Castlemorton SSSI is a treasure we all own that gives great pleasure to locals and visitors alike.

This beautiful place is special because it has rare grassland, having never been ploughed. Regular grazing has indeed made the SSSI what it is, but how has it come to be so mismanaged in recent years?

Inexplicably, English Nature has allowed a local farmer with grazing rights to feed and graze 150 head of cattle on the SSSI throughout the wettest months of the year.

Twice every day this January, a five ton potato carrying machine and a tractor carrying large hay bales drive into the heart of the SSSI, where the ground gets further consolidated, rutted and heavily poached by the cattle, though this year less than usual because of the low rainfall.

For five years I have been raising this issue with Malvern Hills Conservators and in 2005 I wrote three letters to English Nature asking some key questions. I have received no reply.

What is most difficult to understand is that a simple solution is available - just feed the cattle off the SSSI and let them roam wherever they wish.

Surely that would be a reasonable compromise for the farmer? It would allow the ground and flora to recover, make public access less hazardous and protect the SSSI for future generations. The management authorities have sat on the fence far too long ignoring the clear policies designed to protect SSSI's. It may be years too late, but please, let's have some action.

Reg Freeman, Boulters Farm Castlemorton Common.