Dear Editor
The Sheffield Moors Partnership (which is a collaboration of Sheffield City Council, National Trust, Peak District National Park Authority, Sheffield Wildlife Trust, Natural England and RSPB) request the opportunity to respond to the points made by Neil Fitzmaurice in the Letters page of the Sheffield Telegraph on 22 November 2012 regarding consultation of the draft ‘masterplan’ for the ‘Sheffield Moors’.
The ‘Sheffield Moors’ include Stanage, Blacka Moor, Burbage Moors, Ringinglow Bog, Longshaw and the Eastern Moors such as Big Moor.
The aim of the ‘masterplan’ is to develop a ‘joined up’ approach to the long-term management of this amazing landscape as a whole, with people and wildlife at the heart of what we do, and we have worked hard to involve users at all stages of the plan’s development.
The writing of the draft masterplan and its vision for the future has been informed from the start by engaging people who use and love these places, beginning with a series of public meetings from February to late spring 2012.During consultation on the draft this autumn, we talked to nearly 700 people out and about on the Sheffield Moors and their views will help shape the final document.
At the public events and meetings, members of the Sheffield Moors Partnership(SMP) have been more than happy to answer specific questions relating to management of the area, what the masterplan is hoping to achieve, and how people can get more involved. Mr Fitzmaurice has attended several of these meetings. All of the ideas presented by those attending, and answers to the questions raised have then been drawn togetherinto reports that have then been made freely and publicly available on the related website –
The Partnership has also been very open and upfront about the process for developing the masterplan.At the same time it should also be noted that each of the partners regularly consults users about their own ‘patch’, whether it’s through the Blacka Moor Reserve Advisory Group (Sheffield Wildlife Trust), or the Eastern Moors Stakeholder Forum (NT/RSPB) for example.
Looking after landscapes like Blacka Moor and Stanage costs money – whether its repairing stiles and footpaths, looking after internationally important habitats like blanket bog and old Oak woodland, or sharing our love and experience of thesewith others through events and activities.
The custodianshipof the ‘Sheffield Moors’ is not driven by grant funding, but supported by it - all the partners in the SMP contribute considerable amounts of their own resources into caring for these areas. When external funding is secured it is almost always for specific work to protect and enhance the huge wildlife, archaeological and recreational value of this landscape.
Agri-environment funding is designed to maintain and where necessary enhance the wildlife and landscape interest of important areas such as the Sheffield Moors. The landscape of this area is the result of management and it continues to rely on management in some form – usually grazing. Without some level of grazing, much of what makes it special would eventually be lost.
The Sheffield Moors masterplan is all about working together with local people, other visitors and land managing organisations to secure the future this amazing landscape - we’re now considering the comments and feedback from the public consultation, and how these will help improve the masterplan before it is finalised by Spring 2013.