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    • Grants

      Free advisory services available to farmers in the Portsmouth area

      The Downs & Harbour Clean Water Partnership has a budget to provide a number of free services to farmers with land near Portsmouth Water drinking water boreholes and or have land adjacent to watercourses. For more information see their website Downs & Harbour Cleanwater Partnership

      Services offered include

      • Nutrient management plans
      • Manure management plans
      • Soil testing/analysis & soil nitrigen analysis
      • Manure / slurry analysis

      Payments for Ecosystem Services aimed at reducing nitrates in ground water and capital grants are also available from the Clean Water Partnership  

      The Aquifer Partnership TAP

      Research and advice is also available to farmers in the area around Lewes and above Brighton to reduce nitrate levels in the ground water.  Capital grants are available to farmers from Southern Water to help reduce the risk of pollution.

      Local Enterprise Partnerships

      Advice and support is available to South Downs businesses from the two LEP Growth Hubs that cover the National Park 

      Enterprise M3 covering East Hampshire and Winchester Districts 

      Coast to Capital covering West Sussex and Greater Brighton

       

      NPA Promotes Responsible Dog Walking

      The National Park Authority has recently released a series of videos aimed at promoting responsible dog walking within the National Park. There are three that may be of particular interest to landowners who have issues with dog walkers:

      Main animation           Livestock               Dog mess             Other topics include ground nesting birds and MOD land

      Printed leaflets, window stickers and dog passports are also available to any landowners should they wish to hand them out to people walking on their land. 

      The following useful leaflets can be ordered from the Park Authority 

      • South Downs Countryside Code 
      • Responsible dog walker

       

      Livestock Worrying Reports

      Over 15,000 sheep a year are being killed by dogs at a cost to farmers of around £1.3 m, and this has been extensively analysed in the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW).  The restrictions placed by the law have also been analysed in a Police report.  
       
      The APGAW Report looks at the available evidence, current legal framework, responsible dog ownership and good practice examples.  It makes a number of recommendations including the improved recording of incidences of livestock deaths/ worrying; specific changes to relevant legislation; the introduction of alternative locations for dog walking that are away from livestock; the review of the sentencing by the Ministry of Justice to act as more of a deterrent. 
       
      The Police report is based on data collected by 5 Police Forces including Sussex Police between March 2013 and September 2017.  During that time there were 1669 reported incidents of livestock worrying, 1866 livestock were reported killed and 1614 livestock report injured. 92 dogs were shot as a result. 
       
      The reports will form the basis for discussions at the 2018 SheepWatch Conference on 22nd June which aims to find some clear shared messages, and locate channels in which to communicate to the general public across the country 

       

      Events

      South Downs National Park Authority - Farmer and landowner breakfasts 

      Many Landowners attended the three meetings which took place in early February across the Park. 

      Presentations from this and previous years breakfast meetings can be seen by clicking on the appropriate link below:

      2019: Presentations, Woodland Trust Hedgerow planting Scheme

      2018: Scheduled Monuments; Future Agri-environment; Take the Lead

      2017: Woodlands, CSS Facilitation Fund, SD Farmland Bird Initiative, Countryside Stewardship, Duchy Future Farming Programme 

      2016:  LEADER, Countryside Stewardship, Cluster Groups,  Local Plan,  Permitted Development

      2015:   Leader     Countryside Stewardship      Shared Identity     Sussex Badger Vaccination Programme

       

       

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    • South Downs Land Managers


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