CHEMICAL burning of land and burning of heather in the North York Moors National Park is causing concern to a parish council.

The park authority's northern area forum heard that Kildale Parish Council was concerned that chemical burning of land by spraying created discoloured vegetation and looked unsightly.

Peter Barfoot, the park's head of advisory services, said that under a system introduced some years ago for arable farmers, there was a requirement for a certain percentage of land to "have green cover, sown or naturally regenerated".

On the management of moorland by burning, the park authority has held talks with English Nature and moorland managers, resulting from the large Fylingdales Moor fire in 2003, regarding land rotation for burning.

Mr Barfoot said the process of burning was being reviewed by a group that included scientists.

National Park officers felt burning was essential to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Mr Barfoot said: "Doubling the amount of vegetation, the heat of a fire quadruples, and this leads to burning of the peat layer."

He said what were known as cool burns were needed to protect the soil and peat layer.

He also said a new code on moorland management and burning was being produced.