Natural England and the Princes Countryside Trust are working closely with farmers, the Environment Agency and government to help deal with the impact of severe flooding on lives, farm businesses and wildlife in Cumbria and elsewhere.
To help those affected Natural England is temporarily lifting all the requirements that normally apply to Environmental Stewardship agreements and protected sites, so that farmers and others are better able to deal with the problems caused by this week’s terrible weather.
Farmers and land managers with Environmental Stewardship agreements or protected sites can get advice by calling Natural England staff on 0300 060 0011.
Simon Humphries, Natural England's Area Manager for Cumbria says:
“Farmers are facing some incredibly difficult conditions on their land due to the recent floods and we want to provide help and advice, wherever we can, to support the farming community.
“We hope that this temporary lifting of restrictions will go some way to helping farmers at this difficult time.
“Our priority is always public safety and we urge people to keep up to date with the latest situation by paying close attention to advice from the Environment Agency.”
The Prince’s Countryside Fund announced today that it is releasing £40,000 from its Emergency Fund to support rural communities, farmers and businesses affected by the wide scale destruction as a result of the unprecedented and devastating flooding affecting large parts of Northern England and Scotland.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund will work alongside The Prince’s Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG), an initiative of Business in the Community to support the communities affected and assist in their recovery longer-term. A major fundraising appeal has been announced to assist the flood damaged communities to get back on their feet.
In total £30,000 will be donated to fund the Farming Help Charities to help farmers and rural communities in the area and to provide immediate financial assistance. The Cumbria Community Foundation will receive £10,000 who will be working with voluntary organisations to provide initial hardship grants of £500 to local people affected by the floods.
Claire Saunders, Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said, “The full impact of the floods has yet to be realised, but many farms have lost livestock drowned in the flood waters, or been affected by landslips, while feed and equipment has been lost. The repairs to bridges, roads and dry stone walls will be an enormous job.
“This is a catastrophic blow to rural businesses which are already hard pressed. Many will be relying on Christmas trade to turn a profit and we need to act swiftly to help them get back on track. We’re urging farms and rural businesses in trouble to ask for help and contact the Farming Help charities and the Cumbria Community Foundation for advice and assistance.”
Mike Still, Chairman of BERG “Flooding causes huge devastation to property, land and the morale of communities, and once flood waters recede and media attention wanes, people still need help to recover. We want to help hard hit rural communities get back on their feet and open for business."
