing one of the country's finest wildlife sites. A Nature Conservation Order was issued last night on the Clayton to Offham Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) following intense local and national anger after it was partially ploughed last week to grow flax.

Much of the site, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its richness in wildlife, was ploughed by the farmer to obtain huge payments under the flax loophole [1].Ecologists have surveyed the site in recent days and it has been found to harbour significant populations of nationally scarce wildflowers such as the Bastard toadflax and Round-headed rampion [2].

As well as preventing further damage to the site, the Nature Conservation Order, also forbids the farmer from fertilising, tilling or seeding the parts of the site already ploughed. Since last weeks damage to the site dozens of angry locals have been busily 'unploughing'the SSSI by replacing ploughed turf in order to help restore the chalk downland habitat.Scores of people are expected to visit the site on Sunday to take part in a celebratory'unploughing' day.

Labour's Environmental Protection spokesman Michael Meacher visited the site today and indicated to Friends of the Earth that if elected Labour would support a new Wildlife Bill to ensure proper protection for our best wildlife sites. The Liberal Democrats have already pledged their support for such a Bill.

Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director of Friends of the Earth, said:
"It is crazy that it has taken such intense local and national pressure to save this important site from the plough, and we are puzzled and angry that English Nature did not act earlier to prevent the damage already caused. However, we warmly congratulate Mr Gummer for his bold intervention to protect this site. In future we may not be able to rely on the personal commitment of ministers to protect our wildlife heritage. That is why the next Government must make it a priority to strengthen the legal protection for our best wildlife sites."

"We would also like to acknowledge the role of the many local people and the local and national organisations in helping to save this site, and thank Labour's Environmental protection spokesman Michael Meacher and Matthew Taylor of the Liberal Democrats for the support they gave".

Chris Todd, of Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth said:
"This whole sorry saga demonstrates the need to close the flax-loophole so that taxpayers money is not spent destroying our best wildlife sites.Furthermore, the need to give the South Downs National Park-style protection is now more obvious than ever".

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] Farmers are no longer able to receive payments for ploughing land for arable crops if the land was not already arable before 31 December 1991. However, under the'flax loophole' farmers can receive huge payments from UK taxpayers for growing flax -up to 591.16 per hectare. Flax falls under the EC fibre flax regime which merely requires that land is suitable for growing flax - in other words that land has been ploughed to make it suitable. In contrast the Ministry of Agriculture pays just 40 per hectare for keeping the land as chalk grassland under the South Downs ESA scheme.Flax is often ploughed straight into the ground as farmers are actually farming the subsidy not the crop.

The site was first ploughed on the evening of Thursday 10 April. Since then local people have camped on the site in a bid to prevent further damage.

Labour leader Tony Blair and his Environmental Protection spokesman Michael Meacher both called for a Nature Conservation Order to be put on the site. Mr Blair described the situation as 'crazy' and said a Labour Government would not allow it to arise. The same demand also came from Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Matthew Taylor and local Conservative MP Tim Rathbone.

[2] One survey indicated 25 plant species within just one square metre of turf indicating the richness of the site.

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