Burning topic causes heated debate

RURAL bodies have reacted with dismay to the announcement last week by Defra that the ban on controlled burning will be extended from covering 222,000 hectares (548,574 acres) of deep peat to 676,628 hectares (1,671,984 acres). This comes after a summer of wildfires in moorland areas.

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Low-intensity ‘cool burns’ that remove the heather canopy in small patches can act as a firebreak and encourage the growth of peat-forming sphagnum moss. The Countryside Alliance (CA) points out that controlled burning can regenerate the plant life that sustains many wader birds and other species and brands the decision, part of the Government's Plan for Change, as ‘grossly irresponsible’.