Defra ignores calls to relax controlled burning rules despite wildfires summit

Andy Burnham led England’s first Wildfire Resilience Summit in Liverpool yesterday, and said he had brought together fire chiefs, industry leaders, ministers and academics to take action and build resilience “for the next time”.

So far this year, fire and rescue services across England and Wales have battled more than 1,300 wildfires, surpassing the total for the record breaking 2025.

The Prime Minister announced that the Ministry of Defence would be equipping military planes and helicopters to tackle blazes, including the RAF’s Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft.

The Government said £25m would go towards rewetting dried-out peatlands, however the Environment Department (Defra) confirmed there would be no changes to the strict controlled burning rules, which farmers have been crying out for to tackle the fuel loads.

The Country Land and Business Association has been leading calls to relax some of the red tape and bureaucracy around this.

Controlled burning is used on some moorlands to tackle fire risk, as the vegetation and wild fire fuel is burned away.

Land managers have carried this out for centuries, and the process does not damage peat when well-executed.

They say the current dry vegetation across moorlands is acting like a tinder box amid the scorching weather.

Legislation last year, means land owners have to apply for consent to Defra or Natural England through a licence, which the CLA says is “incredibly difficult to obtain”.

CLA director north, Harriet Ranson, said: “We urge the Government to lift the de facto ban on controlled burning, which is a proven method to remove the dead vegetation that can turn small blazes into major incidents.

“Fires are mostly avoidable tragedies. We know that careful and controlled burning, done in the right place, at the right time of year, can reduce the risk of wildfires and make them easier to bring under control.

“But the system now required to apply for a licence to burn is unnecessarily complex with enormous time lags between the submitting and response meaning it is effectively a complete ban on the practice.

“Cool burns, in addition to grazing, mowing, and removing vegetation, helps to decrease fuel loads, which greatly reduces the risk and ferocity of wildfires.

“This would help land managers prevent wildfires before they start, removing some of the burden on fire services as temperatures soar.”

Thirsk and Malton MP and Tory Party chair Kevin Hollinrake said: “It is all well and good the Prime Minister holding a summit on wildfires, but talk is cheap. The Fire Chiefs Council has said that the ban on cool burning will 'lead to increased fire loads and the risk of larger, more intense wildfires'.

“The Prime Minister needs to take action, not just hold meetings. Land managers need the ability to manage the countryside responsibly and reduce wildfire risks. The Government must u-turn on this previous decision before it is too late.”

York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith was the representative of England’s mayors at the summit.

In 2025, the Langdale Moors fire in the North York Moors was the biggest wildfire of the year, with the blaze raging for more than six weeks.

Mr Skaith told The Yorkshire Post: “It’s great that the Prime Minister has pulled this together so quickly.

“For the first time in forever, we have got a Prime Minister and a national government taking wildfires incredibly seriously.

“We had the fire on the moors last year covering 15 square miles, a huge area and a very challenging fire to deal with.

“We have seen a heightened increase of wildfires this year, and an increase going forward.”

The Labour mayor in particular praised the funding for rewetting peatlands and said he was “open minded” about using controlled burning more.