Heather and grass burning (GAEC 10)
| The aim of these rules is to maintain moorland and heathland landscapes and habitats. |
A.
You must not
- burn heather, rough grass, bracken, gorse or vaccinium (a range of shrub species including bilberry and blueberry) outside the burning season except under, and in accordance with, a licence to do so, issued by Natural England.
The burning season is November 1 to March 31 (inclusive) for all land other than that in upland areas and 1 October to 15 April (inclusive) for land in upland areas.
B.
You must
- take all reasonable precautions to prevent human injury or damage to adjacent land or anything on it before you start burning and during the entire period of the burn;
- make sure you have sufficient people and equipment in place to control and regulate the burning during the entire period of the burn.
Further advice and guidance
To find out if your land is in an ‘upland area’ (severely disadvantaged area, within the less-favoured areas) visit the Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) website at www.magic.gov.uk. Or you can look at the 4 volumes of maps, each marked ‘Less Favoured Map of England 2009’ dated 29 January 2010 at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL.
The Heather and Grass Burning Code: 2007 version (PB12650) available from the Defra website at defra.gov.uk or from Natural England at www.naturalengland.org.uk
Guidance for Cross Compliance in England: Management of Habitats and Landscape Features (rpa176) is available on our website at rpa.defra.gov.uk/crosscompliance/farmerguidance
Natural England: 0845 600 3078 |
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Page published: 5 January 2012