The CLA (Country Land and Business Association) has commented on newly announced reforms (see Defra news release further below) to stop waste criminals from exploiting loopholes following a CLA campaign ‘Beau Vine’.
See more on the CLA’s Beau Vine campaign. (Photographs available on request).
Ann Maidment, Director of CLA South West and owner of Beau Vine, said:
“Our Beau Vine campaign showed how weak the checks had become: if a cow could be approved in seconds, the system was too easy to abuse. These reforms are a welcome step towards closing that gap, strengthening enforcement in a system that should protect the countryside, not help those who abuse it.
“But good law depends on good implementation. The new permit system must be tough on rogue operators without placing needless cost, delay or bureaucracy on farmers and small rural businesses already doing the right thing.
“It should not have taken a cow getting approved to expose the problem, but it did help make the case for change. The priority now is making sure these reforms punish the criminals, not the compliant
