The Long Mynd in the Shropshire Hills is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and governed by strict conservation rules.

But Tom Lloyd, one of a group of farmers who are allowed to graze their livestock on the Long Mynd, says parts of the beauty spot have been left damaged after the national charity harvested some heather despite not having the right permits to do this.

He said the damage was reported by a walker earlier this month and was initially believed to have been caused by people trespassing on the site in 4x4s, but has since been confirmed to be due to National Trustwho last fall was harvesting heather for another nature project nearby.

“The damage was caused by using a tractor in wet conditions. This type of damage does not heal on its own. There are routes from last year that have seen a bit of rejuvenation so it will take a long time for that damage to recover,” Mr Lloyd said.

He said a harvester was towed behind a tractor, which apparently got stuck in the mud, leaving the ditches now filled with water.

“Normally the best way to rejuvenate heather is burning,” he added. “That’s how you clear the vegetation and get rejuvenated seeds. You can do it by cutting, but it should be done when the weather is dry and not in autumn when it is wet. The National Trust is there to manage the countryside so they should have known better.”

The National Trust said they have harvested woodland for a project on the Dudmaston estate, near Bridgnorth, where around 240 acres of arable land is being restored to woodland in a ten-year project.

Mr Lloyd said: “We are really disappointed that the National Trust – Europe’s biggest conservation body – has felt able to seriously damage one area in the pursuit of regeneration.”

He said he had attended meetings with the charity and other members of the committee dealing with the Long Mynd in recent days to discuss the issue.

The National Trust admits it does not have the correct permits to brush heather harvest on the Long Mynd

In a statement, a National Trust spokesman admitted they did not have the correct permits to brush heather and had damaged the Long Mynd while cutting and removing.

A spokesman said: “Nature conservation is a top priority in the care of the Long Mynd Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), working in collaboration with local stakeholders, including the Longmynd Commoners Association. We have managed the vegetation on the Long Mynd for many years with the consent of Natural England, including the management of cranes, providing a rich mosaic of crane habitats.

“During cutting and baling operations last autumn, with the prior consent of Natural England, severe wet weather caused the machinery used to unfortunately cause some localized damage to the sedge. We are working closely with Natural England to obtain further SSSI consent to repair and restore damaged heather.

“Separately, in the autumn of 2023, we trialled brush harvesting of seed heads on the Long Mynd, which were then used at the nearby National Trust’s Dudmaston Estate to recreate a witching area there as part of the recovery project nature Sandscapes.

“We take our responsibility to look after the Long Mynd seriously and understand that we have permission to harvest heather seed on the brush as part of our existing heather management agreement. We were subsequently informed by Natural England that this was not the case and we sought and Since then, we have obtained further consent to harvest heather seed no damage has been caused during attempts to harvest the seed brushes.

A spokesman for Natural England said it was working with the National Trust to ensure all necessary permissions were in place in the future.