Agenda item

Report of the Superintedent of Burnham Beeches, Stoke Common & City Commons.

The Superintendent introduced an update report on the expansion of conservation grazing at Burnham Beeches. He noted that the scope of the project had changed since it was first introduced, and that the trial of invisible fencing had revealed the need to adopt a more organic approach to implementing conservation grazing at the site. Moreover, it had become apparent that there would always be a need to provide some element of permanent enclosure at the site for example to hold livestock in emergencies. He concluded by noting that some short-term solutions to issues identified within the report were needed in advance of more reliable technology becoming available.

The Chairman noted that, given the invisible fencing project had been a trial, it was inevitable that a degree of flexibility would be needed in how the project was approached during the course of its implementation. He added that the potential to commercialise the project existed, and that he would welcome the opportunity to consider proposals to do so in due course.

In response to a question from a Verderer, the Superintendent replied that conservation grazing in Trial Area 1 would not have a detrimental effect on the Scheduled Ancient Monument, as English Heritage had advised that any damage would be outweighed by the benefit of vegetation control.

In response to points raised by a Verderer that no alarm system was operating in the event of the circuit being broken and that there was potentially scope to fit animals with GPS collars to assist tracking, the Superintendent of Epping Forest replied that an alarm system was feasible but the poor mobile phone coverage in both the Forest and Burnham Beeches prevented the transmission of alarms alerts.  At Epping Forest GPS tracking had been added to selected collars allowing cattle to be located by a Smartphone application and the overall pattern of movement to be recorded.  Further work on a ‘geofence’ to monitor  straying cattle requires further development work.  The Deputy Chairman noted that should the technology come online, then the City Corporation should be prepared to embrace it.

RESOLVED, that City Corporation Members:

·         Approve the continued and expanding use of invisible fences at Burnham Beeches as technology allows;

·         Approve the retention of existing traditional stock and temporary electric fencing until such time as reliance on them can be satisfactorily reduced by use of invisible fences.