No green grant for wildlife haven
26 January 2001
No green grant for wildlife haven
By John Burns
A FARM acclaimed as a wildlife haven by junior agriculture minister Elliot Morley has been refused a Countryside Stewardship grant for the second time.
Roger and Philip Hosking have put years into their familys 150-acre (60ha) Ley Coombe Farm, Modbury, South Devon.
They first applied to join the stewardship scheme in 1998, but felt more confident about their second attempt which was submitted last May.
However, their second application was rejected by the Ministry of Agriculture in a letter dated 17 January. The letter says:
“Stewardship is a competitive scheme in which funds are allocated to proposals which will deliver the most significant environmental benefits.
It continues: “We are unable to prioritise your application this year. However, your application has a good deal of potential.”
The rejection has prompted accusations that civil servants are rejecting applications from farmers who are already farming in an environmental manner.
Instead, it is claimed, the Ministry of Agriculture is favouring applications from intensive producers who pledge to change to environmental systems.
Countryside minister Elliot Morley visited the farm in 1999 and expressed a definite intention to allocate funds to farms which kept environmental features.
Ley Coombe is widely accepted as a good example of a unit farmed in a traditional way. It has big, well-maintained hedges and banks.
The RSPB was so impressed with that it put together a professional application on behalf of the Hoskings to join the stewardship scheme.
Backing for the farm has also come from the BBC.
In 1999 its wildlife unit produced a film called The Farm That Time Forgot that showed the unit teeming with wildlife.
Philip Hosking said: “We are bitterly disappointed and also bewildered.
“Two other nearby holdings have apparently been accepted for the stewardship scheme, so I dont know why ours was rejected.
“Its certainly not much encouragement or reward, particularly after what Elliot Morley said when he was here just over a year ago.”
Claire Packman of the RSPB said the rejection clearly illustrated what was wrong with the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
It encourages change to environmentally sustainable farming, but fails to reward those farmers who are already farming in a wildlife-friendly way, she said.
“The Hoskings farm is a haven for wildlife and it is a great shame that they are to receive no financial benefit for this from MAFF.”
A MAFF spokesman said he was unable to comment on individual cases.