H&H article re. Fell pony grazing

[Widgeon]

https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/hill-farmer-79-ordered-pay-16000-grazing-ponies-common-668464

I realise that there will be those on this forum who have followed this and know a lot about it, but regardless of the ins and outs of the case, I am curious about the comment from the farmer's solicitor:

“I have asked Natural England to say how much they have spent pursuing this case but they have not disclosed this,” Mrs Ashcroft said.

Is this something that can be obtained with an FOI request? I know nothing about FOI requests (hence my post) but I do think it could be an interesting piece of information to obtain.

 

[Leo Walker]

yup, that can be gotten via an FOI request

 

[Widgeon]

yup, that can be gotten via an FOI request

Thanks Leo....that is interesting, perhaps I should exercise my rights and find out. Better make a note to Google this later!

 

[Velcrobum]

I do not understand why they prosecuted him if he has grazing rights. Anyone care to enlighten me!?

 

[scruffyponies]

Do Natural England actually DO anything (other than bullying elderly commoners, obviously). Genuine question, as I manage a fair chunk of SSSI, and have not found them to be of any use at all, either practically or in an advisory capacity. What are their responsibilities and for what are they accountable?

 

[ester]

I do not understand why they prosecuted him if he has grazing rights. Anyone care to enlighten me!?

iirc it was a stocking density/SSSI permission thing.

 

[Schollym]

Do Natural England actually DO anything (other than bullying elderly commoners, obviously). Genuine question, as I manage a fair chunk of SSSI, and have not found them to be of any use at all, either practically or in an advisory capacity. What are their responsibilities and for what are they accountable?

Interesting about whether they do anything! I know they stick a demand for money on planning applications because the land is within so many miles of an SSSI. Despite there being a whole town between the two sites and lodging an objection in if you don’t pay £250.

 

[Nudibranch]

Natural England? Pah! They've just informed us they won't meet the deadline for our bat licence, meaning we have lost our week's holiday and will potentially have a half-built extension sitting over winter until May, when the whole sorry gravy train that is their licensing system will start all over from square one.
I'd they'd just allowed us to operate on a worst case scenario basis from day 1 it'd have saved thousands in pointless surveys and the building work would be long finished and still well within limits for breeding-hibernation, etc, etc.
I have no confidence in their decision making with regard to the Fell situation. There is no common sense in the organisation whatsoever and it seems to exist only to allow the various parties who provide their input to generate work for themselves.