Devon farmer ordered to pay £74k after letting cattle graze illegally

[Jackov Altraids]

I could hazard a guess as to what has happened here but although it's not far from me, I've not heard anything about this case until today when @unlacedgecko posted it the Natural England knows best thread:

Farmer fined whopping sum over illegal cattle grazing

Financial motives were said to be behind the offending which has caused severe damage to the land of Site of Special Scientific Interest

www.devonlive.com

Does anyone have a personal insight into this case or understand if it is actually illegal to graze an SSSI or just to breach a stop order?

 

[Al R]

I could hazard a guess as to what has happened here but although it's not far from me, I've not heard anything about this case until today when @unlacedgecko posted it the Natural England knows best thread:

Farmer fined whopping sum over illegal cattle grazing

Financial motives were said to be behind the offending which has caused severe damage to the land of Site of Special Scientific Interest

www.devonlive.com

Does anyone have a personal insight into this case or understand if it is actually illegal to graze an SSSI or just to breach a stop order?

Definitely not illegal to graze a SSSI, I have a few here, limited grazing with sheep and cattle but apparently it’s fine for horses to be put there and get it as short as a rabbit can

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I've found this description of the sssi;

Whiteleigh Meadows SSSI​

Area: 81.9 hectares.
Description and Reasons for Notification:
The site is a large traditionally managed area of unimproved grassland, very rich botanically, of a type which has much decreased in extent in recent years.
The site is located on the Carboniferous shales of the Culm Measures of North. Devon. It occupies land on both sides of a gently sloping valley of a stream which flows south-west to north-east at this point. The soils are acidic clays with restricted drainage.
The vegetation consists almost entirely of marshy unimproved, acidophilous grassland with purple moor grass Molinia caerulea the most abundant species present. Other widely occurring species are heath-grass Danthonia decumbens, sweet vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, sharp-flowered rush Juncus acutiflorus, heather Calluna vulgaris, cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix, creeping willow Salix repens, petty whin Genista anglica, tormentil Potentilla erecta and deergrass Trichophorum cespitosus, the last being uncommon in this area of Devon. The sward is characterised by abundant sedge species, mainly tawny sedge Carex hostiana, star sedge C. echinata, carnation sedge C. panicea, green-ribbed sedge C. binervis and glaucous sedge C. flacca, and herbs such as betony Stachys officinalis, devil’s-bit scabious Succisa pratensis, lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica, bog asphodel Narthecium ossifragum, heath spotted-orchid Dactylorhiza maculata, common cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium, saw-wort Serratula tinctoria and heath milkwort Polygala serpyllifolia. The uncommon lesser butterfly-orchid Platanthera bifolia and Dyer’s greenweed Genista tinctoria and the nationally scarce wavy St John-wort Hypericum undulatum also occur.
In the areas of very poorly drained ground a different plant community with soft-rush Juncus effusus, compact rush J. comglomeratus, marsh pennywort Hydrocotyle vulgaris, marsh St John’s-wort Hypericum elodes, bog violet Viola palustris, slender spike-rush Eleocharis uniglumis and bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata is found.
The fauna includes breeding curlew Numenius arquata and adder Vivipera beris.


Note it is " a large traditionally managed area of unimproved grassland".

I have a deep suspicion that the farmer in question was doing exactly what he has always done.
The area exists because of this.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Depends on how the agreement is made. We have a small area where nothing is allowed to graze at all. Suits us because they would have to cross the river to get to it anyway

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I don't like the plastic being left but I can't see any great damage done. In fact I would imagine it will regenerate better for having an area well grazed.
But yet again, Natural England are the judge, jury, legal interpreter and benefactor. [ Rillie was ordered to pay all of Natural England’s prosecution costs of £73,927.81]
The are also the issuer of the stop order to which you have no means of appeal.
[Natural England served a Stop Notice in February 2021.The notice prevented further grazing until such time as Rillie engaged with Natural England and sought consent to graze only with fewer stock during the drier summer months]

 

[yellowbelly]

Does anyone have a personal insight into this case or understand if it is actually illegal to graze an SSSI or just to breach a stop order?

