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OUR COMMON CAUSE: OUR UPLAND COMMONS Landscape Conservation Action Plan November 2019 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons 1 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons Contents PART 1: The Scheme Plan ................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. 5 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons .......................................................... 8 1.2 LCAP Process and Planning ................................................................................. 11 2 Understanding Our Project Area .................................................................................. 13 2.1 Our Project Commons .......................................................................................... 14 2.2 Landscape Character of Upland Commons .......................................................... 15 2.3 Summary of key features and characteristics of our Upland Commons ................. 16 2.4 Landscape Management Mechanisms .................................................................. 33 3 Statement of Significance ............................................................................................ 43 3.1 What is significance? ............................................................................................ 43 3.2 The Significance of our Commons Heritage .......................................................... 43 3.3 The Significance of Commoning ........................................................................... 45 3.4 Sense of place – people’s attitudes and feelings about significance ..................... 47 3.5 A Brief History of Upland Commons in England .................................................... 51 4 Threats & Opportunities for Upland Commons & Commoning ...................................... 54 4.1 Threats facing upland commons ........................................................................... 54 4.2 Opportunities for upland commons ....................................................................... 58 4.3 Summary of Threats and Opportunities in relation to the special qualities of common land ................................................................................................................... 61 5 The People – Our Activity Plan .................................................................................... 64 5.1 Our commitment to engaging the public and the relationship between commons and people ...................................................................................................................... 64 5.2 How we have created the Activity Plan and who has been involved in developing the ideas within it? ........................................................................................................... 65 5.3 Current and potential audiences for commons’ heritage ....................................... 66 5.4 Barriers to engagement for upland commons ........................................................ 68 5.5 Current activity offer and trialling activities for engagement ................................... 69 5.6 Our Public Consultation: Process and results ....................................................... 71 5.7 How have these findings been used to inform delivery projects and the activity plan? ............................................................................................................................. 78 6 Our Partnership Vision for Upland Commons ............................................................... 80 6.1 Aims & Objectives ................................................................................................. 82 7 Our Common Cause: Project Overview ....................................................................... 86 2 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons 7.1 Strand A: Collaboration ......................................................................................... 86 7.2 Strand B: Resilience ............................................................................................. 88 7.3 Strand C: Commons for All ................................................................................... 89 7.4 Strand D: Commons for Tomorrow ....................................................................... 91 7.5 How will Our Common Cause achieve HF outcomes? .......................................... 93 7.6 Project timetable ................................................................................................... 93 7.7 Overall financial summary ..................................................................................... 94 7.8 Stage 1 and Stage 2 Comparison ......................................................................... 96 8 Our Common Cause Partnership and delivery of the Project ....................................... 98 8.1 Our Common Cause Partnership & Local Area Groups ........................................ 98 8.2 Staff Team .......................................................................................................... 101 8.3 Risk Assessment ................................................................................................ 104 8.4 Financial Arrangements ...................................................................................... 107 8.5 Procurement strategy and arrangements with delivery partners .......................... 109 9 Sustainability: Management and Maintenance of Benefits ......................................... 110 9.1 Developing an Exit Strategy ................................................................................ 110 9.2 Management and Maintenance Plan for Specific Elements ................................. 111 10 Evaluation Framework for Delivery ......................................................................... 113 PART 2: Project Plan summaries (as separate documents) .............................................. 116 PART 3: Full Project Plans (as separate documents) ........................................................ 116 List of Appendices (as separate documents) Appendix 1: Maps of the 12 Project Commons Appendix 2: Activity Plan: Action Plan Appendix 3: Detailed Budget, Cash-flow Forecast and Timetable Appendix 4: Income and Spending Forecast Appendix 5: Staff Team Job Descriptions Appendix 6: Procurement Strategy and Contract briefs Appendix 7: Management & Maintenance costs and evidence Appendix 8: Example Third Party agreement for equipment and contract example Appendix 9: Template Landowner Agreement for capital works 3 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons Appendix 10: National Trust FCR Calculation Appendix 11: SSSI/SAM Consents letters List of Supporting Documents (as separate documents) SD1: Commons Charter SD2: Commons Visions SD3: Commons Management Plans SD4: Commons are for All Report, Resource Guide and Case Studies (John Muir Trust) SD5: Social Cohesion Study for Dartmoor and Yorkshire Dales (Somewhere-Nowhere) SD6: Peat & Wetland Restoration Study (Yorkshire Peat Partnership) SD7: Follow-up Feasibility Study & Peatland Restoration Plan for Holne Moor (YPP) SD8: Bracken Management Study (Agrifood Technical Services) (not completed in full) SD9: Clee Liberty Feasibility Study: Bracken Management (Arbor Vitae) SD10: Clee Liberty Historic Environment Study (Fearn Heritage & Archaeology) SD11: Branding Guidelines (Tricolor Associated) SD12: Communications Plan (Tricolor Associates) SD13: Interpretation Strategy (Tricolor Associates) SD14: Evaluation Framework (Resources for Change Ltd) SD15: Signed Memorandum of Cooperation (Partnership Agreement) SD16: Legal Agreement between FCL/NT as joint applicants SD17. Funding confirmation letters SD18. Letters of support 4 Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons PART 1: The Scheme Plan Executive Summary Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons is a landmark project that will conserve, enhance and broaden understanding of the cultural and natural heritage of commons and commoning in upland England, working in the Lake District, Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. This project comes at a critical time when common land faces the biggest change in agricultural policy support for three generations, and when there is an urgent need to rectify past ecological damage and create resilience in the face of climate change. Commons are too small in number and in economic impact to register within national policy and planning, yet the landscapes and cultural heritage commoners manage are of disproportionately high value for biodiversity, water supply, carbon storage, historic environment, natural beauty and public access. A system of commoning for the 21st century must be co-created to secure the authenticity of pastoral grazing systems alongside being responsive to current ecological and climate crises. This is what Our Common Cause: Our Upland Commons seeks to do; build a nature rich and culture rich future for common land, commoning and communities Working on the ground across 12 commons, we will ‘demonstrate by doing’ and so change attitudes and behaviours, build collaboration and bring people together. The projects we deliver at a local scale will demonstrate and influence how we can deliver positive change regionally and nationally. Sharing our learning amongst our partners and stakeholders

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