Heather Burning Rules: Defra Creates a Shambles
- Andrew Gilruth
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Defra’s rush to rewrite the heather burning rules is already descending into chaos. Land managers have been left in the dark and even its own civil servants are confused.
From 30 September, the government is changing the reference depth for protected peat from 40cm to 30cm. This might sound like a technical tweak, but in reality it throws existing agreements into turmoil.
Land managers have spent years negotiating SSSI consents and stewardship agreements under the 40cm standard. Those agreements cannot simply be changed by diktat, yet no one in government seems able to say whether they will remain valid.
The Rural Payments Agency has now added to the mess by sending out guidance to Moorland Association members that implies Moorland Management Plans and Higher Level Stewardship agreements can somehow trump statute. That is plainly wrong. It exposes the confusion spreading across Whitehall as Defra ploughs ahead without proper coordination.
The Moorland Association has written to Defra demanding urgent clarification this week. We cannot have members left wondering whether burns that were lawfully consented yesterday are suddenly illegal tomorrow. With the burning season opening on 1 October, Defra’s failure to provide clear national guidance is unacceptable.
This is a textbook example of how not to make policy. Rushed announcements, no clarity on transitional arrangements, conflicting signals from different agencies and land managers left to pick up the pieces.
At a time when government should be focused on tackling the growing risk of catastrophic wildfires, it is instead creating paralysis on the ground.
Defra must sort this out - and fast. Anything less is dereliction of duty.