Definitely not illegal to graze a SSSI, we graze one here.

In fact, the agreement says it has to be grazed.

There's a herd of wild ponies on it (that belong to the landlord) and we keep putting sheep in and out, to keep it looking right.

Trouble is nobody seems to be able to tell me what it's supposed to look like - I keep asking the agent, "If it looks OK", but he never seems to know

We've had it for about 5 years now, so I expect NE would have told somebody by now if it didn't suit 'em

 

[Jackov Altraids]

Definitely not illegal to graze a SSSI, we graze one here.

In fact, the agreement says it has to be grazed.

There's a herd of wild ponies on it (that belong to the landlord) and we keep putting sheep in and out, to keep it looking right.

Trouble is nobody seems to be able to tell me what it's supposed to look like - I keep asking the agent, "If it looks OK", but he never seems to know

We've had it for about 5 years now, so I expect NE would have told somebody by now if it didn't suit 'em

Imagine you got a visit from NE and they spuriously decided they didn't like the look of it and told you to take your sheep off.
Some time later, it needs grazing off and you put your sheep back and somebody from NE finds out so they issue you with a stop notice. You have 3 choices.
1) You accept whatever permanent changes to the designation and use of land that NE want.
2) You simply no longer use the land at all as per the stop notice.
3) You decide that it exists because of they way you always managed it, would be happy to defend your actions in court and so carry on as before.

But you can't defend your actions.
You have no right to appeal.
You have breached a stop notice and are guilty.
NE do not have to defend any of their actions.

It is nationalisation of land by deceit and abuse of the law.

But I have no idea if that is what happened in this case.

 

[yellowbelly]

Imagine you got a visit from NE and they spuriously decided they didn't like the look of it and told you to take your sheep off.
Some time later, it needs grazing off and you put your sheep back and somebody from NE finds out so they issue you with a stop notice. You have 3 choices.
1) You accept whatever permanent changes to the designation and use of land that NE want.
2) You simply no longer use the land at all as per the stop notice.
3) You decide that it exists because of they way you always managed it, would be happy to defend your actions in court and so carry on as before.

But you can't defend your actions.
You have no right to appeal.
You have breached a stop notice and are guilty.
NE do not have to defend any of their actions.

It is nationalisation of land by deceit and abuse of the law.

But I have no idea if that is what happened in this case.

I agree, it's a crazy situation to be in.

As we are only tenants, I've no idea of the intricacies of the relationship between the landlord and NE.

I do known that there's a planned, rotational programme for bracken control.

According to the list of Lincolnshire SSSI's, ours was first listed in 1966, so way before NE existed.

According to Google, it has the largest inland sand dune left in England (apparently blown here during the Devonion period).

What I do know is that the estate sent a boat to Africa in the 1920's to fetch marram grass to plant on that dune in order to bind it together and stop it blowing to somewhere else.

It begs the question, what are NE protecting - a landscape from a long gone ice age or a man made bit of landscape dating back just 100 years?

It's all a bit arbitrary, but with a quango like NE, it's a dangerous game to play.

 

[Pistonbroke]

I agree, it's a crazy situation to be in.

As we are only tenants, I've no idea of the intricacies of the relationship between the landlord and NE.

I do known that there's a planned, rotational programme for bracken control.

According to the list of Lincolnshire SSSI's, ours was first listed in 1966, so way before NE existed.

According to Google, it has the largest inland sand dune left in England (apparently blown here during the Devonion period).

What I do know is that the estate sent a boat to Africa in the 1920's to fetch marram grass to plant on that dune in order to bind it together and stop it blowing to somewhere else.

It begs the question, what are NE protecting - a landscape from a long gone ice age or a man made bit of landscape dating back just 100 years?

It's all a bit arbitrary, but with a quango like NE, it's a dangerous game to play.

