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Dave
Barker of Land Rover Enthusiast Magazine has made the following
comments:
I
personally think we have a very big problem with DEFRA and this Single
Payment Scheme. The MSA and its bodies along with LARA and the ACU will
continue to look at the legal problems and we the effected competitors
should with the direct support of the landowners fight for the right to
use
the land, during the time its under the SPS. In many ways its not just
our fight, its the landowners fight as well, they are loosing out on the
use of their land for activities they have allowed to take place for
many years, 50+ in some cases. The NFU, I would hope would also be
backing the farmers and asking why they are being prevented for using
the land for motorsport.
The legal experts will be find out just why DEFRA have said that farmers
will looses the SPS grant if motorsport takes place on the land. Other
events I understand can still happen and the grant is not effected.
Horse riding events, car boot sales, static car displays are allowed,
motorsport is not, Why? As far as I can see its not just the risk of
damage to the green ground cover, car boot sales and horse riding events
all cause some form of damage and loss of green cover. I feel that
motorsport has been singled out by DEFRA and the Government and this is
nothing more than a 'ban on motorsport'
The farmers / landowners and the NFU need to be backing us all the way
to fight this ban. I can see if we (motorsport) on our own start
shouting that we have lost the right to "do motorsport" on
farmland, I can not see many people having much sympathy for us. It's
not our land and if we want to use it we can pay to use it, is the way
many outsiders will see it.
And its this that we have the biggest problem with, DEFRA by way of the
grant are paying the farmer for the use of the land. In effect DEFRA are
saying the SPS grant buys DEFRA the right to dictate what a landowner
can and can not do on their land. This I see is a major problem that we
need to over come DEFRA have in effect paid to use the land. If the
landowner wants to look out side of the government for cash, then they
can, but they will be looking for the same level of payment as the SPS.
It is not all land that is effected, in fact the car clubs with PCT's
and autotests might be worse off than us (4x4 off road motorsport).
Quarry's and woodland are not included in the scheme I understand, (this
may now be untrue) but if we cross farm land to get to a quarry then the
farmer will still loose the SPS payment. I'm told at least one landowner
has pulled out of the SPS, told DEFRA where they can stick the payment.
He is will now continue on his land. Not all farmers can afford to do
this.
The SPS is not the only form of subsidy to effect motorsport. In the
Yorkshire Dales area, there is the Farm Stewardship Scheme, this I
understand pays the landowner to keep the land in an 'as is' post card
condition, dry stone walls in place, meadows with flowers and such like,
so it looks 'all very nice' like the countryside should look! and not a
working farm. If anyone in the scheme allows the land to be used for
motorsport they where told the payments would be stopped. The local car
and motorbike clubs have lost a number of sites for trials they have
used for 50+ years.
As far as the SPS goes, the one area that legally needs to be addressed,
which I guess the MSA/LARA/ACU and various other motorsport clubs will
be looking into, is the decision why motorsport is not allowed when
other events are. I'm told this is a decision made by DEFRA and the
government
minister, its not come from the EU. Clubs and club members need to also
act with petitions, letters of protest, on line petitions (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/som/)
ask your local MP why this decision to ban motorsport was made by DEFRA,
but this all needs to be co-ordinated. Every form of motorsport brings
money into the local economy. The figure talked about is some 7000
events being lost, up to 50,000 competitors and 250,000 spectators /
service crews and supporters, many camp, stay in B&B's Hotels, buy
local goods, fuel and provide some extra income for the landowners all
this will be lost.
I'm told that the SPS does have a few more rules, which the farmers have
to sign up too for the SPS grant. Like how to keep live stock, in bad
conditions they must be inside so not to damage the green cover of the
land! , not to drive on the land in wet conditions, they must not allow
animals to puddle the fields round feeding troughs. Many farmers are
having problems agreeing to. It looks like the SPS is causing problems,
and not only with its ban on motorsport.
It looks in many ways it could be he who pays wins, and we do not pay
very much for land. It¹s a crises and it looks like we might be facing
a major lost of venues for motorsport events that take place off the
road, unless DEFRA back down. Farmers in general can not afford to loose
out on the cash from the SPS, if we wish to keep using some sites we
might be faced with the reality of having to pay a great deal more money
to use land.
Every person that this ban is effecting needs to consider very careful
in the next few days the full implications of this government's decision
to ban motorsport on farmland through the SPS grant. It's now that we
all have a chance to tell government our real feeling about the
decisions they make
that effect us directly.
Dave
Barker:
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