The English Uplands
The majority of the English uplands can be found in the north and south-west of England, with a small amount in the counties along the Welsh border. They are nationally and internationally important for biodiversity, as well as being of significant agricultural, landscape, archaeological, recreational, cultural and natural resource value. Agriculture activity has played a large part in shaping these valuable upland landscapes, and continues to provide many of the tools with which to manage them. Further information on land designations within the uplands and map of the Less Favoured Areas.
Specific Upland funding
The Secretary of State has announced the continuation of the Hill Farm Allowance (HFA) in 2009 and 2010. The HFA is a specific support measure for beef and sheep farmers in England’s Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA). It recognises the difficulties that hill farmers face in these regions and the vital role that they play in delivering the landscape and environmental benefits of England’s uplands. It is administered by the Rural Payments Agency.
From 1 July 2010 uplands support will be fully integrated into Environmental Stewardship, through a specific uplands strand of the Entry Level Environmental Stewardship scheme (Uplands ELS). The Secretary of State has now announced full details of Uplands ELS. Further information on specific upland funding.
Grazing Management
Overgrazing, undergrazing and unsuitable supplementary feeding practices can all damage the biodiversity and landscape of our semi-natural grassland, heathlands and woodlands. Grazing management is therefore an essential tool in both the uplands and lowlands of England. Further information on grazing management.
Heather and Grass Burning
The heather and grass burning legislation and code of practice also aim to maintain and enhance the semi-natural environment. While this is predominantly affects uplands areas, it also applies to the lowlands. These aim to provide a contribution to the development of biodiversity by the availability of habitats, and also help in the maintenance of a sustainable upland environment. Further information on heather and grass burning.
Common Land
The majority of common land in England is located within the Uplands. There are over 1,400 designated common land sites representing some 305,000 hectares of land. Further information on common land policy.
Latest Developments
- On 18 December 2008, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced the full details of Uplands ELS, a new strand of the Entry Level Stewardship scheme for land in the Severely Disadvantaged Areas (SDA), and the associated transitional arrangements. In summary:
- To ease the impact of the transition from the HFA to Uplands ELS, the Secretary of State has announced the continuation of the HFA in 2010. This will provide farmers with more time to understand the new scheme as well as significantly smoothing their cash flow as they move from the HFA to Uplands ELS.
- Uplands ELS will be launched by Natural England in 2010, with the first agreements beginning on 1 July 2010. It will reward upland farmers for carrying out simple yet effective land management which delivers environmental and landscape benefits.
- A transitional payment will also be available from 2011 for those farmers still in classic scheme agreements (NB specific eligibility conditions apply).
- The results of the work carried out in advance of this announcement are now available on line: the results from the on-farm testing [PDF] and the summary of responses [PDF] to the consultation with stakeholders and the hill farming community carried out over the summer. This includes the informal written consultation document for stakeholders [PDF], and the six regional meetings held around England.
Consultations
- “Uplands ELS: Key Questions”. In summer 2008, Defra sought views on the draft proposals for Uplands ELS through an informal “key questions” document [PDF] for stakeholders published in August 2008 and 6 regional meetings with the hill farming community. 52 written responses were received, and over 140 people attended the regional meetings. A summary of the responses received is available. [PDF]
- Future upland support - The public consultation on the successor to the Hill Farm Allowance closed on 22 May 2006. 88 responses were received and have been considered. A summary on the Uplands Reward Structure (URS) is available on the URS consultation webpage.
Reports and Statistics
- Report on the Uplands Entry Level Stewardship Farmer survey [PDF] of sixty-six hill farms on the draft Upland ELS proposals carried out by Central Sciences Laboratory in Summer 2008
- Impact Assessment for Uplands Entry level Stewardship (Uplands ELS) [PDF] (339 KB)
- Hill Farming Economics – various Defra reports:
- 2005/06 Farm Business Survey – Hill Farming in England – June 2007
- An evaluation of the relative difficulty encountered by upland and lowland grassland farmers in entering ELS (CSL report) – March 2007
- An Assessment of the impacts of hill farming in England on the Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability of the uplands and more widely – report by the Institute of European Environmental Policy (IEEP) 2004
- Economic Valuation of Environmental Impacts in the Severely Disadvantaged Areas – report by the Economics for the Environment Consultancy Ltd. (eftec) 2005
- Assessment of CAP reform and other key policies on upland farms and land use implications in both Severely Disadvantaged Areas and Disadvantaged Areas of England – report by Cumulus Countryside and Rural Consultants Ltd 2005
- Classification of hill land
- The Economics of Extensive Livestock Grazing post CAP reform – report by ADAS 2005
- Social capital of traditional hill farming - report by the International Centre for the Uplands - 2005
Contacts/Links
Page last modified:
22 January, 2009
Page published: 24 February, 2005