Campaigners launch bid to buy moor for community

Moscar Moor near Sheffield is owned by the Duke of Rutland and popular with grouse shooters

A campaign has been launched to take an area of moorland into community ownership - in what could be the first action of its kind in England.

Protest group Reclaim Our Moors has revealed plans to buy Moscar Moor, near Sheffield.

The moor, which is currently owned by David Manners, Duke of Rutland, is not for sale, but the group hope to claim the land under new Community Right to Buy legislation, expected to come into force next year.

The BBC has contacted the Duke of Rutland for comment.

Reclaim Our Moors (ROM) has been campaigning for an end to grouse shooting on the moor for seven years, and its announcement was timed to coincide with the start of the shooting season.

The group alleges "mismanagement" of the moorland has led to a reduction in wildlife in the area.

ROM member Maggie, who did not want to share her surname, said one group in Scotland had successfully managed to take ownership of moorland, but it was yet to be achieved in England.

"Nothing has ever been enacted on anything this scale. There are examples where communities have bought pubs, but this will be a first.

"We've got ecology graduates, bird watchers, walkers, a whole host of people who are interested in what we're trying to achieve."

The Community Right to Buy legislation gives groups the first opportunity to purchase an Asset of Community Value - a property or piece of land that has been nominated as having an important social purpose.

Heather burning

In 2023, fires lit on the moors around Sheffield caused smoke to blanket parts of the city.

Following the incident the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, invited the Duke of Rutland to a 'Smoke Summit', but the Duke did not attend.

Sheffield councillor and ROM supporter Minesh Parekh has called for a total ban on moorland burning.

He said: "I look forward to people making use of the upcoming 'Community Right to Buy' legislation to bring mismanaged land into community hands.

"We need an immediate end to grouse shooting, an immediate end to burning."

According to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, heather burning is commonly practised to manage moorland.

The heather is burned off, making way for new shoots, which provide food for red grouse, deer, mountain hares and livestock.

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