Regional Moorland Groups are backing a UK Parliament petition calling on the Government to revoke the heather burning regulations, so land managers can once again use controlled burning to reduce wildfire risk on England’s moors.
The petition was started by Robert, a Peak District land manager, after a summer in which wildfires tore through the English countryside. England recorded 1,354 wildfires between January and August 2026, more than a third higher than the same period in 2025, according to provisional government figures. The fires damaged wildlife habitats and peat soils, raised serious health concerns and put the lives of firefighters and gamekeepers on the front line at risk.
The petition calls on the Government to revoke the Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021, as amended in 2025. Since 2021, burning on peat deeper than 40cm on some protected sites has needed a Defra licence. In September 2025 this was extended to peat deeper than 30cm anywhere in a Less Favoured Area, roughly three times as much land. Defra’s own figures, given to Parliament in September 2026, show that only 2 of 24 applications for deep-peat burning licences were approved in 12 months.
Controlled burning carried out in season by experienced land managers safely removes surface vegetation that would otherwise fuel a wildfire. It creates firebreaks across the moor and reduces the intensity of any fire that follows. Moorland managers have used it for generations to look after the heather.
Robert said: “Over the years I’ve seen the heather and grass grow back faster than ever, so every summer there’s more fuel on the hill and the risk gets worse. Controlled burning is one of the best tools we have to stop a wildfire before it starts, and right now it’s almost impossible to get permission to use it.”
With scientists predicting hotter, drier summers in the UK, Regional Moorland Groups are urging everyone who lives, works or walks on the moors to sign and share the petition.
Sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/783877
