What you sign up to
Your relationship with the consortium
What decisions are made collectively, what remains yours, and what protections you have if the goes in a direction you disagree with.
Ure Dales is a consortium scheme — which means joining something collective. That is both its strength (shared audit, shared market access, landscape-scale impact) and the source of the most common governance question: what happens if the group makes a decision I disagree with?
The decisions described on this page are not made all at once. The scheme has an establishment period during which governance is developed collaboratively. There will be plenty of time to talk things through, understand each decision, and plan together as a group — before anything becomes binding on any holding.
1. Decision matrix
| Decision type | Who decides | Your role |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme-wide management standards | Collective | Vote; subject to consent/ratification |
| Surplus distribution model | Collective | Vote; requires consent of all holdings to change |
| Trustmark tier criteria | SLE + Audit Committee | Working group participation at Silver/Gold |
| Environmental Credits Protocol | Collective | Must be agreed by consortium; no unilateral SLE imposition |
| Your holding's management plan | Individual | Developed collaboratively; you sign; applies only to your land |
| Your trustmark tier progression | Individual | Your decision whether to pursue Silver or Gold |
| What you produce on non-enrolled parcels | Individual | Fully your decision; scheme does not govern non-enrolled land |
| Whether to sell or pass on the land | Individual | Your decision; obligation transfers |
| SLE operational decisions | SLE | SLE operates within scheme mandate; consortium can call SLE to account |
2. Consent vs consensus
A decision reaches consent when no holding has a paramount objection— a specific, reasoned objection that the decision will cause material harm to their interests. Consent is a lower bar than consensus and a higher bar than majority vote.
All scheme-wide decisions are subject to a 14-day ratification window after proposal, during which any holding can lodge a paramount objection.
It must be specific and material, not general reluctance. “I disagree with this approach” is not a paramount objection. “This decision would require me to breach an existing legal obligation on my land” is.
3. Your protections
14-day ratification window after any scheme-wide proposal. Paramount objection without penalty.
Your holding's management plan cannot be changed without your agreement.
Silver and Gold tier holders shape standards before ratification.
In defined circumstances, exit without penalty is available.
4. What if another landowner exits?
Individual exits do not dissolve the consortium. The scheme is designed so that a single holding leaving — for death, sale, or voluntary exit — does not destabilise the collective. Restored works remain with the land. Shared services continue. Audit coverage adjusts. See risk register R3 for the specifics.
A consortium scheme is more resilient than a single-holding application.