Sustainable catchment management
We are now three years into our ambitious five-year plan called SCaMP (Sustainable Catchment Management Programme) which is focused on the catchment land that we own in Bowland and the Peak District. The aim of this £10 million programme is to improve the condition of the land, the wildlife habitats on it and the quality of the raw water that runs off it into our reservoirs.
We are putting in place farm plans which lay-out all of the work required to ensure that we move to a farming system that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. The plans are done, most of the government grants are secured and work on the ground is now underway.
To date, we have planted more than 250 hectares of woodland, blocked more than 30 kilometres of moorland drains, started to re-vegetate in excess of 60 hectares of bare peat and built or improved six farm buildings. Our improvements have meant that around 80 per cent of the SSSI land that was in the worst condition has now been brought into favourable or recovering position. Please see our performance table