Plans to dispose of nature reserves in chaos

Revealed: Defra idea to cut costs blocked by wildlife charities

Secret Government negotiations to dispose of England's most precious wildlife sites in a big money-saving exercise are in tatters.

Wildlife charities which the Government had assumed would take over the running of 140 national nature reserves are refusing to do so without new funding, which would run into many millions of pounds. Their insistence on a big cash injection as a condition of any transfer may mean the whole idea will be scrapped.

The reserves, which range from the Lizard in Cornwall to Lindisfarne in Northumberland, and in size from three-quarters of an acre at Horn Park Quarry in Dorset to 22,000 acres of the Wash, represent many of the finest wildlife sites in the country. There are 224 of them, 140 run by the Government's wildlife agency, Natural England. Harbouring such distinctive habitats as ancient woodland, chalk grassland and lowland heath, and sheltering rare species such as nightingales, orchids and red squirrels, the reserves are regarded as the jewels in the crown of British nature conservation.

Since the election, however, Conservative ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have been trying to get rid of the sites run by Natural England. Ministers have been engaged in confidential talks to try to get several wildlife charities to take over the running of the reserves.

Initially, ministers wanted to sell the nature reserves outright, but quickly found there were no takers. So for several months they have been talking about handing them over to the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wildlife Trusts Partnership, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the Woodland Trust, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife.

These charities do not object in principle to taking on the reserves, and all have the necessary expertise to run them. However, they have raised a number of objections, the key one being money, and in a written warning to Defra, the charities state that "Government must ensure sustainable funding packages are in place to support delivery throughout the length of service delivery agreements". Translation: you will have to pick up the cost for the whole length of the time we run one of your former nature reserves.

There is a further financial caveat: the charities insist that the government must comply with regulations which safeguard staff when their jobs are transferred. This means that the Government will have to guarantee the salaries and pension arrangements of Natural England employees now managing the reserves, which are likely to be more generous than those prevailing in the charities.

The full cost to Natural England of running its reserves is £9.9m annually: this is made up of £4.5m for maintenance and other running costs, and £5.4m in staff costs. If the wildlife charities together insist on a similar sum for taking on the reserves, the potential savings will simply disappear. Some observers think this puts the whole idea in jeopardy. A senior government source admitted that it was now having to "think through lots of different funding models".

Yet money is not the only hurdle. The charities are also insisting on a strict regime of safeguards for any reserves which are transferred, or for any of the landholdings of the Forestry Commission which the Coalition plans to sell off. They say that there should be "no net loss of biodiversity, heritage significance or public access" as a result of the transfer of land.

The charities' tough conditions have emerged because their document, which has not been officially published, has been made available on the website of the wildflower charity Plantlife, and this is the first public acknowledgement of the discussions which have been going on. Victoria Chester, Plantlife's chief executive, said the charities were all agreed that the Government had to be involved in funding.

England's most precious wildlife sites

The Lizard

The Lizard national nature reserve in Cornwall is a remarkable mixture of habitats, from majestic cliffs and beaches to coastal grassland and inland heaths. The wildlife star is the chough, the crow with a red bill which is also the county bird of Cornwall. In spring the swaths of cliff-top wild flowers are breathtaking and the heaths are ablaze with colour in summer.



The Wash

England's largest nature reserve is one of the country's last great wildernesses, an internationally important wetland site in Norfolk and Lincolnshire whose mudflats and saltmarshes represent one of Britain's best winter feeding areas for waders and wildfowl. Its star species include waders and one of the largest breeding colonies of seal in the UK.

Lindisfarne

The Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, has a twinfold importance: its monastery was one of the key sites of early Celtic Christianity and it is a superb wildlife site. Its most typical habitat is the sand dunes which in summer are alive with orchids and insects. Its special birds are wintering wildfowl and waders, including pale-bellied brent geese from Svalbard, wigeons, grey plovers and bar-tailed godwits.



Horn Park Quarry

Britain's smallest national nature reserve has been listed for its geology: the disused limestone quarry, once worked for local building stone, contains preserved fossils from the Inferior Oolite, which dates from the Middle Jurassic period, particularly ammonites. Public visits to the site can be arranged.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
From the blogs

Dish of the Day: Lily Vanilli’s recipe for making a human brain cake

A slight deviation from style this week and admittedly a bit weird, but at least I can finally say I...

Owen Howells: From the UK to Australia and back again (and again!)

Owen Howells is a DJ/producer who grew up in Australia but was born in the UK. He came back to the U...

Justice for sale but who pays for the cost?

Justice, the bedrock of our society is for sale under the Government’s latest plan to sell legal aid...

Dish of the Day: How to… make flower power cocktails

Take inspiration from the green-fingered brigade who have been showing off their creativity at the R...

       

Day In a Page

Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions

He's worked with Modest Mouse, the Pet Shop Boys and Beck, to name a few, and recently released his first solo album. So why, wonders Johnny Marr, do people still hark on about The Smiths?
After the flood: From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands

In pictures: After the flood

From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands
Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals

Death becomes her: A very modern mortician

Ever considered baking a loved one's remains into a cake or putting their ashes in fireworks? If so, talk to Caitlin Doughty, champion of the alternative death industry.
How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

At first it seemed clever and cute. Then the 'Keep Calm' motif went mad, spawning endless offshoots.
The man who built Brum: A lament for the demise of John Madin's Brutalist Birmingham

John Madin: The man who built Brum

The architect's buildings were supposed to leave an indelible, futuristic mark on his beloved hometown but they are now being inexorably torn down.
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery at the Ginger Pig

School of chop: Learning the art of butchery

How do you butcher a lamb? Or make Mexican street food in a British kitchen? Christopher Hirst finds out.
James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats