Western Morning News (Saturday)
Rewilding can bring jobs as well as wildlife
AFARM in Devon and a nature reserve in Somerset are among the rewilding projects studied in a research project to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of turning land back to nature.
The study by charity Rewilding Britain claims to show that rewilding ‘marginal’ land boosts jobs and volunteering opportunities while helping nature and allowing food production to continue.
Upcott Grange Farm, Devon, belonging to farmer-turned-conservationist Derek Gow, and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust land at Steart Marshes on the Somerset coast were among 23 projects covering more than 75,000 acres of land being rewilded, which involves large-scale restoration of natural systems and, in some cases, reintroducing species.
Analysis from 22 of the sites reveals a 47 per cent increase in jobs, from 151 before projects began to 222 over an average of 10 years, with more varied roles covering areas such as nature tourism, monitoring and education.
Data from 19 sites showed an almost ninefold increase in volunteering, from 50 volunteers to 428, as a result of rewilding activities – a ‘volunteer engagement boom’ that Rewilding Britain’s director, Alastair Driver, said would bring physical and mental health benefits to people.
And all the sites continue to generate income from food production on more productive land, livestock, and other enterprises, the research shows.
Rewilding land to boost nature and help tackle climate change has proved controversial in some quarters, amid concerns it involves abandoning land that should be used for food production, and the study found mixed views on the projects from neighbouring landowners. But Rewilding Britain said its findings punctured myths that it was about land abandonment or halting food production.
And Professor Driver, who gathered and analysed the data, said: “Our findings on green jobs should be music to the Government’s ears.
“They spotlight rewilding’s potential for creating economic and other opportunities for people – while restoring nature and tackling climate breakdown.
“Many of us knew that real-world rewilding projects produce food and create new job and volunteering opportunities alongside offering major biodiversity, flood risk, water quality, health and carbon sequestration benefits – but even we underestimated the extent to which they do so.”
At one of the sites in the study, Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk, where rewilding marginal land is taking place alongside regenerative farming, project manager Dominic Buscall said it had helped unlock better income streams.
“Marginal farmland typically needs more chemical inputs and also generates less yield. Prior to rewilding, we were causing environmental damage to produce a poor farm yield,” he said.
“Now we are simultaneously delivering public goods and generating healthy profits for our business from this land, while still producing pasture-fed meat from it, as well as farming our adjacent, good-quality land with environmentally-friendly techniques.”
A variety of farms, estates and land managed by private landowners studied in the project cover 122,547 acres.
THE High Court has given the go-ahead to plans for a 1,200home development on the edge of Newton Abbot, slapping a £10,000 bill for costs on the parish council which opposed the scheme.
The judicial review of the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission for the development on farmland at Wolborough was brought by Abbotskerswell Parish Council.
It was dismissed by the High Court, which ordered the claimant to pay the first defendant’s costs, estimated as up to £10,000.
It means the plan, for 1,210 dwellings, a primary school, up to 12,650 sq m of employment floorspace, two care homes, community facilities, retail and local centre floorspace, open space and associated infrastructure can go ahead.
The conversion of agricultural buildings to a hotel, restaurant and bar, including some new buildings, an access road and parking will also be able to proceed.
A spokesman for the Rew family, who own the land, said: “We welcome the court’s ruling that the Secretary of State was right to agree that outline planning permission, first applied for in 2017, should be granted.
“This site was included in the Teignbridge Local Plan in 2014 and is a highly sustainable location, suitable for a new mixed-use urban extension to Newton Abbot.
“At the last count there were almost 1,000 households in Teignbridge on the housing waiting list and our proposals will help to deliver almost 250 much-needed affordable homes for local people.
“We are sure that many people will, like us, feel it is a great shame that these proposals have been delayed by legal challenges partly funded by local council tax payers.
“We are now looking forward to working constructively with Teignbridge District Council and other stakeholders as we take the next steps towards delivering 1,210 new homes and a new link road which will connect the A381 with the A380 South Devon Highway, easing congestion and improving air quality.
“In addition, there will be the creation of new jobs and investment in the local community, including a community centre, shops, workplaces, a network of green infrastructure and a site for a new primary school.”
A spokesperson for Teignbridge District Council said: “We hope this ruling from the High Court brings to an end a process that started in 2014 and which has seen significant public funding spent reviewing this application through every possible planning and legal process.
“It has been considered by the Planning Inspectorate, the Secretary of State and the High Court. Despite the many challenges at different stages, the outcomes show that officers acted appropriately, following the correct planning processes and gave sound professional advice on planning, ecological and environmental issues.
“There will be polarised views on this decision with some people being disappointed, while others will welcome the economic and housing benefits that will flow from the development.
“Now this development will go ahead, the council will work together with stakeholders to make it a place where people want to live, work and play.
“The permission, that was part of the council’s planning blueprint for the next 10 years and beyond, will see 300 affordable homes delivered, as well as key infrastructure and accessible green spaces for residents and communities.
“There will still be planning conditions to comply with and detailed designs and environmental impact assessments will need to be approved so that construction of the new neighbourhood at Wolborough can start.
“This decision removes uncertainty and enables us now to work with the developers to ensure that the detailed planning requirements are properly met and that homes, amenities and surroundings are built to meet the needs of future generations.”