Farming and nature recovery
After several years of uncertainty for farmers following Brexit and the subsequent Agricultural Transition period, Defra’s Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMs) is a significant change for farmers and land managers. At the same time Biodiversity Net Gain payments may provide some farmers with an alternative, or complementary source of income to achieve similar aims. These, and other initiatives, now start to line up with the goals and objectives of the Local Nature Recovery Strategies being published by local authorities and our own Nature Recovery objectives (see Nature Recovery section in this plan)
Key principles of Nature Recovery include restoring natural processes, and on as large and connected a scale as possible.
In practice this means things like:
- The restoration of hydrology. Blocking of grips (drains) on moorland which will help restore the conditions for blanket bog, non-renewal of drainage on allotment of pasture to create the wet conditions needed for wading birds and re-naturalisation of rivers and streams by re-connecting them with their flood plains.
- The restoration of a more natural vegetation control. This might be achieved by using more mixed grazing flocks, moving from predominantly sheep grazing to cattle, lower stocking densities or practicing rotational grazing.
Legislation which limits the use of certain chemicals for vegetation control will also have an effect on ground cover (e.g. Azulox for Bracken).
New technology, in the form of ‘No-fence’ cattle collars also allows for more extensive grazing by cattle over large areas without physical barriers, and the control of this grazing using virtual fencing. This provides opportunities for more tailored grazing regimes to suit individual historic sites. There have been some recent successes controlling bracken using cattle in this way.
Together these changes are likely to lead to wetter ground conditions, fewer short grass swards, and more natural colonisation by scrub and trees (as well as planting) expansion of bracken in places, or more precise control in others, and the gradual abandonment of some field boundaries.
Mine water remediation
The work to remediate the heavy metal pollution which is a legacy of historic mine workings is now the responsibility of the Mining Remediation Authority. Some of the proposed work involves new structures, pumping stations, settling areas and so on, which has the potential to impact on archaeology as well landscape in a historic setting.
In planning and developing remediation works there is a need to assess, understand and respect the archaeology of sites. Any remediation work needs to respect the local vernacular and landscape character, recognising use of local building materials, local construction techniques, field patterns and so on.
Work should also take into account significant natural environment assets such as species-rich calcareous or calaminarian grasslands. Well-designed works can have positive effects on both the natural and historic environment, for example by reducing metal pollution downstream and conserving historic washing floors by building revetments (for example recent works at Carrshield mine and at Rampgill).
Planning land-use change
Historic Environment evidence can help us understand past land uses and to guide future land use change, and we should develop the opportunities to integrate these insights into land use change planning.
For example:
Evidence of charcoal making - widespread in open pasture in the North Pennines - is an indication of past management of land as woodland and wood pasture.
Evidence of a Mesolithic site at Cow Green reservoir alongside the presence of Arctic Alpine flora which grows in open conditions, indicates that this that land has been kept open by human managed grazing for a long time.
Field patterns and hay barns demonstrate past (sometimes current) traditional farming practices such as haymaking.