Battle of the beaver erupts

CRACKS of "real division" are emerging in a quiet Westcountry farming community where a proposed trial to reintroduce beavers has prompted deep unease.

The Western Morning News has heard from frustrated landowners neighbouring the 730-acre Roadford Lake reservoir in West Devon, where England's most advanced beaver reintroduction programme could take place.

South West Water (SWW) is interested in shipping in the creatures – which are native to this country but were hunted to extinction in England in the 13th Century – to help purify drinking water taken from the reservoir, which supplies 600,000 homes in Devon and Cornwall.

The WMN can reveal countryside agency Natural England will publish on Wednesday its much-anticipated feasibility study stating clear support for the wider reintroduction of beavers in the countryside.

At a village hall meeting organised by landowning engineer-turned-builder Chris Durston, waterside landowners expressed fears over destruction of trees, tourists trampling over their land, and disease.

"We are beaver-free at the moment," said one riparian landowner. "That's the way we like it."

Critics are convinced the plan is "folly" and, with echoes of the hunting ban, is being foisted upon the rural community by urban "bunny-huggers".

Mr Durston, who is backed by the chairman of the local parish council, said: "This whole thing is really getting messy. One of my wishes is that this uninvited intrusion does not cause division in the local community. Unfortunately, this has now begun."

But while opposition is vociferous, there remains a complicated jigsaw of views among others in the community, including fellow landowners who have witnessed beavers roaming wild in Bavaria.

They are philosophical about the wider ecological benefits that beavers would bring and the area becoming a popular spot for money-spinning eco-tourism.

Businessman and landowner Simon Kerslake, who has 100 acres of land bordering Roadford, believes that the argument has become too "one-sided". After the meeting, he said: "I'd like the opportunity to ask questions of SWW, and I'd like to speak to Derek Gow [the beaver specialist advising SWW], before I make a decision. Other people think the same thing."

One of the UK's leading beaver experts, Mr Gow hit back at critics of the plan by describing the "myths" being peddled, such as beavers chopping down 300 big trees each season, as "disingenuous, if not downright misleading".

SWW said that if the "leap of faith" worked, water bills would come down for households across the region, as beaver dams would be among a parcel of "natural" alternatives to investing tens of millions of pounds in upgrading water treatment facilities.

The increasingly acrimonious arguments within a basket of Devon-Cornwall border villages, which the WMN understands has led to "bitter" and "nasty" confrontations after public meetings, could potentially be played out in the wider Westcountry.

Natural England's research is to be presented to the Government to inform future policy decisions. A similar process that was carried out north of the border has led to the UK's first beaver reintroduction trial – sanctioned by the Scottish Executive – at a wildlife reserve in western Scotland later this year. Natural England's report is significant for the region because Devon and Cornwall are seen as being good habitats for beavers thanks to the easily containable river network, few game fish issues and abundance of willow, a main food tree for beaver.

A spokesman for Natural England, which has responsibility for licensing, stressed that with an application for a beaver permit, as with any other species, the ecological, economic and social effects were given deep consideration.

He added: "Without wishing to come down on one side or another, any licence application would be subject to the most rigorous process.

"That includes the welfare of the beavers and the right of landowners – if that has not been satisfied, the licence will not be granted."