In Scotland, the Nature Restoration Fund is supporting more than 170 projects to restore biodiversity. However, £5 million could be redirected from it to settle pay deals for local authority staff. A decision on whether to accept the latest wage offer is yet to be made.

A restricted zone has been declared across Norfolk and Suffolk for bluetongue virus. A separate control zone has been declared in Yorkshire following a confirmed case in the area. Given that there is currently a high risk of onward spread, UK farmers are being asked to be extra vigilant for clinical signs. Work is being done to prevent outbreaks of other diseases. £2.3 million has been committed to a new project that seeks to understand how avian influenza behaves in wild bird and mammal populations. Defra has also updated England's Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy, with a greater focus on vaccinations.

FOOD & FARMING

Bluetongue virus restricted zone declared
A bluetongue restricted zone has been declared across Norfolk and Suffolk after several cases of the virus were confirmed across the region. A 20km temporary control zone has also been declared near Withersea, East Riding of Yorkshire following a confirmed case in a previously unaffected area. At the time of writing, 16 premises in total had been affected. Essential moves of susceptible animals can take place without a licence within the restricted zone but they cannot be moved out of the zone without a specific licence. A general licence to move animals to designated abattoirs is also available.

Bluetongue virus is primarily transmitted by midge bites. Given the current temperatures and midge activity, there is a high risk of onward spread in the UK. Surveillance is underway to understand the extent of any undisclosed disease. Farmers should continue to monitor their animals frequently for clinical signs and report suspicion of disease immediately. Free testing remains available for animals moving from the highest risk counties to live elsewhere in Great Britain or to be sold at a market within a high-risk county where there will be buyers from outside the high-risk counties.

National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre launches
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), in collaboration with Innovate UK, has announced a £15 million investment to develop a National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). An additional £19.3 million of co-investment has also been committed to the centre by more than 100 UK and international stakeholders. The centre will see collaboration between the University of Leeds, the James Hutton Institute, Imperial College London and the University of Sheffield to support research into alternative proteins. The alternative proteins under development include those from plants such as cereals and legumes; fungi such as mushrooms; algae such as seaweed; insects and those from lab-grown cells or fermentation.

New wild bird sampling project
A new project seeks to understand how avian influenza behaves in wild bird and mammal populations. Funded by a new £2.3 million research consortium, the project will see scientists from the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA), the British Trust for Ornithology, RSPB, NatureScot and various academic institutions collect and analyse samples from a range of bird and mammal populations. It is hoped this sampling will fill the current gaps in understanding about the transmission of the disease within wild birds, as well as the wider risks to mammals. The most recent outbreaks of high pathogenicity avian influenza were the largest ever in the UK, devastating bird populations and also infecting numerous species of wild mammals around the world, including otters and foxes in Great Britain.

POLICY

bTB eradication strategy refreshed
Defra has updated the Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy in England. The aim is to reduce bTB instances, with the end goal of making England a bTB-free nation. The strategy was first introduced in 2014, but the new update aims to introduce new initiatives to work towards eradication, including:

• Conducting a new badger population survey. The last survey was carried out between 2011-2013. An updated survey will provide a more comprehensive understanding of badger distribution in England.
• Create a wildlife surveillance programme, which will provide an up-to-date understanding of the disease in badgers and other transmitters, such as deer.
• The creation of a “badger vaccination field force” which will increase badger vaccination rates and reduce the likeliness of transmission within the badger population. The effectiveness of badger vaccination will be monitored throughout the process to improve confidence in vaccinating badgers.
• Accelerating progress towards the development of a cattle vaccine, which would protect livestock.

Scotland: £25 million for affordable rural homes
Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, has announced the Scottish Government's plan for 2024-2025. The programme for government, published on 4 September, outlines several actions aimed at impacting the rural sector and its communities. One such action is the pledge to allocate £25 million to acquire affordable homes for key workers in rural and island communities. In a 2023 report, The Royal Society of Edinburgh identified labour shortages within the Scottish healthcare system as one of the biggest challenges facing rural healthcare. This funding may help address this by incentivising key workers to stay in rural areas, providing much-needed support and reducing rural depopulation rates. The programme also outlined plans to introduce a “rural visa pilot” to support rural employers across the public and private sectors in recruiting the people they need.

In addition to these measures, the government will review its landholdings to actively explore and consider ways in which it can contribute to and create additional opportunities for new entrants into farming. It will urge other public bodies with large land holdings to do the same. This initiative will build upon the existing "farming opportunities for new entrants programme" to further support and facilitate the entry of new farmers into the industry. Other key proposals include:

• The Natural Environment Bill, which aims to establish a framework of environmental targets for Scotland.
• The Heat in Buildings Bill, which would require some properties to meet a minimum EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) standard.
• The Climate Change (Emission Reductions Targets) Bill, which looks to replace interim emissions targets with five-year carbon budgets.
• A Crofting Bill to assist crofters in managing future climate challenges.

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL CAPITAL

First-ever Wildfire Advisor appointed
The government has appointed a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to improve the country's ability to handle wildfire risks. This new role is the first of its kind. While wildfires are less common in the UK compared to other parts of the world, 20,362 hectares of land were burned by wildfires in 2022, and 8,697 hectares the following year.

