UNITED KINGDOM STATUTORY INSTRUMENT
1993 No. 86
AGRICULTURE
The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South Wessex Downs) Designation Order 1993
Made 15th January 1993
Laid before Parliament 22th January 1993
Coming into force 13th February 1993
Whereas, as mentioned in section 18(1) of the Agriculture Act 1986, it appears to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (“the Minister”) that it is particularly desirable–
to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area referred to in article 3 of the following Order;
to conserve the flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features of that area; and
to protect buildings and other objects of historic interest in that area;
And whereas, as mentioned in the said section 18(1), it appears to the Minister that the maintenance or adoption of the agricultural methods specified in Schedule 1 to the following Order is likely to facilitate the aforementioned conservation, enhancement and protection;
Now, therefore, the Minister, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 18(1) and (4) of the said Act, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, with the consent of the Treasury and after consultation with the Secretary of State, the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council for Englandas to the inclusion of the area referred to in article 3 of the following Order and the features of that area for which conservation, enhancement and protection are desirable, hereby makes the following Order:
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Title and commencementTitle and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South Wessex Downs) Designation Order 1993 and shall come into force on 13th February 1993.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order –
“agreement” means an agreement under section 18(3) of the Agriculture Act 1986 as respects agricultural land in the area designated by article 3;
“farmer” means a person who has an interest in agricultural land in the area designated by article 3 and who also has entered into an agreement with the Minister;
“downland turf” means grassland other than permanent, ley or intensive grassland situated on undulating chalk hills;
“grassland” means land on which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species;
“permanent grassland” means grassland which has not been ploughed or reseeded for at least five years;
“strip” means a strip of land at least 6 metres wide on the edge of a field used for the production of cereal crops;
“woodland” means land used for woodland where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes.
(2) Any reference in this Order to a numbered article or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the article or Schedule bearing that number in this Order.
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Designation of environmentally sensitive areaDesignation of environmentally sensitive area
3. There is hereby designated as an environmentally sensitive area the area of land in the South Wessex Downs in the Counties of Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire which is shown coloured yellow on the maps contained in the volume of maps marked “volume of maps of South Wessex Downs environmentally sensitive area” dated 4th January 1993, signed and sealed by the Minister and deposited at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HX.
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Requirements and provisions of agreementRequirements and provisions of agreement
4. An agreement shall include the requirements specified in Schedule 1 as to agricultural practices, methods and operations and the installation and use of equipment.
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Breach of requirements or provisionsBreach of requirements or provisions
5. An agreement shall include provisions that–
(a) in the event of a breach by the farmer of the requirements referred to in article 4, the Minister may give the farmer notice in writing terminating the agreement forthwith and may recover from the farmer as a debt an amount equivalent to the payments made by the Minister under the agreement or such part thereof as the Minister may specify;
(b) any question arising under the agreement as to whether there has been a breach of any of the requirements referred to in article 4 shall be referred to and determined by a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or in default of agreement to be appointed by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1950or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.
Rates of payment under agreement
6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Minister shall make payments under an agreement for land to which the agreement relates (except any woodland) at the following rates–
(a)
(a) £8 per annum for each hectare of land other than permanent grassland or downland turf;
(b)
(b) £40 per annum for each hectare of permanent grassland; and
(c)
(c) £44 per annum for each hectare of downland turf.
(2) Where an agreement includes the additional provisions set out in one or more of the options contained in Schedule 2 in relation to any land, the Minister shall make payments at the rate per annum for each hectare of that land shown in the following table–
£ per hectare of land per annum |
Schedule 2 |
Option 1 |
240 |
Option 2 |
200 |
Option 3 |
60 |
Option 4 |
80 |
(3) Where an agreement includes one or more of the conservation plan operations specified in Schedule 3, the Minister shall also make payments in respect of the aggregate of the operations included in the agreement at a rate not exceeding £75 per annum for each hectare of land to which the agreement relates, subject to a maximum of £3,000 per agreement.
John Selwyn Gummer
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
15th January 1993.
Nicholas Baker
Irvine Patnick
Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury
14th January 1993
SCHEDULE 1
Article 4
REQUIREMENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN AGREEMENT
1. As regards all land which is the subject of an agreement–
(1) the farmer shall maintain field boundaries and shall not remove any, or any part of, walls or hedges. The farmer shall maintain stockproof hedges and walls in a stockproof condition using traditional methods and materials;
(2) within one year of the start of the agreement, the farmer shall where necessary agree in writing with the Minister a programme to keep fence lines free of brambles, thorn and other overgrowth;
(3) the farmer shall not erect any permanent fences without the Minister’s prior written approval;
(4) the farmer shall retain and manage trees, including pollarded willows, in accordance with local custom;
(5) the farmer shall not plant any trees, hedges or woodland, or allow new scrub to become established, without the Minister’s prior written approval;
(6) within 2 years of the start of the agreement, the farmer shall obtain from a person approved by the Minister written advice on the management of woodland, trees, hedges and scrub and on any proposals to plant new woodland;
(7) the farmer shall maintain ditches and streams by mechanical means;
(8) the farmer shall retain and manage ponds and dewponds;
(9) the farmer shall not damage, destroy or remove...
