Cattle Grazing on Epping Forest - a consultation document on future conservation management

Cattle Grazing on Epping Forest

                       a consultation document
            on future conservation management

“So fundamental to the saving
                                                                       of Epping Forest had been
                                                                       these grazing rights that they
                                                                       are protected explicitly by the
                                                                       Epping Forest Act of 1878”

Some history
Grazing by cattle has taken place continuously in Epping Forest for well over a thousand years.
For 800 years after the Norman Conquest common rights of grazing, along with wood-cutting,
provided Epping Forest’s cultural and economic heartbeat. This created the unique and very
special landscape and wildlife diversity of Epping Forest.

Forest survival and grazing rights
The agricultural and industrial revolutions swept away much of the countryside around London.
Epping Forest survived because of the strength of its local community in defending their rights.
Commoners living in 18 parishes, as far apart as Roydon to the north and Dagenham to the east,
had a right to graze their livestock across the whole Forest.

These rights were crucial in preventing the slicing up of the Forest for development. The
Corporation of London, which had common rights because it owned land at the City of London
Cemetery, spearheaded a long legal battle to save the Forest. It won and in 1874 ‘inclosure’ of
Forest land for private development, which prevented commoners freely grazing their cattle, was
declared unlawful. In 1878 the Corporation took on the role of Conservators of Epping Forest.

Recent times
Grazing by free-ranging cattle continued throughout the 20th century but on a declining trend until the
BSE crisis halted it in 1996. Fortunately, commoners’ grazing survived on a small heathland area of
the Forest which had been temporarily fenced by the Conservators.

A further partnership with this commoner provided the basis for a conservation herd that was re-
established in 2002, with a herdsman to keep the cattle within an area between High Beach and
Chingford. This herd of English Longhorns has since grown allowing grazing of other areas by
small groups of cows. However, in many parts of the Forest it is not possible to graze in present
circumstances.

Grazing promotes all-year-round flowering and grasslands richly-studded
with the yellows, pinks and blues of small flowers

The importance of continuing to graze
As grazing has declined on the Forest the habitat variety has decreased. Mowing by machine
alone, whilst important in preventing scrub taking over grassland, cannot provide the complex
mosaic of habitats which make up a pasture-woodland like Epping Forest. Nor can machinery
provide the pockets of bare ground that cattle hooves create into which flowers seed, essential for
maintaining diversity and preventing the dominance of grasses.

With the decline in grazing, many Forest flowers have been lost or drastically reduced in numbers.
Grazing stimulates more flowering and helps spread any surviving species and can greatly
increase plant diversity.

Insect biodiversity too needs grazing. Regularly-cut hay meadows support few insects compared
with extensively-grazed pastures. Butterflies and bumblebees, for example, need the extra flowers
and all-year-round flowering that grazing promotes.

Pasture-woodland
Pasture-woodland, or wood-pasture, is an ancient shared use of the land by a local community,
combining the grazing of domestic animals with the cutting of wood. Pasture-woodlands are
amongst our most attractive European landscapes and many of the best survive in Britain,
including most famously the New Forest.

These landscapes contain an immense variety of wildlife created by a mosaic of conditions. No
pasture-woodland is the same and at Epping Forest the variety we are seeking to safeguard
includes ancient open-grown trees, dense groves of smaller pollards and holly, abundant flowering
shrubs, glades with bramble and briar patches, heaths full of purple heather and grassy plains
peppered with ant-hills. This variety, together with strong links to our ancient cultural heritage, make
surviving pasture-woodlands like Epping Forest the richest terrestrial sites for biodiversity in Britain
and internationally important for conservation.

cattle and horse-rider
  at Fairmead

                                                          Cattle grazing at Hollow Ponds,
                                                          Leyton Flats in 1979

                                                        Chingford 1990 – commoners’ cattle
                                                        outside the King’s Head pub

                                                                             Beware Cattle Sign at Rangers
                                                                             Road, Chingford – a distinctive
                                                                             sign to alert drivers

Managing grazing
The Conservators are fully committed to protecting the commoners’ ancient rights and believe that
grazing is of vital importance to preserving the Forest’s special character and wildlife. We are keen
to know your views on how such grazing should best be integrated with recreational interests and
how it might help to generate new benefits, such as a reduction in the impacts of traffic.

Cows and cars and people
Although cows and cars and people co-existed in Epping Forest throughout the 20th Century, the
past thirty years have seen a very significant increase in the number of vehicles on the roads. These
ever busier roads have effectively fragmented the Forest, disturbing and damaging wildlife and
reducing visitors’ enjoyment. For the Conservators and commoners there are now significant safety
concerns in allowing the cattle to wander freely without extra controls.

Road signs and traffic-calming
Road signage in combination with other road warning features can alert drivers to the presence of
cattle and ensure they slow down and take care. However highways regulations may require
additional street lighting for such an approach.

Cattle grids
The Forest already has several major cattle grids put in by the highways authorities to guard the North
Circular and M11 extension. Additional grids used at key points on minor roads would prevent cattle
straying too far away from the Forest and would reduce the need for fencing whilst slowing traffic
speeds. Any new grids would require consultation with local communities and the highways
authorities.

