From Phil M

Thursday, 3 September 2010

Do you mean the smallholding field opposite Dodnaze that is being fenced in to keep animals?

The posts in the field are to protect the trees that they have planted. Give it a year or so and they will blend right in…

From Sutti N

Thursday, 3 September 2009

So thats what you call it. Well I hope it doesn’t catch on then. Do these smallholders know anything about local farming? There is nothing but barbed wire and gates and more gates up to Burlees? Lane. What happened to rebuilding the drystone walls?

There is a rusting tractor and other machines. (Is that what the tin shed was urgently built for?) Walk on Burlees Lane and you come across more to the right hand side. There could be an excuse if these were working farms??

Lets tidy up Hebden Bridge if we want the tourists.

From Andy M

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Drystone wall are very expensive to build and maintain and without plentiful farm labour farmers are onky likley to maintain them to a high standard if paid ie through environmental schemes such as Environmental Stewrardship. However schemes like this are more difficult to get into the smaller the farm so smallholders probably wouldn’t be eligible.

Fences are part of the agricultural landscape and somewhere a balance has to be made between ‘tidying-up’ the countryside, if that’s what you want, and livelihoods. It may be an issue for planning at some point too.

From Sutti N

Friday, 4 September 2009

I understand that drystone walling might be expensive, but most local farmers can do their own walling and possibly have an helper learning the trade. Thats why I wouldn’t ask a farmer to represent me in court.

This can start a whole new debate. We should all pay a decent price for local food from local traders. Not selling local land for inflated prices to people that want to play at being farmers and making our landscape, yes our landscape an eyesore.

I can name a couple of smallholdings that are run to produce local food and are kept the same as they always were. It is a pleasure to walk by them.

As for going to Calderdale planning, in my experience it’s a joke.

From Rev Tony Buglass

Saturday, 5 September 2009

Building dry stone walls will do nothing to help our carbon footprint. Planting trees will.

Lots more trees and hedges, please.

From Andy M

Monday, 7 September 2009

But Tony — hegdes are not part of our traditional landscape around here. But perhaps for the greater good?

Trees? Well, it depends on what historical period you take as your benchmark!

I’d like to see kilometres more trees fringing the moors but that’s a personal preference and probably not a general view?

From Rev Tony Buglass

Monday, 7 September 2009

Fair comment — but I wasn’t thinking of traditional landscape, more of replacing the trees which have been lost from all sorts of places, and aiming for a net increase in trees to gobble up CO₂.

I suppose what we need around here are lots of small clumps of trees, which will lean with the howling moorland winds and give a real Wuthering Heights look to the landscape. Any trees which could survive on the moorland deserve a chance!

From Catherine G

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

Theres enough trees round Hebden just look out of your windows or from any street corner. If you want to plant more trees how about replacing lost rainforests.

From John Knapp

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

If the traditional landscape is seen as one of dry stone walls, it may surprise to learn that many of these only appeared in the 19th Century and many remnants of old Hawthorn hedges still exist. If tree and hedge planting is seen as a good idea, I think we need to remember the words from a well known song, “it ain’t necessarily so”.

Most of our local woodlands are suffering from a historic lack of management, the resultant shade prevents wildlife from flourishing and a varied understorey from regenerating. All the vast acreage of newly planted trees will end in the same way unless there is some intervention planned. The ancient hedgerow remnants are often not protected from stock and are being eaten and bark stripped to death (see my Horses and Trees item on Hebweb). Unless these problems are addressed, I see no point in adding to the present neglect by keep planting more.

Don’t forget, grass also is very efficient at storing carbon in the soil and can be totally killed off by the shade from these unmanaged plantations. This releases the stored carbon, increases run-off of water and erodes soil into our rivers, thus contributing to flood risk.

There is nothing wrong with planting trees but let’s also realise that many need cutting down in order to make our woods pleasant places to visit and be the butterfly, bird and plant haven they should be. Coppicing and pollarding within our woods could provide work for many craftspeople and provide multiple benefits for the environment. Bow saws and tree planting spades should go hand in hand.

From Sutti N

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

Yes Tony I for one would like more trees, but a lot of thought must go into the planting. These trees might look pretty to our generation, but a hazard to the next.

We as a whole are a very selfish generation, wouldn’t it be refreshing to think how our actions today could effect others tomorrow?

As for hedges it reminds me of an old man I once talked to. He said Hebden is a nice place to live, so why do people come here to visit, fall in love, move here then want to change it and make it more like home where they came from?

Hedges need constant maintanence, something our farmers are not equipped to deal with, never mind our council.

A drystone wall, well built will last a lifetime, a craft dyeing with the farmer.

So back to my first message, it does worry me that miles upon miles of wire fencing, barbed wire and fencig posts are littering our fields. There has even been traffic management equipment guiding a few pedestrians through a field. Does this belong here?

From Phil M

Tuesday, 8 September 2009

Sutti, only the first field (as you come to Dodnaze) is the smallholders. They are just starting to fence it in but, as I said, they have offset this by planing quite a few trees… gawd knows what animals they are gonna keep. I noticed the fencing has 3 strings of barbwire on the top of it… keep buffalo in that will!!

The fields moving more towards Burlees lane are being worked on by someone else, seems to be horse-based but I don’t know for sure (just what I can make out when wandering by). They do seem to have ‘added’ a big wooden shed and an access road tho… see what transpires I guess…

From Sutti N

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

I have now given it nearly 11 months before I look at the fields (re phil m). What a mess, it looks like the Libcons way to empty the prisons. There is even a barbed wire holding penn for the dangerous ones.

If you look across the valley above Fairfield a farm has been renovated, what would it look like if it had been treated like the fields above Birchcliffe??

It looks like a well run farm in a place called Hebden Bridge, it has kept our identity.

After reading reports about a wind turbine and the loss of a fine view, I feel that there are double standards with our council. They will let wire fences, gates, barbed wire and more gates go up and ruin the views, but maybe there wasn’t a council estate looking over where the wind turbine was going?

So come on councilors stop this mess spreading before it ruins Hebden.

From Robyn Heap

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Sounds to me you have too much time on your hands. You cannot plant trees without the protection of fences to stop livestock eating them. I much rather have a wind turbine than a Power Station. If you feel so strong about the mess and with all the time you have, why do you not ask the owners can you tidy up for them?

From Sutti N

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Why do you think I have too much time on my hands Robyn?
I’m not sure you understand what I’m saying.

I don’t mind wind turbines I actually think every new house built should have either a small wind turbine or solar pannels.

I also think all the fields should be producing something either livestock or arable. Then people like myself can buy as much local food as possible.

What I can’t understand is people with money buying land at inflated prices (far beyond what local farmers can afford) then playing at being a farmer and making a mess. It will not attract tourists to come for walks, and spending in the shops, it doesn’t put food in the shops because it isn’t financially viable because of the price of the land, and I’m sure it doesn’t help people like yourself Robyn, real farmers want land at the right price. Let’s support real farmers. I’m sorry but I’m not a fan of fields full of horses either, but it’s better than no animals at all.

From Phil M

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Well Sutti, I too have given it a year or so and I have to agree with you, all I seem to see is more barbwire, double barbwire and more barbwire… as I said, it must be for buffalo I reckon…

From Paul D

Thursday, 29 July 2010

It could be to keep things out rather than keep things in. If the posts are on the inside (i.e. on their property) then the fence is facing outwards, that is, it’s protecting the land not preventing any livestock from leaving it. If they’re on the other side then it’s to keep the stock in, but three strands is for a very long neck — I’m thinking it’s for camels or growing cannabis — I’ll check the direction.