A pioneering conservation scheme which was credited with maintaining the unspoilt beauty of a renowned valley in a national park could be revived and extended after Brexit.
The North York Moors National Park Authority is being given Government support to test a scheme in which landowners and farmers are paid for work such as maintaining stone walls and hedges, woodland, hay meadows and repairing traditional buildings.
Plans are being developed to update the North York Moors Farm Scheme, which saw 81.4 kilometres of hedgerow, 40.4 kilometres of wall and 140 traditional buildings restored, and 14,000 broadleaved trees planted between 1990 and 2014 and extend it across the entire 554sq mile park.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has assigned a project officer to the park authority to offer advice and guidance during the process of developing the test and trials work.
While a similar scheme in the Yorkshire Dales National Park has already received Government backing, the North York Moors initiative sought to encourage sensitive land management while maintaining farm viability, particularly the traditional family farms typical of upland areas.
At its peak in the late 1990s, there were 113 Farm Scheme Agreements and a budget of nearly £450,000.
After the scheme ended David Renwick, the authority’s director of conservation, hailed the scheme for its far-reaching effects.
He said: “Its achievements are there for all to see on the ground in the North York Moors – Farndale for example, owes much of its unspoilt beauty to the scheme. But what it also brought is a good working relationship between the National Park and those who farm here.”
A spokesman for the authority said while the Government aimed to reform agricultural policy that has developed over 40 years within the Common Agricultural Policy, it was well-placed to help shape national having a wealth of experience of developing and delivering environmental schemes.
He said a well designed environmental land management system that delivers sustainable land management and secures the provision of public goods would contribute to a wide range of the park authority’s aims.
The spokesman said by “building on the successes of previous experience we can achieve better collective outcomes”.
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