Examination of Witnesses (Questions 140-142)
20 APRIL 2004
MR ANDY
CLEMENTS AND
MR TOM
TEW
Q140 Paddy Tipping: And you think that
if you have got that you can make environmental savings of between
three and four million pounds?
Mr Clements: The figures in our
evidence demonstrate that, if you get the right regulation base,
even at a conservative estimate (and we are somewhere in the middle
of that spectrum of no effective regulation to the most perfect
regulation) we would end up with three or four million pounds'
savings.
Q141 Paddy Tipping: But how are you going
to take that forward with the Moorland Association?
Mr Clements: We will continue
to do as we are doing now. I do not believe it is the right thing
either to characterise our relationship with the Moorland Association
as a wholly adversarial one.
Q142 Paddy Tipping: I did not say that.
I said it was a spat.
Mr Clements: I did not mean to
suggest that you said that. Others might. A spat is what it is
and what you do with a spat is sit down and talk around it and
sort things out and I do believe that is what is happening with
the Moorland Association. I would say that English Nature is recognising
as well that we have not always done things in the best way possible
as far as moorland owners are concerned in the past and we are
being very careful to review, for example, our own consenting
mechanisms, the fact that when owners want to burn sites they
have to ask us about that and we consent that. We are reviewing
that as our side of the bargain about doing something positive
towards achieving a better relationship with owners.
Paddy Tipping: That is very helpful.
Chairman: Gentlemen, thank you very much
for answering our questions this afternoon. You have already offered
us some additional information which we have gratefully received
and if there is anything else which on reflection you wish you
had said then please do write to us and we will look at that with
interest as well. Thank you very much.
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