Habitats (Scotland) Regulations 1994
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1994/2710 |
1994 No. 2710 (S.138)
AGRICULTURE
The Habitats (Scotland) Regulations 1994
Made 17th October 1994
Laid before Parliament 1st November 1994
Coming into force 22th November 1994
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by that section and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Habitats (Scotland) Regulations 1994, shall come into force on 22nd November 1994 and shall apply to Scotland only.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–
“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping, freshwater fish farming, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, reed beds, market gardens and nursery grounds, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;
“arable land” means land–
(a) on which an arable crop is growing, or has been planted; or
(b) which is lying fallow as part of a normal arable rotation; or
(c) which is grassland which forms part of a normal arable rotation; or
(d) set-aside and which has been land within the meaning of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) above prior to being set-aside;
“application” means an application for aid under the scheme made in accordance with regulation 7 and “applicant” and “apply” shall be construed accordingly;
“beneficiary” means a person or grazings committee whose application has been accepted by the Secretary of State;
“coastal heath” means vegetation associated with cliff tops or sand dunes, strongly influenced by salt spray and exposure and dominated by heather, crowberry, sedges and sea plantain, or various combinations of these species;
“damp lowland grassland and marsh communities” means grassland or other communities on poorly drained, waterlogged or seasonally flooded ground, dominated by native grasses, sedges, reeds, rushes or wetland broadleaved plants;
“date of entry into the scheme” means the date on which an applicant proposes to assume obligations under the scheme in accordance with regulation 7(f);
“dry lowland grassland” means grassland on light or freely draining soils dominated by native grasses such as fescues and bents and containing various characteristic broadleaved plants;
“farm” includes a common grazing;
“farmer” includes a grazings committee;
“grazings committee” means a committee appointed under section 47(1) or (3) of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 19933and includes a grazings constable;
“habitat site” means an area of land on a farm in respect of which an applicant has given an undertaking as specified in regulation 3;
“improved grassland” means either land used for grazing where over one third of the sward comprises, singly or in mixture, ryegrass, cocksfoot or timothy, or land that has been improved by management practices such as liming and top dressing, where there is not a significant presence of sensitive plant species indicative of native unimproved grassland;
“landlord” means–
(a) in the case of an agricultural holding to which the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 19914(the “1991 Act”) applies, the landlord within the -meaning of section 85 of that Act;
(b) in the case of a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the landlord within the meaning of section 61(1) of that Act;
(c) in the case of a holding within the meaning of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 19115to which the 1991 Act does not apply, the same as it means in the 1911 Act;
and, where appropriate, includes a head tenant;
“less-favoured area” has the same meaning as in the Farm and Conservation Grant Regulations 19916;
“management plan” means a description of the methods by which the applicant intends to manage the habitat site so as to establish or improve a wildlife habitat and to benefit the flora and fauna, taking into account the requirements of the Schedule to these Regulations which applies to the proposed habitat;
“muirburn” has the same meaning as in section 39(1)(f) of the Hill Farming Act 19467;
“rough grazings” means land containing semi-natural vegetation including heathland, heather moorland, bog and rough grassland used or suitable for use as grazing;
“scheme” means the scheme to withdraw land from agricultural production for purposes connected with the environment for a period of 20 years as specified in Article 2(1)(f) or to use other farming practices compatible with the requirements of protection of the environment and natural resources as specified in Article 2(1)(d) of Council Regulation (EEC) No.2078/92 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside8;
“set-aside” means set-aside in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No.1765/92 establishing a support system for certain arable crops9and Article 5 of Commission Regulation (EC) No.762/94 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No.1765/92 with regard to set-aside10;
“statutory weeds” means spear thistle (cirsium vulgare), creeping or field thistle (cirsium arvense), curled dock (rumex crispus), broad-leaved dock (rumex obtusifolius) and ragwort (senecio jacobaea);
“tenant” means–
(a) in the case of an agricultural holding to which the 1991 Act applies, the tenant within the meaning of section 85 of that Act;
(b) in the case of a croft within the meaning of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the crofter within the meaning of section 3(3) of that Act;
(c) in the case of a holding within the meaning of the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911 to which the 1991 Act does not apply, the tenant within the meaning of section 2(2) of the 1911 Act;
and, where appropriate, includes a sub-tenant;
“upland scrub” means land with woody vegetation dominated by scrub species, or by tree species which are prevented from reaching their normal size by reason of the site conditions;
“waterside habitats” means land alongside watercourses and the vegetation that naturally arises from the cessation of grazing and cropping.
(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule shall be construed as a reference to the regulation or Schedule so numbered in these Regulations.
Aid for improvement or establishment of habitats
3.—(1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, the Secretary of State may make payments of aid under the scheme to an applicant who–
(a)
(a) satisfies the conditions of eligibility specified in regulation 4;
(b)
(b) has made an application in accordance with regulation 7 which has been accepted by the Secretary of State;
(c)
(c) has given the undertakings specified in either sub-paragraph (a) or sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) below in respect of each habitat site to which the application relates; and
(d)
(d) has given the additional undertakings specified in paragraph (3) below in respect of each such habitat site.
(2) The undertakings referred to in paragraph (1)(c) above are–
(a)
(a) to withdraw land from agricultural production for a period of 20 consecutive years from the date of entry into the scheme and to use that land for the purposes of the establishment or improvement of one or more of the following wildlife habitats:–
(i) waterside habitats;
(ii) upland scrub;
(iii) damp lowland grassland and marsh communities;
(iv) dry lowland grassland; or
(b)
(b) to use farming practices compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment for a period of 10 consecutive years from the date of entry into the scheme and to use that land for the purposes of the establishment or improvement of one or more of the following wildlife habitats:–
(i) coastal heath;
(ii) damp lowland grassland and marsh communities;
(iii) dry lowland grassland.
(3) In addition, an applicant shall undertake–
(a)
(a) to observe in relation to each habitat site the management requirements contained in Part II, in the case of an undertaking under paragraph (2)(a) above, or Part III, in the case of an undertaking under paragraph (2)(b) above, of the Schedule relevant to that habitat site as specified in regulation 5; and
(b)
(b) to manage each habitat site in accordance with a management plan agreed in advance with the Secretary of State.
Conditions of eligibility
4.—(1) An applicant shall be eligible to make an application if at the date of application the applicant is either the lawful occupier of the habitat site or, subject to regulation 6 below, a grazings committee.
(2) The proposed habitat site shall–
(a)
(a) satisfy the special criteria for acceptance set out in Part I of the Schedule relevant to that habitat site as specified in regulation 5; and
(b)
(b) be on land either in agricultural production or set-aside.
Management requirements for and special criteria for acceptance of a habitat site
5. The management requirements referred to in regulation 3(3) and the special criteria for acceptance of a habitat site referred to in regulation 4(2) applicable to each habitat site listed in column 1 below shall be as specified in the Schedule listed opposite that habitat site in column 2 below–
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Habitat site |
Schedule |
Waterside habitats |
Schedules 1 and 6 |
Upland scrub |
Schedule 2 |
Damp lowland grassland and marsh communities |
Schedule 3 |
Dry lowland grassland |
Schedule 4 |
Coastal heath |
Schedule 5 |
Crofters common grazings
6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4) below, a grazings committee shall be eligible to apply in...
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