Potential Threats to the Landscape and Opportunities to Address Them Layers of landscape and conservation Common Agricultural Policy designation together with successive suites of agri-environment schemes should have Until the procedure for leaving the EU and placed this landscape in a position of strength the subsequent arrangements for agricultural and protection. There have been successes subsidies, farmers and land managers are where conservation priorities are highest, but currently working within the existing Rural farmers struggle to make ends meet and the Development Programme for England (RDPE) pressure continues to increase productivity. agri-environment schemes – Environmental As a result, fields continue to be drained and Stewardship and the new Countryside fertilised, resulting in losses of biodiversity, Stewardship. Since its introduction in 2015 a character and colour. Wildflower or waxcap- number of concerns about the practicalities rich fields, marshes and wet areas continue of the new scheme (divided into higher tier to be lost. Herbicides along roadsides often and mid tier) and its application, notably result in loss of flowers and nectar sources in the uplands, have been raised and for insects. Non-point sources of pollution some amendments are being made. are still present, although reduced in places. Potential Threats to With the added pressure of climate change, Unlike previous RDPE schemes, applications our wildlife, our communities and the for most elements of Countryside landscapes they occupy are at a crossroads. Stewardship (particularly in mid tier) are competitive, which means that applications are the Landscape and scored against criteria, so that not everyone who Broader Political Issues applies will be successful. Targeting and scoring and Policy Changes is used to encourage applicants to choose options that help achieve the environmental Opportunities to The most significant potential political and priorities in their local area (Natural England, policy threat to the landscape and its heritage 2015). Farmers need to choose the appropriate is the result of the UK referendum to leave the options for their holding from a set of available European Union which occurred on 23 June ones according to where they are in the country. Address Them 2016. At the time of writing and no doubt for some time to come, it is unclear what the However, differences in option availability wider implications of this outcome will be. and value between the lowlands and Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDAs) mean that upland Most of the UK's wildlife and environmental farmers can expect grant payments to be legislation is based on EU directives and there significantly lower than under previous schemes. is no certainty as to how and if these will For instance, the option for permanent grassland be replaced once the UK leaves the EU. As with very low inputs receives a grant of £95 per a member state the UK benefited from the hectare outside SDAs and only £16 per hectare European legislation that gave protection to within SDAs. This compares to the payment under the environment. This included an international Environmental Stewardship of £60 per hectare, so framework for protection of wildlife habitats a notable reduction in farm income in the uplands and species and rigorous standards for control will result. On many upland farms the option for of pollution, including air and water quality very low input grassland is the only one available and the use of agricultural pesticides. These to them, but small farms of 20 hectares are not EU directives are now enshrined in UK law, so big enough to meet the minimum annual payment it will be dependent upon the Government of £5,000 so are excluded from the scheme. to decide whether these laws remain in place as they stand or whether to revise At present, certain options are not available them. The UK will still abide by international in the uplands which would be appropriate laws covering environmental protection. in the South West Peak; for instance, there are no options available for haymaking, wild pollinator and farm wildlife package or stone Field barn with rushes © PDNPA 99 Potential Threats to the Landscape and Opportunities to Address Them Potential Threats to the Landscape and Opportunities to Address Them wall maintenance. Traditional farm buildings are “Development on rural fields e.g. small plots of land “I used to make a living out of building dry and walls as more intensive farmers would seek a high priority in all upland areas and appear in which people put caravans on in the hope of getting stone walls. What they’ve got to be careful of is not to enlarge their fields to maximise profit. all the associated Statements of Priority. However, permission for housing/accommodation.” just dry stone walling, it’s tradesmen. they do not contribute to scoring in mid-tier, They put a grant there to get things done. Farmers who have a child lined up to take over which gives rise to the perverse situation where “Wind turbines and barns being built that are Then all of a sudden they say there’s no more money… the farm are very conscious that they want to including the option to manage high priority not sympathetic to their surroundings.” Where do them dry stone wallers go? Where hand the farm over in a good state and with buildings can reduce the chances of being do the tradesmen go? And then they wonder why as much land as possible. Keeping the farm accepted for an agreement (Morley, 2016). “Again the lack of jobs and affordable housing is they’re losing the art of doing such jobs.” alive and in the family appears to be a strong pushing the younger generation away, there are no driver amongst the farmers we interviewed. Whether or not amendments are made to opportunities for young people in the area.” increase availability of options in the uplands, “We have three sons… we keep this farm running and the total amount of funding available is Farming is traditionally a practical hands-on ticking over just in case one of them has a change of heart far lower than before, with priority given There is a certain amount of misunderstanding occupation where skills are learned through and comes back. That’s something else we think about.” to higher-tier agreements which are only and distrust of the planning process with people experience and observation. Increasingly, available for SSSIs and some sites in existing concerned that the planning process favours the amount of ‘paperwork’ and the move to Higher Level Environmental Stewardship. ‘incomers’ over local people. Concern is often online communication with Defra and the expressed about the changes to communities Rural Payments Agency have put farmers at a The implications of such reductions in scheme which result from lack of affordable housing disadvantage. Many do not have the numeracy payments and availability, coupled with the and an increase in second homes. or literacy skills required to cope with the complexity of the application process and bureaucracy, yet are having to somehow the suspicion with which it is viewed by many “Villages full of second homes and holiday cottages become computer literate and invest in means that far fewer farms in the area will enter putting nothing back into the community, they are computer hardware (Syson-Nibbs, 2001). into Countryside Stewardship agreements. The becoming ghost villages due to the policy of the Peak Park potential implication of this is for farmers to seek and outside money.” The proportion of people receiving job- alternative ways of gaining income from their related training in general is low in the land which may include increasing the intensity “Lack of ability to make a living and to find Staffordshire Moorlands compared to the of management by the application of fertilisers or accommodation in the area. So many properties are now national average (Pates, 2015). There are drainage of wet land. Such practices will have a used as second homes or for self-catering which affects the concerns that locally, some people in more negative impact on wildlife and species diversity. housing stock for people born in the area. The new comers remote rural areas have not shared in the want to live in the area but to bring the town with them and recovery upturn of the economy, particularly not join in activities like WI, schools etc.” where they have historically been dependent Social and Economic Changes upon the public sector for employment and In the sheep shed © Christine Gregory “Tourism, as many buildings/barns have been given lack alternative employment options or do not Some changes apparently unrelated to permission to use as holiday homes/lets, thus bringing have the skills required by local industries. Loss of services heritage can pose a threat to the landscape, by more tourists into the area, and locals unable to afford housing Evidence of the changes to the communities in impacting upon the people who manage it. and stay thus moving into nearby towns or further then Changes in land management or ownership the South West Peak can be seen in the closure of folk move in and commute and the village breaks down all There is a strong emotional attachment to pubs, schools, shops and other services such as Planning and development its history will be lost.” farms and a corresponding desire to keep doctor’s surgeries, libraries and public transport. Planning and development ranks highly as a them in the family; however, the marginal The primary school in Flash closed in 2012 due concern amongst respondents to our surveys; “The lack of new families in the area due to the expense of nature of upland farming and the limited to lack of pupils (in the previous school year it development pressure was mentioned 23 times property which leads to the demise of shops, schools and financial returns have seen young people had an attendance of just seven).