Fears raised for future of dairy farming in the Dales

A family-run dairy farm which is thought to be among the country’s oldest has secured consent to protect watercourses from pollution by siting a huge slurry lagoon close to one of the most visited and historic attractions in the Yorkshire Dales.

A meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority saw several members sound the alarm over the future of dairy farming in the protected area due to the volume of regulations that needed to be followed to meet the aims of the park authority, the Environment Agency and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Members were told planning officers had concluded fourth generation Bolton Abbey farmer Stephen Bolland’s plan to comply with the Environment Agency’s demand for slurry to be stored, with a 50m x 29m grey storage bag in an excavated area was unacceptable.
Officers said the slurry lagoon would impose “a large and prominent unsightly feature” harming the pastoral character of the area, distracting and detracting from the setting of the internationally-important Bolton Abbey landscape.

They emphasised how the site was highly visible across the River Wharfe, from walks, historic seats or viewing points and roads in the Chatsworth Estate’s lands.

However, Mr Bolland told the meeting slurry storage bags were recommended by both Natural England and the Environment Agency and with a store of the proposed size, he would never have to spread slurry in winter, safeguarding the environment.
He said: “We farm close to the River Wharfe and protecting the river is something that is important to me and my family anyway, regardless of legislation requirements.”

Mr Bolland told members that his family had strived to run the farm in harmony with the tourism hotspot for generations and that he believed the impact of the slurry bag would be less severe than planners forecast as it would be screened by dry stone walls and trees.

He said: “As a family we appreciate the special qualities of the national park and the picturesque setting of Bolton Abbey.”
Authority member and Wharfedale councillor Richard Foster said given the number of heritage assets in the Bolton Abbey area it would be difficult to find a field on the applicant’s farm where the setting of a historic feature was not impacted.

He said it was likely the farm featured some of the first pastoral fields in the North of England and given its proximity to the ruins of the 12th century priory, was also among the most historic dairy farms in the country.

Mr Foster said: “To stop it on the grounds that it’s not meeting environmental targets I think is wrong.”

Upper Dales Councillor and authority member Yvonne Peacock told the meeting the Dales was seeing a decline in dairy farms due to “the rules and regulations, the hoops they’ve got to jump through… my own father who was a farmer would be horrified.”

Ahead of a majority of members voting to support Mr Bolland’s proposal, Wensleydale dairy farmer and authority member Allen Kirkbride added: “We’re going to lose dairy farming in the Dales if we’re not careful. They do need help from the national park to keep going.”