Thirty years ago some very rare,thought to be practically extinct orchids were found growing in a boggy patch on the Eppynt range/common near us. The beardies leapt into action to protect this national treasure from the nasty farmers and fenced the area off. Within twelve months the other crap grew up and smothered the orchids and killed them off. Good job experts

 

[glasshouse]

Thirty years ago some very rare,thought to be practically extinct orchids were found growing in a boggy patch on the Eppynt range/common near us. The beardies leapt into action to protect this national treasure from the nasty farmers and fenced the area off. Within twelve months the other crap grew up and smothered the orchids and killed them off. Good job experts

And has ih been pointed out to them?

 

[Top Tip.]

Thirty years ago some very rare,thought to be practically extinct orchids were found growing in a boggy patch on the Eppynt range/common near us. The beardies leapt into action to protect this national treasure from the nasty farmers and fenced the area off. Within twelve months the other crap grew up and smothered the orchids and killed them off. Good job experts

Countless examples of this across the country. I would argue that there is a direct link to loss of biodiversity in this country and the start of these so called environmental schemes.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Countless examples of this across the country. I would argue that there is a direct link to loss of biodiversity in this country and the start of these so called environmental schemes.

Exactly,they grew there because of the selective grazing around them. Take the sheep out of the equation and you're in the lap of the gods

 

[Pistonbroke]

And has ih been pointed out to them?

Yep

 

[egbert]

OK fellas - and fellaesses

SSSI is a designation put on land 'expert's deem worthy of protection.
'schemes' like 'countryside stewardship' are then payments that occupiers may enter, which in essence reward them for managing such land sympathetically.
the flip side is that if they don't manage it to the satisfaction of the expert of the day, a very big stick indeed is waiting.

The stick has seldom been used to date. I believe most former instances would be for wanton and deliberate destruction.
Many schemes have been hammered out more or less amicably. Co-operation and the use of a nice fat carrot has usually worked.

What's changing fast is that they're increasing designations - see West Penwith, including taking in more adjacent land than they would formerly,
and they're gearing up to use the stick a lot more.
We're no longer seen as custodians of something that's still lovely/precious, worthy of reward, but rather dangerous destroyers of it.

This is coming from the very top, where the bosses are now more or less overt rewilders/natural solutions/save the hills-so-we-can-carry-on-concreting-elsewhere fantasists.
Ministerial choices have put these bosses in place....this is effectively national policy.
(If you publicly challenge them, have your affairs in order....)

On Dartmoor, one occupier is about to go through a very high level hearing, having been singled out from many other users of the same common land SSSI.

I know nothing of this case, beyond that it involves a man who grew up in an era when gov agencies encouraged he and his peers to drain and fertilise land, and get more people fed.
I suspect that a different approach might've had very different results, although the way NE are going now, I don't know how many of us will be prepared to even sit in a room with the XXXXX's.

i would hope there is an appeal against this grossly disproportionate fine.

 

[ajcc]

It appears there was an HLS agreement that expired in 2018 and NE likely enforcing its conditions through court 4years out of date??
Sandy, dry outwintering cattle on a common grazing? HLS gone, no supplementary feeding agreement gone??

 

[spin cycle]

the fine included prosecution costs didn't it?

he didn't obey the 'stop notice ' and looking at those plastic wraps he had no intention of doing anything bar 'his own sweet thing'

 

[ajcc]

There is no fine, the £74k is prosecution costs. There is suspended prison sentence ie do exactly as NE say henceforth.

 

[Henarar]

Exactly,they grew there because of the selective grazing around them. Take the sheep out of the equation and you're in the lap of the gods

We farm some land with orcids growing on it there has been a few for as long as I can remember but they have incresed since we started grazing it with sheep

 

[Nearly]

Countless examples of this across the country. I would argue that there is a direct link to loss of biodiversity in this country and the start of these so called environmental schemes.

There's no acceptance of the reasons the biodiversity is there. There is also a lack of diversity of thinking, ie if you disagree with NE you're wrong.
I've a grant for £20k of concrete but tempted not to even accept that as it comes with them thinking they can check the whole farm.
£20k doesn't buy a big patch of concrete, not at 200mm.

 

[topground]

Why would anyone have anything to do with schemes that NE have any input into?
While I don’t have any land that is in SSSI I would be inclined to abandon any that was so dedicated rather than deal with NE