Temporary electric fencing
Since the re-introduction of the cattle in 2002 the commoner has used temporary electric fencing to
create small areas for short-term grazing and to hold the cattle at night. These areas have had
gates to allow access through them which have been well used by walkers on sites like Chingford
Plain, for example.

                                                                        cattle with fencing at Fairmead

Permanent fencing
Another control measure we have used since 2002 has been permanent wooden fencing. This has
been used along a 2km stretch of the A104 at Fairmead where it forms a linear barrier, helping to
protect a 300-hectare area of grazing without the need to enclose it. Further fencing like this along
the faster roads could allow safe grazing across larger areas of the Forest. The rights to open
access for visitors to Epping Forest would not change. Should fencing be installed, as it is currently
along the A104, there would be frequent access points, including gates for walkers, pushchairs,
wheelchairs, horse riders and cyclists. Such fencing would be seen only as part of a wider
strategy, along with other controls like special road crossing-points, aimed at creating large ‘safe
zones’ for grazing and a more tranquil environment for Forest users.

Controls
To restore grazing sustainably across the whole of the Forest cars would have to be slowed down and
cows have to be prevented from getting onto the busiest roads. There is no one simple solution.
Controls could include a combination of permanent fencing in selected places, new cattle grids,
improved road signage, greater use of temporary electric fencing, changes in road speeds, special
road crossing points for people and animals, and road closures.

Learning the lessons
In identifying possible solutions we have looked at how other important conservation and
recreational areas have tackled similar problems, including the New Forest, the Malvern Hills and
Ashdown Forest. All of the potential solutions mentioned above have been used, in one way or
another, across these sites.

                                                   Roads throughout the Forest are
                                                   getting busier and fragmenting the
                                                   Forest for cattle, wildlife and people

Slower traffic speeds
We would like to see slower traffic speeds on both the major and minor roads across the Forest.
The accident rates involving people are relatively high on Forest roads. There are many deer
casualties too. Therefore, lowering traffic speeds would not only help the commoners to graze cattle
but would benefit all Forest users and wildlife, making roads safer and easier to cross. For the past
eighteen months we have been working with Essex County Council on the production of a Forest
Transport Strategy as part of the Essex Local Transport Plan.

How many cows and which areas would they graze?
In the very long-term we would hope that commoners’ cattle-grazing could be safely re-established
across the Forest, from Wanstead in the south to Epping in the north. This would require a
significant increase in cattle numbers back to earlier levels. However, this process could take 10 -
25 years. In the immediate future the 50 or so cattle grazing the Forest at the moment is an
effective number. As in recent years it would be best for the cattle to be split into small herds of no
more than 12 - 20 cows on an area. This works well for both conservation and visitors. To achieve
this and separate the cattle across the Forest some of the control measures described would be
necessary.

What do others think?
To try and help you understand the issues we have invited 6 individuals or organisations to
express their points of view on how grazing should be managed on the Forest.

A commoner’s view
I personally believe that the commoner’s rights must be protected for future generations. Therefore, it is paramount
that cattle are allowed to graze as freely as possible in the Forest. Obviously due to the vast expansion of the local
population as well as regular visitors to the Forest, traffic is a major problem. With this in mind there would have to
be more alterations made to roads surrounding the forest, major and minor. I believe that the best way to go about
this is to reduce speed limits on more of the minor roads and fence the boundaries of major roads. You could also
introduce more calming measures to these roads.
I would suggest that overall cattle should be spread over a larger area, obviously made secure from the road e.g.
wooden fencing. Not only will this improve the security of the cattle but it will also give the public better access and
appear that the cattle are roaming free. Grazing cattle is an environmentally-friendly way of achieving the equilibrium
of the ecosystem and maintaining its stability. I have clearly observed an increase in the diversity of plant and
wildlife on our own land and Corporation of London Forest buffer lands that we have been grazing.
The commoner’s rights must be protected for everyone’s benefit. Cattle, while roaming free, will help to control the
growth of the Forest vegetation without the need to use expensive machinery... allowing everyone to enjoy the
Forest’s beauty for the future.

EFRA
The Epping Forest Riders Association (EFRA) is the representative body for horse riders throughout the Forest and
Buffer Lands. The Association is broadly in favour of the extension of cattle grazing and recognises the ecological
benefit that the cattle have with respect to the management of the Forest and appreciates that cattle do help to open
up the Forest thus enabling riders and other users to gain access to parts that would otherwise be inaccessible.
However, given the above, the Association feels that the following points require consideration:
   (a) how would the cattle be protected from speeding traffic on the minor roads
   (b) how would they be prevented from wandering onto the busier roads
   (c) if more barriers are constructed, what facilities would be incorporated to enable horse riders to negotiate
       them easily and safely
   (d) the possible danger of out-of-control horses getting trapped in cattle grids
   (e) riders feeling intimidated by the size and numbers of the cattle.
It is appreciated that the return of the cattle to more of the Forest has great historical significance and many
members of this Association have voiced their approval for the extension even though many of the riders have no
experience of the extensive grazing pre-BSE. The views of riders and others on this particular point would be of
interest to see.

