Moorland Plateau

Land Management

Protect natural rock outcrops, screes, stone bands and shake holes by preventing disturbance, infilling or stone removal. Where necessary fence vulnerable features against livestock.
Protect gills and ravines from livestock to encourage regeneration of semi-natural vegetation including scrub and open woodland.
Protect moorland flushes and pools – avoid drainage works, supplementary feeding and poaching by stock in their vicinity.
Conserve blanket bog – avoid drainage works or physical damage and review burning practices and stocking levels.
Restore damaged bogs and flushes by blocking grips and drains.

Manage heather moorland to sustain and enhance biodiversity by adopting appropriate stocking densities and burning regimes.
Restore heather moorland where it has been damaged by overgrazing by reducing stocking levels.
Manage semi-natural acid and calcareous grasslands to enhance biodiversity by maintaining appropriate stocking levels and controlling the spread of bracken and rush.
Manage access by encouraging the use of structured and seasonal paths to decrease pressure on fragile substrates and avoid disturbance to breeding birds.

Promote natural regeneration of semi-natural birch, oak-birch and juniper woodlands along gills and ravines and in the moorland fringe.

Protect archaeological features by avoiding overstocking and supplementary feeding on sensitive sites. Protect cairns, cup and ring marked stones and associated features from damage or removal.
Conserve and restore moorland structures like sheepfolds, bields and bothies.
Protect and conserve lead mining features – avoid physical damage, removal or infilling. Consolidate important structures and sensitively gate open shafts and adits taking archaeological advice.

Avoid the siting of tall structures such as masts, pylons and wind turbines in the Moorland Plateau landscape.
Where masts or pylons are needed site them in the moorland fringe close to existing buildings.
New buildings should only be developed in exceptional circumstances – they should be sited to minimise visibility, be built of natural materials, and where possible designed to look like traditional moorland features – bields, bothies or sheepfolds.

Avoid damage to sensitive natural landforms.
Avoid breaching skylines with extraction areas or storage mounds.
Restore quarry faces to naturalistic profiles using restoration blasting.
Restore quarries to semi-natural heathland, grassland, wetland and bare rock habitats using natural regeneration where possible.

Manage access by encouraging the use of structured and seasonal paths to decrease pressure on fragile substrates and avoid disturbance to breeding birds.
Facilities and infrastructure for tourism and recreation – paths, car parks, litter bins, signage and interpretation – should be provided only where absolutely necessary, and should be sensitively designed and low key to avoid exerting an urbanising influence on this wild and natural landscape.