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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