Achieving Consensus
To allow a robust agri-environment scheme to be created, consensus between commoners and owners is a key objective. In most cases consensus can be achieved if the tips for negotiation and guiding principles for agri-environment schemes are followed (see the section on ‘Collaboration and Engagement’ of the toolkit).
The two key points are to allow enough time and to consult with all relevant parties as early as possible. This is particularly important if some parties who could disrupt an agreement are going to be left out.
Who should be included in the agreement?
Deciding who should be involved in the agri-environment schemes can be a challenge. Click below for advice on how to do this.
Guiding Principles
For more advice about negotiating with commoners about agri-environment schemes, click below.
Dividing the Money
Working out how to split the money from schemes can be challenging. Click below for some suggestions as to how to best do this:
Specific issues
Dual registration: Most commoners associations would not allow members to use or claim ES payments on neighbouring commons (as a result of having dual registered rights) even if the registers legally give you rights to graze on both commons simultaneously.
Off-wintering supplements: The HLS moorland restoration option require 50% of the ewes and all the hoggs to be off-wintered as part of the basic payment. A supplement is then paid for additional off-wintering. This can usually be paid on a sliding scale so complete offwintering is not required. Different methods are used to calculate the off-wintering payment but the difference between the average summer and winter levels is advised.
Prescriptive rights: The legal position is untested as to whether rights obtained through prescription i.e. thirty years usage, will be able to be registered under the Common Act 2006. Where the failure to register was genuine and continued usage has been allowed knowingly by the other graziers, such rights are often included in agreements.
The commons supplement: HLS agreements may offer a supplement of £10/ha in the first year (possibly more than one year depending on circumstances) and the UELS pays £5/ha per year (where SDA moorland agreements involve two or more graziers). These are for the additional costs of negotiating and running agreements on common land. Under UELS, the supplement is based on a compulsory set of requirements including the establishment of an internal agreement a live register to be maintained and all flocks to be hefted (hardy native breeds and self-maintained flocks). It may be advisable for this supplement not to be distributed to the parties initially but retained to meet the costs of the association. If, after some years, excess funds have been accumulated, they can they be distributed.
The owner’s interest: In some cases owners of common land seek a proportion of the agri-environment scheme payment. Where the owner is carrying out a specific task required by a scheme then it is appropriate they receive a payment for that e.g. burning management, woodland management. In other cases where there is no active management or where the payment is targeted towards active grazing then the payments should be made to those delivering the scheme requirements, in most cases the active graziers. On a grouse moor the owner may receive long term financial gains through the increase in grouse numbers as a result of a scheme and is less interested in short term cash payments from a scheme. By not claiming scheme money they may be able to negotiate management that enhances this objective.