1999 United Kingdom Countryside Exchange
Humberhead Levels – Executive Summary

Introduction

The Humberhead Levels case study area is part of the large, flat floodplain of the Don, Idle, Trent and Ouse rivers. It is much valued for both agriculture and nature conservation, containing the Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve, an internationally important area of semi*natural and regenerating peat bogs. The area is also one of extensive agriculture, based on rich soils, with complex drainage and water management systems. Within this apparently homogeneous area there are several subtly defined landscapes; the historic, strip fields of the “isles”, such as Axholme; the raised, wetland mires of the “moors”, such as Thorne and Hatfield and the intimate, wet pasture fieldscapes of the “meadows” such as those around Fishlake. All these are being affected changes in the wider economic environment.

Key Issues

The overall aims of the study were to investigate the options for future sustainable tourism in the area and to consider possible complementary mechanisms to help current agricultural systems adapt to the needs of environmental diversity and green tourism. These aims led to the following objectives:

• Identification of the natural and cultural attributes of the local environment of potential tourism significance.

• Identification of the principal barriers to the development of tourism in the area.

• Development of an outline tourism marketing strategy.

• Identification of potential sustainable tourism projects for the area.

• Investigation of participative and partnership approaches to sustainable tourism and wider environmental management and agricultural diversification among the local community.

Observations

The team found that the area’s economy was under intense pressure. Much of the region is feeling the effects of the decline of heavy industry, now being addressed through various regional grant*aid funding initiatives. In this climate there is the opportunity for well co-ordinated local groups to make their voices heard in how this resource is spent. Advice on local business development exists but many local people do not know the right questions to ask to access it.

Local agriculture, of major importance to the economy and landscape, has also been hard hit by the recent slump. The high quality of the land gives farming the potential to recover, but current circumstances may lead to even more intensification and drainage, which will affect landscape quality. Local produce is not co-operatively marketed locally and the farming community needs to become more fully a part of the whole community, and agree some common aims. Local farmers lack basic information on green tourism related diversification. Concern over peat extraction, now being addressed by landscape regeneration projects, remains an emotive local issue, as does access to the wider countryside. There is also concern over drainage and associated de-watering.

The area is rich in historic and natural landscape assets. While there are valuable local heritage initiatives and a sense of local pride, this heritage is presently imperfectly understood and underdeveloped. The local community has not yet come to an agreed way forward.

Recommendations and the Future

Ways and Means

The team recommended that for projects to be successful there needs to be better communication between and within the many local communities, local businesses and the many government and other agencies. The introduction of various regeneration funding resources is an opportunity that the community should grasp. To do this it needs to come together to identify priorities and develop an action plan, including a local skills audit. There is a role for sustainable tourism in the area as one element in wider economic development.

Heritage Resources and Tourism

The area has a rich heritage with much to offer both visitors and the local community. Current archaeological work should be more widely publicised to increase local awareness of their heritage. Better access to the countryside, for instance through a route across Thorne Moors could be created, could give benefits for both visitors and locals. Visitors could also explore the area through boat trips on peatland waterways, or on existing light railways after current peat cutting has finished.

Access should be linked to a Moors Visitor Centre, which should interpret the unique local landscapes, including the Isle of Axholme strip fields. It should also be a base from which to explore the wider countryside, and could be sited in Thorne or Moorends.

The wider ex-industrial canals of the area, such as the Stainforth and Keadby, are also potential gateways for tourism, given the right facilities and promotion. There is an opportunity for local partnerships to be formed with British Waterways, who are currently developing a tourism strategy for the region.

The area needs to be better linked to existing tourism flows, such as York and the Trans-Pennine Trail, and needs better signage. The establishment of a “whole area” small grants fund could help stimulate tourism facilities. The promotion of local events, such as the Haxey Hood Game, could bring in visitors, who may then use other facilities and the team felt that the Isle of Axholme Tourism Partnership was a good local model from which other communities could learn.

Agriculture

The better integration of the farming community into the wider community in order both to develop and agree worthwhile projects and alleviate rural isolation, is recommended. The current economic pressure to drain more intensively, which could threaten sensitive landscapes such as the Meadows, should be addressed through promotion of compensation schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship. Farm based diversification, into areas such as tourism, needs to be part of a planed local Tourism and Business Development Plan and farmers need better information on how to go about this.

Local produce could be marketed locally in co-operative Farmers Markets, possibly in Thorne, Axholme and others, which could enhance a sense of local community and add to the stock of visitor attractions. Better links need to be built with the farming community over the emotive issue of access.

Rural Business Development and Sustainable Water Management

There are opportunities to develop new businesses or develop existing farming resources, including green tourism initiatives but more accessible business development advice is needed. Drainage is an important local issue and could be addressed by greater use of winter storage facilities and by sensitively designed lagoons, which could also offer greater habitat diversity. Current groundwater abstractions need to be closely related to restoring the depleted aquifer underlying the area.

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