It has also been announced that £38 million will be invested in floods and drought research infrastructure. This will establish the first UK-wide network focused on understanding the impact of extreme weather conditions across the country. The network will concentrate on predicting where incidents are likely to occur, allowing for planning to minimise their impact. The project aims to decrease the impact of extreme weather on communities, potentially saving the economy an estimated £740 million a year in flood and drought-related costs.

UK at risk of missing biodiversity and nature targets
Nature in the UK is currently in a state of managed decline, according to the latest report from IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research). The report goes on to say that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, with barely half (53%) of its biodiversity intact. 41% of UK species have experienced a long-term strong or moderate decline in population since 1970. The report makes three major recommendations for halting the decline:

• Enhancing security; create a robust delivery plan for meeting environmental targets, invest in a fairer, more sustainable farming sector and create a national spatial strategy to manage competing land use demands.
• Improving fairness; create a planning system which shapes targeted nature restoration and implement targets for tackling pollution and restoring nature.
• Driving national renewal; open up opportunities for British people to enjoy nature by expanding public rights of access and give ordinary people a stake in nature’s recovery by encouraging public and community land ownership.

A vision for beaver reintroduction
The Wildlife Trusts has published its latest report, called “A vision for the return of beavers to England and Wales”. The report calls for an ambitious reintroduction strategy for beavers across the two nations, saying they can play an important role in flood prevention, filtering water and boosting wildlife habitat. As part of that strategy, it makes four further requests:

• Financial support for land managers who make more space for water.
• Funding support for Beaver Management Groups in England and Wales.
• Urgently confirm that all wild beaver populations can remain in England and Wales.
• Recognise beavers as a native species in Wales and provide them with full legal protection.

PROPERTY & DEVELOPMENT

New Homes Accelerator announced
A new group will work across government and with local councils to accelerate the buildout of housing schemes delayed by planning and red tape. The team from the Ministry of Housing and Homes England aims to work with government agencies, local planning departments and housebuilders to resolve specific local issues and deploy planning experts on the ground to work through blockages at each site. Government analysis suggests around 200 large sites have outline or detailed planning consent but are yet to begin construction on a total of 300,000 homes. It will be these sites that look likely to see the first interventions from the Accelerator.

BUSINESS & economy

Speculation around agricultural budget cuts
A source in the civil service has informed the press about plans to cut the farming budget by £100 million in the Autumn review. Allegedly, this is due to an underspend of £100 million annually from the current agricultural budget of £2.4 billion, as well as pressure from the chancellor to cut spending across all departments. Recent research by the NFU revealed a minimum budget of £4 billion would be needed to sustain agricultural funding in the UK. This latest news could therefore spark repercussions for the government within the sector, as the NFU stated farmer confidence is already at an “all-time low”.

Scotland: Nature funding diverted by local authorities
Money for nature restoration will be diverted into funding wage settlements in Scotland’s local authorities. Ministers have written to councils telling them to divert £5 million from the current year’s Nature Restoration Fund to settle pay deals. The Scottish government said the funds taken from the Nature Restoration Fund would be replaced in the future. Staff in 26 of Scotland’s 32 council areas had planned to walk out after rejecting two previous wage increase offers. Unions have suspended strike action to consider the latest offer which would see a 3.6% increase for all grades of staff and a rise of £1,292 for the lowest paid. The three unions have taken differing views on the offer, with Unison recommending rejection, Unite recommending acceptance and GMB making no recommendation.

Summary of SFI and capital grant updates
Defra has published a summary of recent updates to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). There are no major changes but some actions have seen updates in advice on how they should be carried out. To see the full update, visit the Defra website. Several new capital grant options are now available, designed to support agroforestry projects and moorland management. They are as follows:

• AF1: Plant an agroforestry woodland tree
• AF2: Plant an agroforestry fruit tree
• AF3: Supplement: Species diversity bonus
• PA4: Agroforestry plan
• PA5: Moorland mapping plan

For more information contact Georgina Sweeting from the Savills food and farming team.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust acquires site with corporate help
Skiddaw Forest, a 1,200-hectare site in the northern Lake District, has been acquired by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and it will be transformed into England’s highest nature reserve. The site encompasses various habitats, including temperate rainforest, which played a significant role in securing the necessary funding for the purchase. After an initial unsuccessful attempt to acquire Skiddaw, where the wildlife trust was outbid, Aviva stepped in and provided £5 million from its £38 million fund aimed at restoring temperate rainforests in the UK. The Cumbria Wildlife Trust aims to rewild the area and hopes that species such as hen harrier, black grouse and water voles will return and thrive within the reserve.

OTHER RURAL NEWS

And finally… Pollinator-safe street lights unveiled
Street lighting has been shown to interfere with the activities of nocturnal pollinators, such as moths. These insects often mistake artificial lighting for natural light sources like the moon and stars, resulting in them wasting energy and undertaking as much as 62% fewer pollination visits. In response, the city of Lahti, Finland, has initiated a pilot program to test pollinator-friendly street lighting along a 500-metre path in the Ritamäki nature reserve. These lights are specifically designed to filter out the blue light spectrum, which reduces the likelihood of diverting the pollinators. Lahti also hosted a ‘Night of the Pollinators’ on 7 September, encouraging residents to reduce outdoor lighting while the city will turn off lights in two areas near the harbour. Research from the University of York suggests that even partial light reductions can benefit pollinators by allowing them to focus on their tasks.

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