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Bradford Council seeks PSPO to ban BBQs and fires on moorland – Bradford Council

Bradford Council is looking to bring in a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which bans barbeques, fires, Chinese lanterns, fireworks and other dangerous items from moorland in the district.

The move comes in the aftermath of recent wildfires on Ilkley Moor and at Marsden Moor in Kirklees.

Ilkley Moor is owned by Bradford Council and wildfires pose a considerable cost in terms of resources deployed by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS), the Council, West Yorkshire Police and other agencies, not to mention the environmental damage and risk to property.

Bradford Council has been working for sometime looking at ways to reduce the amount and impacts of wildfires in the district including working in partnership with the South Pennine Fire Operations Group, which brings together neighbouring local authorities, fire and rescue services, major landowners and land managers.

As part of this approach and in line with neighbouring authorities, Bradford Council has, at a meeting of the Regulatory and Appeals Committee this morning, approved the start of a consultation on the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order to prohibit fires and barbecues on certain sites in the Bradford district.

The need to carry out consultation on the introduction of a PSPO is a requirement of the regulations (Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, Section 59). The consultation will run for four weeks which is the minimum requirement.

Danny Jackson Bradford Council’s Countryside and Rights of Way Manager, said: “Our moorland areas are a precious resource and the impacts of wildfire are devastating and can last for a significant amount of time. We want people to enjoy these areas but at the same time people need to be responsible and respect the moors. Prohibiting barbeques and fires in these area sends a clear and strong message that, especially at times of hot, dry weather, we can not take any chances and must reduce the risk of wildfire as much as we can.”

Rewilding Britain have today (Tuesday 21 May) released a report: How restoring nature can help decarbonise the UK - Making nature-based changes to our land use can reduce emissions and draw carbon back out of the atmosphere.

Scientific publications

Fraser, M. D., Stanley, C. R. & Hegarty, M. J. Recognising the potential role of native ponies in conservation management. Biological Conservation. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.04.014

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