Wanton destruction - Or the answer to water problems?
But beavers?
It's Friday night at Bratton Clovelly village hall, deep in rural Devon. It is the behaviour of hairy nocturnal rodents, not any human development, that is the talk of the village and its surrounding communities. Talk that is becoming increasingly rancorous.
"We are beaver-free at the moment," thundered one of the 50-plus riparian landowners in the room over plans to re-introduce beavers at a nearby reservoir. "That's the way we like it."
There were questions. "Is there anything we can do about beaver once it's on our land?" asked another farmer, in more measured tones, more or less asking if they could be shot.
But, more often than not, there was disquiet. "I can't see any member of the local population having any advantage," added a third voice, sternly.
So why had this meeting come to pass? In December, the WMN reported that South West Water was considering introducing beavers on rivers flowing into the 730-acre Roadford Lake, its huge reservoir that supplies water to more than 600,000 households in Devon and Cornwall. Put simply, the idea is that the dams would filter out impurities.
Such a trial would be radical for many reasons. Beavers, while native to the UK, were hunted to extinction in England in the 13th Century. Such was their prized market value, they were thought of as the Sumatran tigers of their day. SWW's plan would see them roaming wild in England, albeit under controlled conditions, for the first time in centuries.
Environmentalists point to the ecological advantages, that chopping down trees and other activities create and maintain a habitat hospitable to other species; part of the circle of wetland life. SWW offers some fine words on these benefits too, but this is not the main reason the firm, part of one of the country's 100 biggest listed companies, is running an eye over the idea.
Put bluntly, it comes down to money. The Exeter-based utility is worried about the build-up of blue-green algae at Roadford. Its environmental manager, a bold thinker called Martin Ross, is increasingly persuaded a succession of beaver dams will help keep the unwanted substance, principally from fertiliser run-off, but also geese droppings and much else, from flowing into the reservoir. If it succeeds, the firm argues, spiralling water bills could be kept in check. By opting for a "natural" alternative, it could avoid investing as much as £30 million on upgrading water treatment plants. And with fears that global warming may increase the toxicity of blue-green algae, there is also an element of future-proofing.
The plan, part of a raft of mooted "natural" purification measures, is in its infancy. SWW has yet to decide whether to apply for a licence from Natural England. But battle lines have been drawn, and a "real division" is beginning to appear within the farming villages that bound the lake.
Landowners close to Roadford feel they will be directly affected by beavers at large. It is their property up for discussion, not SWW's. As such, they should have the primary voice. But, according to Chris Durston, a former quarrying and explosives engineer, they are being ignored. He has deep connections to nearby villages of Northlew and Lewdown going back decades, and a year ago bought a 70-acre "piece of Devon" in Germansweek.
Naturally, he is alarmed by the prospect of beavers running amok, and claims he represents a section of the community that feels marginalised and helpless. He has tried to carry out research on the lake's pollution and the rigour behind claims over the beavers' benefits as well as gauge local opinion. He is a one-man pressure group.
His fears are instinctive, yet not unreasonable. Beavers will destroy trees. Eco-tourists will trample over private land, opening up old wounds over public liability and rights to roam. And there are questions. Will the beavers transmit diseases including rabies and tularaemia? Will they get protected status? Is there the capacity to keep them under control? "Once the genie's out of the bottle, it's out."
SWW says it is talking to local "stakeholders". The firm is working with Derek Gow, a conservationist and beaver expert based in nearby Broadwoodwidger. Having studied beavers for more than 10 years, he has advised Natural England on its feasibility study over the reintroduction of the rodent across the country. The research paper is to be published next week, and is likely to set in motion a process similar to one in Scotland, where a trial reintroduction in Knapdale wildlife reserve in Argyll, west Scotland, recently go the go-ahead.
To an outsider, it is clear tensions are brewing. Which brings us to Bratton Clovelly village hall. The private meeting was exclusively for riparian landowners close to Roadford Lake, with representatives from Natural England, the National Farmers' Union and West Devon Borough Council "observing". The creeping undertow is the conflict between town and country, the big corporation versus the rural landowners. Many views were coloured by the global news coverage of the three beavers that escaped from Mr Gow's sanctuary before Christmas, and felled trees miles away in Gunnislake.
Keith Woodard, chairman of Broadwoodwidger Parish Council, spoke at the meeting. Unaffected personally by the proposal, he is staunchly opposed to it. "The whole debacle seems irresponsibly rushed and ill-thought through," he said. "Once introduced, the beaver will soon outgrow its South West Water territory and could devastate and flood several areas of land which have been cared for by farmers and other landowners for centuries."
Speaking to the WMN, Martin Ross acknowledged the concept was a "leap of faith". But he said he was more convinced by the idea the more he thought about it. SWW is anxious to stress that nothing is set in stone. It has yet to decide whether or not to apply for a beaver licence from Natural England – which could be minded to turn it down – much less be at a stage where it can start shipping the beavers in from Bavaria.
Perhaps the cause for concern is the perceived lack of consultation. Around 10 people at the meeting said they had not been visited by anyone from the pro-beaver lobby, and two had no contact whatsoever.
One of the landowners who went to Bavaria said it was an oversight that more landowners were not invited. "It should have been at the forefront," she said. "People are reading about things in the Sun newspaper that affects them."
Noticeably, those who witnessed the beavers living among communities in Germany are more philosophical. One landowner asked whether "they were still laughing in Bavaria that we are thinking of using it as water purification?". Not really, replied one. There were few tales of wanton destruction to report back from Continental Europe.
SWW said if a licence was granted, properties on the streams and rivers leading into Roadford were likely to get funds to cover floods and felled trees that "might" be caused by beavers. Mr Gow said: "There are many issues with the beavers and it would be dangerous to ignore them. But they are manageable, and there are significant environmental and economic benefits. We would not make any claim that was baseless and we could not substantiate."
It is clear, despite the opposition, the water company is not ready to ditch the plan. The potential savings are just too inviting. But it has stressed it is part of a parcel of upstream projects to improve water purification naturally.
As such, even before it entertains submitting a licence application, the scheme needs to be signed-off by water regulator Ofwat. This is unlikely to take place before July. In the meantime, it is promising a full-scale consultation with the local community and the release of a thorough management plan later in the year.
It seems the debate, however heated, has only just begun.
