Public Goods Checklist

Written By Rozzie Weir

In preparation for a new agreement you’ll need to take some time to identify and consider the condition of the range of public goods on your Common. This includes the benefits resulting from farming and traditional sporting activities but adds in all the other benefits (for a wide range of people) that the Common offers too.

These are the ‘Public goods’ found on the Common. Things like providing a place for wildlife to thrive, a destination for visitors and local communities to enjoy, a store for carbon and clean water, and a home for important heritage.

This ties in with what we know from DEFRA about the new ELM scheme. The aim of ELM is to pay Commoners and owners for delivering public goods. These are set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan under the following headings.

 

Mapping the Public Goods on your Common

Depending on your preferences you’ll probably find it easier to have a map of the Common that you can record your observations on – printed or digital, whatever works best for you.

Use the map as a prompt to jot down your ideas focusing on two main questions:

  • What and where are the public goods on the Common?

  • What condition do you think are they in?

 

Here’s a checklist/prompts to get you started – there might be other things that are not on the list, which you’d like to add.

 

Wildlife and habitats

  • What birds and other wildlife do you see on the Common? Where do you see them? When do you seen them?

  • Are there any special plants or habitats on the Common? Where are they?

  • Are there areas of scrub, bracken and gorse? have they got bigger or smaller?

  • Is there any woodland? Areas of tree planting/ natural regeneration? How’s itdeveloping??

  • Where’s the best grazing, where are the harder areas to graze and get livestock to heft out onto?

  • Are there any areas of erosion/peat degradation?

  • Are there areas where the habitat/vegetation is degraded?

 

Grazing

  • Where are the hefts and who do they belong to? Are these formalised?

  • How many stock graze on each heft?

  • Do the animals stick to their hefts?

  • Do you get much stock ingress from other commons. If so where do they come from?

  • Are there areas of under grazing or overgrazing? Where are they?

  • Where are the key gathering points where livestock go on and off the common?

  • Are there any handling facilities on the Common? If so, where are they and what condition are they in?

  • What about boundaries? What condition are they in?

 

Clean and plentiful water

  • Where are the streams? Are they clean?

  • Where do the animals tend to drink?

  • Are there any small tarns or pools? What condition are they in?

  • Are there any hydro schemes/potential for?

  • Are there areas that flood?

 

Archaeology and heritage

  • Where are the archaeological or heritage features?

  • What condition are they in?

  • Are they visible and is there any public interpretation?

 

Landscape value

  • What do you think local people and visitors really value about the Common?

  • Where are the best views?

  • What’s special about the landscape?

  • Are there any events or traditions associated with the Common?

  • Is there anything that detracts from the landscape on the common? For example illegal tracks? Or parking?

 

Visitors

  • Where do visitors tend to go on the Common?

  • Are there areas that are under pressure from visitors – walkers? Cyclists? Off roaders?

  • What’s the signage like for visitors?

  • What are the footpaths like?

  • Are there areas that get damaged? Where are they?

  • Are there linear routes that get used that are not footpaths?

 

Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change

  •  Are there areas important for carbon storage and sequestration?

  • Are there areas for potential peat restoration work for carbon storage and sequestration?

  • Are there areas to increase carbon sequestration?

  • Are there areas of erosion where CO² is released into the atmosphere?

  • Are there ways to reduce emissions from livestock?

  • Are there ways to reduce fossil fuel usage from farm vehicles while managing the common?

 

Reduction in and protection from environmental hazards

  • Are there areas where holding water could make a difference to reducing flooding downstream?

  • Are there areas where wildfires are a risk?

 

To download this checklist as a word document, click below.

Rozzie Weir
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