Cumbrian commoners set to lose £238,000 in BPS payments due to re-mapping

“It is vital all commoners’ associations who have received notification from the RPA that the eligible area of their common has changed check the RPA has mapped their fells correctly.

“If they do not agree, they need to challenge significant inaccuracies.”

Areas with hard tracks, rivers, streams, rocky outcrops and scree, quarries and mine workings or dense bracken and ungrazeable scrub are excluded from payment.

But the FCC has warned using satellite images which are then interpreted by RPA contractors is ‘not a fool proof’ mapping method and ‘errors can creep in’.

“Shadows on satellite images can make steep ground appear ungrazeable and heather is often confused with ungrazeable scrub,” said the group in a statement.

Errors

“As the RPA does not have sufficient staff to walk the common and inspect the land, these errors remain in the system.”

The RPA has not yet produced any guidelines for how commoners should challenge the results of the latest round of mapping, or explained what evidence is needed for a correction.

The FCC has called on the agency to pick up anomalies and check them, before requiring commoners to waste time and money proving why the mapping is wrong.

A Defra spokesperson said they were working with commoners’ associations to ensure all eligible areas are included.

“Inspection data is taken from a range of sources, including remote satellite, and there are robust assurance processes in place to validate inspection results,” the spokesman added.

“Where images taken are unclear or masked by shadows or other land features, field visits are made to conduct a physical inspection on the ground.”