ploughing up a wildflower meadow

[teabag]

Thanks I have contacted natural england and they are looking in to it have not had any responce from local wildlife trust as yet but as I am sure there are water voles there i will be trying to find out more about them i have seen holes on the river bank and caught glimpses of what i think are water voles

[teabag]

Just a update on this I have contacted wildlife trust etc and it appears that the land is a psinc.

I am waiting for more information but hopefully the land may be able to have some protection.

dont know if anyone knows more about this and how much protection it may get etc.

Thanks

[Adam Cheeseman]

I know what a SINC is, but does PSINC mean Potential SINC.

Cheers,

Adam

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by teabag

Just a update on this I have contacted wildlife trust etc and it appears that the land is a psinc.

I am waiting for more information but hopefully the land may be able to have some protection.

dont know if anyone knows more about this and how much protection it may get etc.

Thanks

Info on SINCs here:Naturenet: Local Designations

The Hants CC link on that page is worth looking at too.

Good luck with this, teabag.

T2

[teabag]

Thanks, yes i think it does mean potential sinc. I think it has to have a survey to confirm if it is able to become a sinc.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Yep, at least a Phase 1 survey, most I know have a Phase 2.

Cheers,

Adam

[teabag]

A update on previous posts, the land has had a survey by the wildlife trust and they feel it is a important environment for butterflies wildflowers etc. I am waiting to find out if it will be made a sinc. If it is this will hopefully give it some protection, but am not sure how much. Does any one know if the landowner has to take notice of a sinc

[Rambling Rob]

Hiya Teabag,
Besides losing the meadow habitat and possibly water voles too, if turned over to arable farming there is bound to be knock-on damage over a much larger area because of agricultural run-off into the stream.
Thanks for airing this news - and I'd never heard of a SINC before, although we apparently have them here on the IoW,
Rob

[sometimes]

Originally Posted by JoulesH

Teabag
under the current agricultural support programme, in England, if a farmer is going to destroy any semi-natural /uncultivated land areas in excess of 2 ha, they must obtain permission from Natural England. Uncultivated generally means not grassland not being fertilised or sprayed, ploughed etc for 15 yrs, Semi-natural land includes species rich meadows. NE can then demand an environmental impact assessment. NE has the power to insist on surveying areas less than 2 ha too. However, unless the land or species present have special protected status then the farmer NOT doing this could lead to loss of support payment but not a prosecution. The farmer may have already started this process, but NE are the people to contact.

While I can see the positives in this system, if 'prevention' becomes too.... common... I suspect that farmers will run a plough over fields every 7 years or less, just to make sure their rights to the use of their land isn't compromised.

[Shirley Roulston]

We had the same type of problem, the village pond was surrounded in trees and the owner started to cut all of them down and pull all the plants out, he called them weeds, we called everyone we could think off, the council, the RSPB even the police and all that we were told that because it was private they could do what they like, now the pond is like a huge bowl of murky water. No Moorhens nest or winter ducks come in, just what one foolish person can do, I do have photos of before and after somewhere!