A prominent landowner has been fined for illegally burning peat on a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pateley Bridge.

Ben Ramsden, 59, pleaded guilty to three charges of burning vegetation on a designated site on a peat that is of a depth of more than 40 centimetres without a licence.

The offences took place at Thrope Farm, Lofthouse, on April 8 this year.

Ramsden owns Lofthouse Moor, which is used for grouse shooting.

He was also a director of the Moorland Association, which manages over a million acres of the moorlands of England and Wales, at the time of the offences. However, he resigned this position on October 1 this year.

Illegally burning peat can impede its restoration.

Skipton Magistrates Court fined Ramsden, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, £600 at a hearing on Friday.

Skipton Magistrates Court

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £240 and court costs of £85.

Magistrates said they took into consideration Ramsden’s guilty plea when imposing the sentence.

A spokesman for the Moorland Association said:

“We are aware of this case and our understanding is that this was a genuine error.

“The land management team believed they had taken the appropriate and necessary precautions.”

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The National Trust has introduced cattle to the moorland at Brimham Rocks in Nidderdale.

A herd of Belted Galloways will graze the vegetation from June to October as part of the site’s moorland management plan.

The trust said grazing will improve the moorland at Brimham as well as improving the habitat for ground nesting birds.

A fence has been erected around the cattle’s roaming area on the south and north moors. To maintain Brimham moorland as open access land, gates have been installed on public rights of way as well as on the most popular desire lines.

Natural heather moorland habitats are rarer than rainforest. According to the Moorland Association, 75% of the world’s remaining heather moorland is found in Britain and that habitat has been declining rapidly.

The moorland at Brimham has the distinction of being home to three local varieties: ling heather, bell heather and cross-leaved heath. Unattended bracken will damage the heather moorland beyond repair, according to the trust.

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Brimham Rocks

Alec Boyd, area ranger at Brimham Rocks said reintroducing cattle was “a very important step to improving the condition of the moor”, adding: 

“We are using cattle instead of sheep or horses because the cattle rips and pulls rather than nibbles at the vegetation.

“They also eat on the move, a little here and a little there, and are less selective than sheep or horses – they aren’t as choosy about what they eat. This helps create a varied age structure that will benefit other species that call moorland their home.”

Belted Galloways are hardy but placid, which means they are unlikely to be fazed by members of the public and their dogs.

A trust spokesperson said it acquired Brimham Rocks in 1970 and there has not been any grazing since then, but it is thought grazing took place prior to this.

Further information is available here.