The Ban on Controlled Burning of Moorland is Making Wildfires Worse

 Newly amended regulations are set to effectively ban the burning of vegetation on peatland with a peat depth greater than 30 cm anywhere above the moorland line. This will ban burning on around 1.6 million acres of the uplands. The Minister listed some alleged benefits of the ban, ranging from more wildlife to the unmanaged vegetation miraculously becoming immune to fire.

It is easy to ridicule the Minister, but whatever we think of her odd claims, it can’t be denied that this is a massive decision. She has brought to an end a form of land management that has been practised since time out of mind. A system that a Saxon Thane would have known, and which was old when the Brigantes ran Durham, will have gone from the land. Does it matter? Wasn’t it just a minor spat between selfish grouse shooters and nice conservationists? Isn’t fire always bad these days? I think that it does matter....<<<Read More>>>...