Natural England Should Be Judged by Results, Not Process — Our Letter to The Times
- Andrew Gilruth
- Jun 18
- 1 min read
Sir,
Tony Juniper’s letter (Jun 18) neatly demonstrates why Natural England’s future should be in question. Dartmoor may well be in poor ecological health, but it is far from clear that many of his 2,800 staff would know how to restore it.
Natural England directly manages only one upland site, Moor House in Cumbria. It has been a National Nature Reserve since 1952, yet 80 per cent of the land designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest on this 21,700 acre moor is, by Natural England’s own assessment, still in unfavourable condition.
For a body receiving £289 million a year from the taxpayer, that failure should matter. In health and education, public bodies are judged by results, not merely by evidence that a process has been followed. The same test should apply to Natural England before it lectures others on how moorland should be managed.
Andrew Gilruth
Chief Executive
The Moorland Association
