Heather Burning Petition: Why Controlled Burning Still Matters
Quick summary
The Moorland Association backs a petition to revoke the 2021 and 2025 heather burning restrictions.
Controlled burning reduces fuel loads, helping to limit the intensity and spread of moorland wildfires.
Rewetting, cutting and grazing all help, but cannot always manage hazardous fuel loads quickly enough.
MPs found only two of 24 burning licence applications were granted. The petition closes on 23 April 2027.
England's recent wildfires have exposed the dangers of allowing large amounts of dry vegetation to accumulate across our moorlands. When fires take hold, they can threaten wildlife, damage carbon-rich peat, endanger communities and put enormous pressure on firefighters.
The Moorland Association is therefore supporting a UK Parliament petition calling for the revocation of the 2021 and 2025 heather burning restrictions, allowing land managers greater freedom to carry out responsible controlled burning.
We believe the Government needs to reconsider restrictions that can make it harder to manage wildfire risks effectively.
Why controlled burning matters
Heather, grasses and other moorland vegetation grow continuously. Without appropriate management, older plants can accumulate substantial amounts of dry, combustible material.
This is known as the fuel load. The greater the amount of vegetation available to burn, the more intense a wildfire can become.
Scientific research supports this relationship. A 2016 study of British peatland wildfires found that the amount of surface vegetation consumed during a fire was linked to the amount present beforehand. Weather conditions and vegetation type also influenced the damage.
Controlled burning, sometimes called prescribed burning, allows experienced land managers to reduce this fuel in a planned way.
Small areas of vegetation are burned under carefully selected conditions, creating a patchwork of younger and older vegetation.
This approach can:
Reduce fuel loads: Removing accumulated vegetation limits the material available to feed a wildfire.
Break up continuous vegetation: Recently managed areas may slow the spread of flames.
Support wildfire prevention: Reducing fuel in suitable locations can make future fires easier to control.
The effectiveness of controlled burning depends on the site, conditions and how the work is carried out. Nevertheless, it remains an established method of managing vegetation and wildfire risk.
Protecting peatland, wildlife and carbon
There is an important difference between a carefully managed controlled burn and an uncontrolled wildfire.
Controlled burning is undertaken in suitable conditions with the intention of removing surface vegetation without setting fire to the underlying peat.
Wildfires, particularly during prolonged dry weather, can burn much more severely. Where fire penetrates dry peat, it can continue smouldering underground, destroying habitats and releasing carbon accumulated over thousands of years.
Preventing such fires is essential for protecting our upland environment.
Controlled burning is not without environmental risks. Poorly managed or inappropriate burning can damage sensitive habitats and affect peatland recovery.
That is why the Moorland Association supports responsible burning, carried out by trained people, where the conditions and characteristics of the site make it appropriate.
Why rewetting and cutting are not always enough
Peatland restoration is important. Raising water levels can help protect peat from severe fire damage while improving habitats and carbon storage.
Cutting vegetation and grazing livestock can also reduce wildfire fuel loads.
However, these approaches have practical limitations.
Restoring peatland can take many years, while dry heather and grasses may continue to accumulate above ground. Cutting can be difficult on steep or inaccessible terrain, and machinery can damage sensitive soils.
The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee recognised these challenges in its October 2026 wildfire report:
"Wildfire risk is increasing now, and peatland restoration alone does not address the immediate challenge of managing hazardous fuel loads in the short-term."
The Committee recognised that burning, cutting, grazing and rewetting all have a role in land management.
We agree. Moorland managers should be able to select the most appropriate combination of techniques for individual sites.
Why the heather burning regulations need reconsidering
Regulations introduced in 2021 required licences for burning on peat deeper than 40cm on certain protected sites in England.
In September 2025, the Government extended the restrictions. Burning on peat deeper than 30cm within England's Less Favoured Areas generally now requires a Defra licence.
These regulations do not ban every controlled burn. However, the expanded licensing requirements can make essential vegetation management more difficult to plan and undertake.
Defra advises applicants to allow at least 12 weeks for a licensing decision.
The EFRA Committee reported that just two of 24 burning licence applications submitted during the preceding 12 months had been granted. It concluded that the licensing system was not operating as effectively as intended.
More significantly, MPs raised concerns that the wildfire implications of the 2025 restrictions had not been assessed with the same rigour as their intended environmental benefits.
The Committee called for a proper assessment and future review of the regulations.
Although it did not recommend outright repeal, its findings strengthen the case for reconsidering the current approach.
Sign the petition to protect our moorlands
The Moorland Association believes responsible controlled burning should remain available to land managers as part of effective wildfire prevention.
The petition calls on the Government to revoke the 2021 regulations, as amended in 2025, and ensure Natural England's management plans allow controlled burning on protected sites.
Repealing these specific regulations would not remove other legal requirements governing burning or the protection of sensitive habitats.
We believe decisions about vegetation management should reflect local conditions, scientific evidence and wildfire risk, with appropriate environmental safeguards.
If you agree that responsible controlled burning should remain an option for protecting England's moorlands, please add your name.
