'Extreme disappointment' as burning banned on England’s deep peat

The CLA has strongly criticised new restrictions for burning on all England upland peat deeper than 30cm, unless subject to a licence.

Defra has announced the restrictions will come into force on 30 September, ignoring land managers’ grave concerns about wildfire risk.

CLA Vice President Joe Evans said:

"The CLA is extremely disappointed that Defra has not heeded land managers’ grave concerns about wildfire risk, and has pressed ahead with a misguided decision to restrict controlled burning on a threefold larger area of England's upland peat soils.

“Defra continues to view controlled burning as a ‘last resort’ option. We strongly dispute the scientific basis for this. Controlled burning is the only reliable, proven method other than grazing that moorland managers have available to control moorland vegetation fuel loads. Land managers should remain able to choose when they use it.

"Defra's policy will impair our capacity to fight wildfires in the uplands, at a time of worsening risk. It must urgently conduct a full impact assessment of these policy changes."

On Tuesday, Defra announced that it would severely restrict controlled burning of vegetation on peat soils deeper than 30 cm in the English uplands – an area of land nearly 700,000 hectares.

The CLA is extremely disappointed in this outcome, which ignored the substantial, contradictory evidence which the CLA, other moorland management groups, and academics presented to Defra.

This blog provides more analysis on Defra’s policy changes. You can read our original consultation response here.

Defra has decided to press ahead with almost all of the amendments it consulted on, and has committed to:

• extend licencing to all upland peat soils deeper than 30 cm in the Less Favoured Area (currently, licencing only covers peat soils deeper than 40 cm which are classified as an SSSI and either an SAC or SPA)
• to change the grounds for why a licence might be granted to include conservation of the historic environment, and research or educational purposes; and to remove the ground (d) which allows a licence to be granted when the ‘specified vegetation is inaccessible to mechanical cutting equipment and any other method of management is impracticable’.
• to make accredited fire training a condition for licence approval in most cases, ‘though this will not be a blanket requirement for all licences’.

Defra will not require everyone conducting controlled burns to follow the Heather and Grass Management Code (e.g., those burning vegetation on shallow peat outside SSSIs), but it will ‘aim to ensure compliance with the Code through the licencing system’.

Defra has not changed its position that controlled burns should be an exceptional, ‘last resorts’ action. However, Defra will ‘introduce revised guidance and an interactive application form’ and has committed to reducing the complexity of application.

Extension of licencing

The threefold increase in peatlands subject to licencing would not be a major problem if Defra granted licences readily, swiftly, and at low cost where needed for wildfire control and conservation. The problem is that Defra continues to maintain that ‘burning should be considered a last resort, used only where no sustainable alternatives are available’. Licences will only be granted ‘in very limited circumstances’. This means that, from the 30th September, there will be a de facto ban on prescribed burns on deep peat soils in England’s uplands. Defra’s press release was titled: ‘Burning banned on England’s deep peat to protect wildlife’. 

The CLA strongly rejects Defra’s premise that controlled burns cause overall environmental harm. Controlled burning is an essential tool of upland management whose impacts need to be judged relative to the wildfire damage they prevent. As with any tool, context determines whether or not burning is appropriate. The CLA believes that moorland managers are capable of judging where and when controlled burns are necessary.

Mowing and rewetting – Defra’s proposed alternatives – can confer some resilience to wildfires, but not in all circumstances, and do not replace the need for selective controlled burning.

Defra explains that its decision will restore the ‘natural hydrology’ and ecology of blanket bogs, and will reduce carbon emissions, wildfires, and smoke, whilst improving water quality. The CLA presented scientific evidence to Defra disputing these conclusions. No studies have evaluated net greenhouse gas exchange over the entire 20-year burning cycle, so we lack evidence of its net carbon impact.

England’s peatlands are cultural, fire-adapted landscapes, so there is no such thing as “natural hydrology”. Resilient ecosystem function cannot be reduced – as Defra does in both the consultation and its response – to six indicator species. Finally, at least four review studies have found no conclusive evidence that controlled burning worsens water quality compared to other management options. 

It is deeply frustrating that Defra is unwilling to admit gaps in its evidence base, and has not listened to academic experts who submitted their own responses to the consultation.

In a week in which fires in North Yorkshire continue to stretch firefighting resources after a record-breaking year, we are particularly worried that Defra’s policy will make tackling upland wildfire much harder. The Fire and Rescue Service depends on experienced moorland managers for their local knowledge, wildfire-fighting skill, equipment, training, and daily patrols to extinguish ignition sources – all of which are at risk of loss or reduced capacity if Defra terminates controlled burning.

Peat depth

Reducing the depth of peat subject to licencing from 40 cm to 30 cm is another perplexing decision. Controlled burns should not burn the underlying peat if conducted correctly. Therefore, the depth of peat below the surface is immaterial to the suitability of controlled burning as a management tool. Wildfire is a risk across the full peatland area, with potentially more severe consequences on deeper soils, so a binary cutoff at 30 cm makes little sense. It will also be difficult to enforce. The England Peat Map should not be used to determine peat depth for this purpose: it is inaccurate at a local level, and not designed for this use case.

Government must urgently publish a sampling methodology which provides clarity on whether sand, grit, and any surface decaying vegetation should be included in the 30 cm measurement. Scottish Government took over a year to agree on the sampling methodology, so it seems optimistic that Defra will be able to enforce its policy from the 30th September 2025 as stated.

Licencing grounds

The decision to remove licencing ground (d) – which allows burning on ground inaccessible or dangerous to cut mechanically – is not a major concern in itself. The bigger issue is that Defra expects to only grant licences in exceptional circumstances. The remaining grounds (safety, conservation, and research) cover most circumstances in which burning should take place, although agricultural aspects like managing the tick burden in sheep may be lost. 

Best practice and training

A small concession is that Defra will no longer make it mandatory for all upland managers to adhere to the revised Heather & Grass Management Code, as it had signalled in the consultation. Defra still expects to make compliance with the Code a condition of receiving a licence to burn. We emphasised that Defra could not expect consultees to form an opinion on this before the revised Code is published. 

We suggested it was proportionate for supervisory practitioners to complete training. Most consultation responses felt training was important, and Defra has committed to the idea, but issued a very vague statement which provides no clarity on who must have completed training, or what will count as accredited training.

• The CLA met with upland stakeholder groups on Friday morning to discuss our next steps. We committed to working together to challenge this policy.
• The CLA has already requested that Defra publish a full impact assessment.
• We will build a broad coalition of parties beyond upland groups, all affected by the heightened risk of wildfire, to call on Defra to rethink its policy and re-emphasise the risks to the Minister and Secretary of State.
• We will keep members updated.