English Nature
English Nature is the Government agency that champions the conservation of wildlife and
geology throughout England.
Epping Forest has provided a fantastic resource for past and recent generations. Its unique character and wildlife
have been shaped and maintained for hundreds of years by a wood-pasture regime of pollarding and low-intensity
grazing.
However, this traditional management has declined in recent years and the Forest has suffered a parallel decline in
wildlife as a result. Unless a comparable management regime is reinstated, this decline will continue.
The extraordinary diversity of the Forest is reflected in its multiple conservation designations at national and
international level and its unique legal status under the Epping Forest Act. These place obligations on this
generation to take steps to ensure that this and future generations are able to enjoy and experience this national
treasure. We are confident that the Corporation of London has the skills and the commitment to manage extensive
grazing so as to restore and maintain the Forest’s character in ways that are sympathetic to modern circumstances
and sensitive to a wide range of interests and users of the Forest.

Friends of Epping Forest
We are not opposed to grazing of commoner’s cattle as such. However we are very concerned and apprehensive
about the management implications of the planned expansion of grazing.
One measure proposed, the enclosure and division of the Forest into compartments by permanent fencing is, we
believe, inconsistent with the provisions of the Epping Forest Act 1878. These require the Conservators to keep the
Forest open and unenclosed for the recreation and enjoyment of the people and to preserve, as far as possible, the
natural aspect. The Countryside Agency advises against electric fencing in public places and we consider that it
restricts public access and is intimidating. We are opposed to proposals for its wider use. The Forest has never been
fenced and legally enclosed and our experience is that the people who use the Forest prefer it ‘open and
unenclosed’.
We are greatly concerned about the extent of the clearance of undergrowth, bushes and trees from former woodland to
provide for an expanded grazing regime. ‘Wood pasture’, the term for this form of management, would transform the
woodland of the Forest into a ‘savannah’ type woodland – open grassland with scattered trees – a totally different forest!
We note with concern that the Forest Management Plan designates all areas of the Forest containing pollard trees as
‘wood-pasture’.
We have not seen any convincing evidence to support the level of ecological success claimed in Epping Forest for
the present grazing. We believe that future management should concentrate on ensuring a forest landscape, that fits
with current and future demands, not some illusory concept of how the Forest may have looked in the past.
Further information from our web-site: www.friendsofeppingforest.org.uk
For an information sheet contact
The Secretary, 9 Frederica Road, Chingford E4 7AL
Phone 020 8529 8594

Open Spaces Society
The Open Spaces Society campaigns to protect common land and public rights of way.
The society whilst not opposed to the grazing of commoners cattle in accordance with their rights is concerned
about the implications of the planned expansion of grazing. We are particularly concerned about the issue of
fencing and the proposals to enclose by permanent fencing parts of the forest. We believe this is inconsistent with
the provision of the Epping Forest Act 1878 and that the conservators are required to maintain the forest ‘open and
unenclosed’ for the enjoyment of the public.
There appears to be provision for a wide clearance of undergrowth to provide for further grazing. We believe this
would be to the detriment of the forest and the people who use it.

A view from a Past-President of Essex Field Club
The county’s leading natural history society.
Grazing animals, including cattle, have been part of the Forest scene for probably well over a thousand years. The
practise of allowing cattle to graze throughout the Forest was the major factor in ensuring the survival of the Forest
in the late 19th. Century.
Cattle and other grazing or browsing herbivores are also the reason for the presence of many plants. The survivors
include species such as Heather, Creeping Willow and Purple Moor Grass. It is astonishing that you can see these
species with heavily urbanised London literally metres away. Grazing helps to reduce the ability of other plant
species to dominate the sward and out-compete the more fragile heathland species. Grazing helps to reduce the
ability of trees, notably Birch, to colonise the heathy ground and keeps open many special areas.
Cattle are of importance to myriad invertebrate species – I would particularly single out the probably many hundreds
of beetles and other insects that feed in and usefully help to decompose the dung and the many other species that
appreciate the short flower-rich sward created by grazing beasts. Lastly cattle are a visible expression of the
countryside in ‘town’ providing some sort of connection for those people living in urban areas.
Mark Hanson, Past-President of Essex Field Club and author of Epping Forest: through the eye of a naturalist

What do you think?
The Conservators need to have a robust strategy for the management of grazing on Epping
Forest. They would like your views on the issues and solutions we have presented here.

Please complete the online questionnaire. If you’d like to make additional suggestions you
can contact us in the ways described below.

Drop in sessions
We will be organising ‘drop in’ sessions across the Forest area for members of the public. At these
sessions you will have the chance to discuss the issues in more detail with us. These sessions will
be advertised widely, including on our web-site and in libraries.

If you’d like to register your interest contact us on 020 8508 0028
or e-mail us at epping.forest@corpoflondon.gov.uk

If you prefer, you can reply online at:www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/epping

For printed copies of this consultation document or further information please contact:
The Superintendent’s Office
The Warren
Loughton
Essex
IG10 4RW
or telephone/e-mail us as above.