Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director for Environment.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director for Environment on the Conservation Grazing Action Plan for Epping Forest and its Buffer Lands.

RESOLVED-That: -

     I.        The eight key aims of the Conservation Grazing Action Plan 2022- 2027, subject to future liaison with commoners in 2022 be approved; and

    II.        That the option of winter grazing in selected parts of the Forest wood-pasture habitats for enhanced biodiversity conservation, subject to feedback from liaison with commoners and subject to Section 5(2) of the City of London (Open Spaces) Act 2018 be approved; and

  III.        That authority be delegated to the Superintendent of Epping Forest (in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Epping Forest and Commons Committee) authority to consider any liaison feedback from commoners and to determine whether the key aims and winter grazing should be approved as set out in the above recommendations having regard to any such feedback and further delegate to the Superintendent of Epping Forest (in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee), in each year winter grazing is proposed, authority to take reasonable steps to ascertain the extent to which relevant rights of common are likely to be exercised in that year and to ensure a sufficient area of land is maintained so as to allow for the exercise of those rights to the extent they are ascertained (in accordance with S.5(2) City of London (Open Spaces) Act 2018); and

  IV.        That the expansion of the GPS management under the Action Plan, as resources allow, to provide collars for each animal in the herd to allow for fenceless grazing by any animal across the Buffer Lands and Forest be approved.