DRY stone walls in Pendle could be under threat if hard-up landowners sell off the slabs instead of continuing farming, said one of the borough's peers.
Speaking in the House of Lords, Tony Greaves said: "People might find that the income they can get from hill farming is no longer worth the candle, but they can tear down and sell off the walls of natural stone for quite large amounts of money.
"People will try to asset-strip those marginal farms on the edges of the moorlands in the uplands areas and the dry stone walls will be removed and sold off for astronomical prices to builders."
He issued the warning in a debate on new Environmental Impact Assessment regulations requiring farmers and landowners to apply for special permission if they want to carry out certain work on farms.
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