| News
Man convicted of criminal Farming groups given
damage to crops by driving £1.7 million to boost the
on to farmland
environment
A man has been ordered to pay £1,000 compensation
and has had his vehicle taken off him, after he caused
substantial damage to crops near Thirsk. A £1.7 million fund opens tomorrow for groups of farmers
and organisations to bid for cash for large scale
environmental projects in their area.
ark James
Hughes, 33, of
Eden Street,
Horden,
Durham, was
found guilty of
criminal damage at Northallerton
Magistrates Court on 25 August
2017.
On 12 November 2016, a
Land Rover Discovery was
driven on to a field at Topcliffe. It
got stuck, buried into the mud to
axle depth. Hughes was seen
nearby, and subsequently
interviewed by officers.
The field was due to be
replanted in the near future, but
because the vehicle had driven
over it, it could no longer be
planted, due to the risk of
contaminants. he third national
round of the
Countryside
Stewardship
Facilitation Fund,
open for
applications from 1 September to
14 November 2017, encourages
landowners to think beyond their
own fields, meadows and
woodlands and instead consider
how environmental benefits can be
achieved over a wider landscape
by working on projects together.
Since the scheme began, it has
supported 61 groups and 1,350
land managers to improve more
than 273,000 hectares of land
through enhancing wildlife
habitats, planting trees and
restoring rivers to their natural
meanders.
To apply, groups must submit
new plans for working together
and sharing knowledge to improve
their land and benefit their
communities.
An example of a group already
benefitting from funding is the
Bourn Brook Facilitation Fund,
which joined the scheme in 2015.
Since then, 20 farms covering
more than 6,500 hectares have
worked together to connect local
ancient woodland, improve river
quality and encourage other
farmers to get involved in the
environmental work.
M
At court, Hughes was
disqualified from driving for six
months, deprived of the Land
Rover Discovery, and ordered to
pay £1,000 in compensation.
PC Arfan Rahouf, of North
Yorkshire Police’s Rural
Taskforce, said: “Hughes’
thoughtless and reckless actions
caused substantial
inconvenience and financial loss
to a farm business. The vehicle
was so badly stuck that even a
tractor struggled to get it out.
“The compensation, driving
ban, and loss of the vehicle will
send a clear message that this
behaviour is absolutely
unacceptable to North
Yorkshire’s rural communities,
and police will deal with such
incidents robustly.”
T
“This scheme is about helping
more farmers and land
managers make the most of
Countryside Stewardship”
Farming Minister George
Eustice said:
“The benefits of action to
develop habitats and protect the
environment can be magnified if
applied on a landscape scale with
groups of farmers working
together. This facilitation fund will
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
support partnership working to
maximise the benefits of our
Countryside Stewardship schemes
to our farmed environment.
“The benefits of action to
develop habitats and protect
the environment can be
magnified if applied on a
landscape scale with groups of
farmers working together”
"Leaving the EU creates a great
opportunity to design a new
agriculture policy that delivers
environmental outcomes more
effectively and testing partnership
working in this way will help
provide us with experience to
inform future policy."
Chief Executive of Natural
England James Cross said:
“This scheme is about helping
more farmers and land managers
make the most of Countryside
Stewardship and bring benefits for
nature and people on a landscape
scale. This is really exciting, a real
win-win for farmers, land
managers, rural communities and
of course, our wildlife.
“We are proud to be using the
Fund to help support rural areas.
By working with groups of land
managers, facilitators can scale up
what we can achieve and help
deliver long-term outcomes for the
environment.”
Across England a total of £7.2
million has been committed
through the Countryside
Stewardship Facilitation Fund for
groups of land managers to
improve their local environment at
a landscape-scale. This builds on
the principles of partnership
working to deliver ambitious,
evidence-based actions that will
deliver for the environment,
business an d local communities.
September 2017 | Farming Monthly | 07