The Graziers Association given green light for Newport mountain bracken spraying (From Western Telegraph)

The Graziers Association given green light for Newport mountain bracken spraying

4:50pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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Controversial plans to spray chemicals on Carn Ingli are in the pipeline once again.

The Graziers Association, which manages land on Newport mountain, has been given the green light from the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) to spray certain areas with the herbicide Asulox from a plane this summer.

Graziers say the step is necessary to control bracken, which has swamped parts of the mountain.

The organisation’s secretary Gordon Thomas said: “We are hoping to do it in July, but have not made up our minds yet.

“The bracken is getting worse every year, it’s getting out of hand really.”

When first proposed in 2007, the idea met with fierce opposition and the original plans were withdrawn following opposition by local objectors, and the suggestion that children would be brought on to Carn Ingli when the helicopter approached.

Felicia Ruperti, who lives at Brithdir Mawr, on the slopes of Carn Ingli, is concerned about the impact on endangered species on the mountain, which is a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and the source of private water supplies.

She said: “There is no way they are going to confine the chemicals to the designated space if they are going to use a helicopter. The wind and air currents will also carry it.

“Our water comes from Carn Ingli, which we use for our crops and drinking.”

Members of the Brithdir Mawr community say they also have grazing rights on the common but have not been included in any consultation.

The graziers say they want to work with the community and address their concerns, and nothing has been finalised yet.

Mr Thomas added: “If people have concerns they are welcome to contact me to talk about them.”

Permission from CCW includes measures to ensure there are no adverse effects on SSSI features.

* WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PLANS?

Send an email to the editor at holly.robinson@ westerntelegraph.co.uk

Comments(5)

Brian John says...
8:43am Sun 14 Mar 10

Sadly, this decision by CCW is bound to cause great resentment locally, since it was made without any consultation with local residents whose interests will be affected. There was not even any notification of the decision to the local community -- the consent was quietly and secretly issued to Mr Thomas on 12th January, and was discovered purely by chance. CCW seems to think that it had "no option" other than to give consent, because Asulox has been used for spraying bracken on other SSSIs in Wales. But the Carningli SSSI is immensely complex ecologically, and there is no doubt that it will be damaged by the spraying of toxic chemicals from the air. The consent was also issued on the basis of a hopelessly inaccurate map submitted by the graziers -- it did not even have water sources close to the spraying areas marked on it. That does not inspire confidence. Carningli Common is a multi-use common -- very different from the bracken-covered trackless wastes of parts of mid-Wales. This consent should be revoked, and the community should be given the opportunity to discuss just how the common should be managed -- in the interests of ALL who use it.