Blogs entitled ‘Wuthering Moors’ form a series of articles about the Walshaw Moor Estate and its relationship with Natural England and Defra. Defra were supposed to reply today to my complaint over their late and uncommunicative response to an FoI request. I had an email from them on Friday saying that they have now decided…
Tag: Walshaw Moor
Wuthering Moors 31
Blogs entitled ‘Wuthering Moors’ form a series of articles about the Walshaw Moor Estate and its relationship with Natural England and Defra. Regular readers of this blog may remember that I submitted a request for information to Defra about their response to the RSPB complaint to Europe over the Walshaw Moor affair. I received no…
Wuthering Moors – 30
Blogs entitled ‘Wuthering Moors’ form a series of articles about the Walshaw Moor Estate and its relationship with Natural England and Defra. Dear Defra I understand that you have sent your response to the EU Commission following the complaint by the RSPB about the way that matters at Walshaw Moor were handled by Natural England…
A burning question for the National Trust
This blog has been a bit critical of the National Trust in the past, suggesting that it isn’t taking its nature conservation work sufficiently seriously, and so it gives me great pleasure to highlight an excellent piece of work, nearing fruition, by NT. It’s such good news it is worth being the second blog of…
Wuthering Moors – 29 The bigger picture
The Walshaw Moor Estate case is important in itself, and we commend again the RSPB for taking a firm stand on it, but it is also indicative of a much wider and deeper Defra malaise. If Defra is not now acting merely as the Rural Jobs and Fieldsports Department then it needs to get its…
Wuthering Moors 28
In a move that will be highly embarrassing for the UK government, particularly for Defra and the Defra Minister Richard Benyon, the RSPB today launched a complaint to the European Commission over the Walshaw Moor affair. The RSPB is ‘Stepping up for Nature’ by suggesting that Natural England, the delivery agency of Defra, contravened European…
Round up
Defra: are pretty hopeless really aren’t they? I haven’t had a reply to my ex MP’s letter about Andrew Wood’s witness statement. I’m probably on a database as a pleb – but that’s better than being a patrician. (see previous blogs on Wuthering Moors). Autumn: I saw a jay on my walk around Stanwick Lakes…
Wuthering Moors 27 – Secrecy and power
The revelations over the 23-year old events at Hillsborough have been shocking – deeply shocking. But I wonder how many of us felt a little personal guilt for moments when we thought ‘It’s a long time ago’ or ‘Let it go’? This week the obstinacy and determination, and passion (there was lots of passion), from…
Wuthering Moors 27
Blogs entitled ‘Wuthering Moors’ form a series of articles about the Walshaw Moor Estate and its relationship with Natural England and Defra. The Observer published this letter from a sizeable group of Hebden Bridge residents who are concerned that the management of nearby grouse moors including Walshaw Moor has increased the risk of flooding for…
Wuthering Moors 26
Ban The Burn campaigners launched a national campaign on Sunday evening, August 12th, in Hebden Bridge. The Ban the Burn! campaign aims are: a ban on burning and draining blanket bog an end to loopholes in the Heather & Grass Burning Code and other regulations Environmental scientist Dr Aidan Foley had an upbeat message for the…