MA Seeks Urgent Clarification from Natural England on Wildfire Access Restrictions
- Andrew Gilruth
- 50 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Quick Summary
MA has asked Natural England to clarify urgently how wildfire access restriction requests will be handled.
Natural England has confirmed only that existing outline directions activate at Fire Severity Index level 5.
Section 25 does not require FSI level 5 before an individual, land-specific application can be considered.
Members should submit urgent, evidence-based requests now where local conditions justify them.
The Moorland Association has asked Natural England’s Chief Executive to clarify urgently how requests for temporary restrictions on CROW access land will be considered during periods of exceptional wildfire risk.
The intervention follows concerns raised by members during the current prolonged spell of dry weather and after serious moorland fires elsewhere in northern England.
The key message for members is that they should continue to submit urgent, land-specific requests where local conditions justify them, even if the Fire Severity Index (FSI) has not yet reached level 5.
Practical guidance for members
At the end of last week, the MA published guidance explaining how owners and managers can request temporary restrictions on public access where there is a serious and exceptional risk of wildfire.
The guidance explains:
how to establish whether land is subject to CROW access rights;
which authority is responsible for considering a restriction;
what evidence should be provided;
how to ask whether an existing fire-prevention direction can be activated; and
what action may be available where no existing direction covers the land.
Members should continue to follow that guidance and should not wait for the outcome of the MA’s correspondence with Natural England before submitting an urgent, land-specific request.
What Natural England told the MA
The MA contacted Natural England on 22 July after local land managers raised concerns about conditions in Nidderdale.
We asked whether Natural England was actively assessing the need for restrictions, which areas were covered by pre-prepared fire directions, what information individual owners and managers should submit, and who was responsible for making an urgent decision.
Natural England explained that several existing outline directions cover moorland in and around Nidderdale. It said these directions would be activated where conditions reached level 5, or “exceptional”, on the Fire Severity Index.
That explanation was helpful, but it addressed only the activation of existing directions linked to the FSI.
It did not explain how an owner, tenant or other rights-holder can make a separate application based on the conditions affecting their own land. Nor did it explain when Natural England might act without waiting for an application.
Why the distinction matters
The Fire Severity Index (FSI) is an important tool for identifying exceptional fire conditions. It may also provide the agreed trigger for activating an existing outline direction.
However, Section 25 does not expressly state that FSI level 5 must be reached before an individual application can be made or considered.
The statutory question is whether, because of exceptional weather conditions or an exceptional change in the condition of the land, a restriction is necessary for fire prevention.
Evidence relevant to a particular area may include:
exceptionally dry vegetation, peat or surface fuels;
strong winds;
recent fires or known ignition points;
exceptionally high visitor pressure;
warnings or advice from the fire and rescue service; and
pressure on local firefighting resources.
The MA is not suggesting that every application must be granted or that the FSI should be disregarded. Our concern is that members should not be led to believe that there is no point submitting an application or local evidence until FSI level 5 has been reached.
Local evidence must be taken seriously
Natural England is also the public body that advises, regulates and, in some cases, constrains how moorland owners and managers manage their land. It is therefore particularly important that it responds properly when those same land managers warn that conditions on the ground have become exceptionally dangerous.
Members will understandably be concerned if decisions about wildfire risk appear to rely too heavily on a national index, while giving insufficient weight to the practical evidence of those responsible for the land and often among the first called upon when a fire starts.
Natural England must be able to demonstrate that its approach is objective, responsive to local conditions and not influenced by a desire to understate the consequences of land-management policies for which it is itself responsible.
Natural England must explain its evidence requirements
Natural England must also explain precisely what evidence its staff require before they will consider that local conditions are exceptional and that a restriction may be necessary.
At present, owners and managers have not been told what weight will be given to photographs, measurements of vegetation and peat dryness, local wind conditions, recent ignitions, visitor pressure, fire-service advice or evidence that firefighting resources are already stretched.
This matters because Natural England is not the emergency service responsible for suppressing an established wildfire. Those managing the land, local keepers and firefighters are likely to have the most immediate knowledge of how quickly conditions are deteriorating and how a fire would behave on a particular moor.
Their evidence must be taken seriously and assessed against clear, published criteria - not dismissed or deferred simply because a national index has not yet reached a predetermined level.
Natural England should therefore publish the evidence requirements, decision-making criteria and urgent timescales that its staff are expected to apply to individual Section 25 requests.
The MA has escalated the issue
The MA has now written formally to Natural England’s Chief Executive seeking clarification of both:
the immediate operational position in Nidderdale; and
Natural England’s national process for receiving, assessing and deciding urgent Section 25 applications.
We have asked Natural England to provide maps showing the areas covered by existing outline directions and to identify the senior officer responsible for the current operational assessment.
We have also asked Natural England to confirm that a properly made application will be considered against the statutory test and the evidence relating to the particular land, rather than being treated as premature solely because FSI level 5 has not yet been reached.
The full correspondence is not being published at this stage. Natural England should first have a reasonable opportunity to respond. The MA will update members when that response is received.
What members should do now
Members who consider that local conditions present a serious and exceptional wildfire risk should act now.
An urgent request should:
identify the land and the applicant’s legal interest;
include a map and grid references;
explain the current weather, vegetation and ground conditions;
identify relevant wind, visitor and ignition risks;
include any available photographs or fire-service information;
specify the area and approximate period of the restriction requested; and
ask whether an existing direction covers the land and, if not, whether a new direction will be considered urgently.
Members should email the relevant authority (usually Natural England outside a National Park, the National Park Authority within one, or the Forestry Commission for woodland dedicated for public access under Section 16 of the CROW Act) and telephone immediately afterwards. Please ask for an acknowledgement, a case reference and the name of the officer handling the request.
Members should also copy the MA at info@moorlandassociation.org so that delays, inconsistent advice or recurring difficulties can be raised collectively.
Public rights of way
Members should remember that a Section 25 restriction suspends or limits the CROW right of access over the affected land.
It does not automatically close public footpaths, bridleways or other public highways crossing the land. Where those routes present a material wildfire risk, the relevant highway authority will need to be contacted separately.
It includes contact details, a checklist of evidence and suggested wording for an urgent Section 25 request.
