Farmers need more help after huge wildfire - MP

2 hours ago

Nick MorrisYorkshire

News image — The fire on Langdale Moor burned for months and covered 10 square miles at its height

NORTH YORKSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE/PA WIRE The image shows a fierce yellow and orange fire igniting trees on Langdale Moor in the North York Moors National Park. Thick grey smoke is pouring upwards from the blaze, partially obscuring much of the trees and blue sky above. In the foreground are some burned trunks which are all that remain of trees that have burned. There is also grass in the foreground. — The fire on Langdale Moor burned for months and covered 10 square miles at its height

Farmers affected by a huge wildfire on the North York Moors last year need more financial help from the government, an MP has said.

Labour's Alison Hume, whose Scarborough and Whitby constituency includes the affected area, said farms and businesses hit by such fires should receive greater support like that provided for flooding.

Hume said the blaze, which broke out on Langdale Moor in August, had destroyed long stretches of fencing, meaning livestock was prevented from being let out to graze.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it had offered financial assistance to landowners through farming schemes to mitigate wildfire risks on moorland and heathland.

The fire at Langdale Moor, in the North York Moors National Park near RAF Fylingdales, broke out on 11 August.

It was only on 23 September that North Yorkshire Fire Service confirmed it was no longer being treated as a major incident.

Part of the affected area had been used as a tank training ground during World War Two, and there were more than 18 explosions as the fire burned.

Watch: Drone footage captures scale of Langdale fire

Many farmers in the affected area formed what became known as the "Farmy Army", who worked alongside firefighters as the moorland blaze raged.

Hume said: "For the people living with the consequences of this huge blaze, which at its height covered 10 sq m (26 sq km), things haven't moved on very fast.

"For the farmers and the businesses who really put their lives on the line in some cases to help firefighters, there hasn't been the level of financial compensation that I would have liked to have seen."

Hume acknowledged that the government had provided financial help for costs incurred by North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service through what is known as the Bellwin Scheme.

The scheme provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help cover the costs incurred during emergencies or disasters.

However, Hume said there were "non-recoverable costs which North Yorkshire Council estimates to be around £3.17m to support with compensation, firebreaks on private land and things like that.

"Businesses and farmers haven't got access to government compensation in the same way as they would have if they'd been flooded."

In a statement, a spokesperson for DEFRA said: "We are taking decisive action to ensure fire services and national bodies can manage and respond to emergencies.

"This includes funding a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to support a more coordinated response to wildfires, alongside an increase of almost £70m in funding for stand-alone fire and rescue authorities."

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