Wuthering Moors 9
Steve Downing, Chairman of Calderdale Raptor Study Group said,
“At the beginning of August 2010 I visited Walshaw Estate with a friend looking for merlin, short-eared owls and hobby. Whilst we were there we noticed that a stream appeared to have been diverted and converted into a vehicle track, a separate track on another part of the Estate had been significantly extended and surfaced, the main stream through the clough appeared to have been re-enforced and a large number of new wooden shooting butts had been installed at several locations across the Estate. This Estate, in the South Pennine SPA, forms part of the local SSSI and we raised concerns with Natural England that these changes to the landscape could be ‘Operations likely to damage the SSSI’.”
“I now understand from NE that the prosecution case in relation to the potentially damaging changes to the SSSI has also been abandoned as part of the new management agreement. Why?”
The Calderdale Raptor Study Group, many Natural England staff and some in the wider conservation community also await Natural England’s and Defra’s response to this question.
- Posted in: Wuthering moors ♦ grouse moor ♦ Natural England ♦ Walshaw Moor ♦ wuthering
Your leaving no stone unturned here mark and that’s superb. You will deserve a medal if you uncover the truth in this whole rotten mess!
Given Mr Downings observations, if NE have failed to prosecute and get the land owner to restore the features, they need hauling over the coals to explain their actions and why they have such a cosy relationship with the estate now.
Is anyone else asking these important questions of NE and DEFRA such as NGO’s? Not heard a lot about it in the press.
Gongfarmer – thank you. I suspect that others are asking questions but I don’t know for sure.