Test 159 – How to incentivise green infrastructure access & biodiversity creation
The Trails Trust and the Mendip Hills Team are pleased to be able to publish the final report
Background
Leaving the EU has given a unique opportunity to redesign agricultural policies and design future schemes that reward environmental land management. The new schemes will be called the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery. in the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot will begin in 2022 with all three schemes fully available from 2024. A programme of Tests and Trials that will inform the new scheme is currently running including the ELM 159 test.
About the team
The test team included local agricultural and Natural England (principal access officer) consultants and members of The Trails Trust and the Mendip Hills AONB unit.
The team explored the valuable opinions of local landowners and land managers about rights of way, open access land and other access and the potential for enhancing biodiversity along access corridors – using the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and surrounding area as the test area (approximately 300 square kilometres).
We invited 50 landowners and land managers to participate. Participants needed to be the holding owner and decision maker(s) – landowner, leaseholder and / or tenant.
The ELM 159 team’s work included:
Developing a Rights of Way Improvement Plan – a sustainable network development plan of key permanent multi-user routes (on foot, bicycle, with a horse or disabled conveyance – either bridleway, restricted byway or multi use open access) for the test area.
Surveying 103 potential routes that completed a usable network of linear and circular routes linking to existing multi-user routes and quiet unclassified county roads. The development routes were surveyed for existing access and biodiversity characteristics and potential improvements. These routes represent the green infrastructure in the Government’s 25 year plan – encouraging public engagement with landscape, biodiversity, green infrastructure and preserving heritage.
Designing a questionnaire to capture landowner and land manager opinions on existing access, proposed access (as per the surveyed routes), rewards envisaged, capital improvements and annual maintenance (beyond statutory requirements), the need for collaboration and the advice required.
Interviewing 50 participants, analysing the results and writing a report.
The 159 Team would like to thank all the participants for taking part and the DEFRA Tests & Trials Team for giving the opportunity to carry out this research and for being so supportive.