Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) Act 1985
| Year | 1985 |
Wildlife and Countryside(Amendment) Act 1985
1985 CHAPTER 31
An Act to amend sections 28 and 43 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, sections 1 and 2 of the Badgers Act 1973 and section 1 of the Forestry Act 1967.
[26th June 1985]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Amendment of Badgers Act 1973.
(1) Section 1 of the Badgers Act 1973 shall be amended as follows—
(a ) before ‘If’, where it first occurs, there shall be inserted ‘(1)’;
(b ) before subsection (2) there shall be inserted—
(1A) If, in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) above consisting of attempting to kill, injure or take a badger, there is evidence from which it could reasonably be concluded that at the material time the accused was attempting to kill, injure or take a badger, he shall be presumed to have been attempting to kill, injure or take a badger unless the contrary is shown.’.
(2) Section 2 of the Badgers Act 1973 (digging for badgers etc.) shall be amended as follows—
(a ) before ‘If’ there shall be inserted ‘(1)’;
(b ) at the end there shall be added—
(2) If, in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1)(c ) above, there is evidence from which it could reasonably be concluded that at the material time the accused was digging for a badger, he shall be presumed to have been digging for a badger unless the contrary is shown.’.
2 Notification of areas of special scientific interest.
(1) Section 28 of the principal Act (notification of areas of special scientific interest) shall be amended as follows.
(2) For subsection (2) (preliminary notices) there shall be substituted—
(2) A notification under subsection (1) shall specify the time (not being less than three months from the date of the giving of the notification) within which, and the manner in which, representations or objections with respect thereto may be made; and the Council shall consider any representation or objection duly made.’.
(3) In subsection (3), ‘or notice’ shall be omitted.
(4) After subsection (4) there shall be inserted—
(4A) Where a notification under subsection (1) has been given, the Council may within the period of nine months beginning with the date on which the notification was served on the Secretary of State either—
(a ) give notice to the persons mentioned in subsection (1) withdrawing the notification; or
(b ) give notice to those persons confirming the notification (with or without modifications);
and the notification shall cease to have effect—
(i) on the giving of notice of its withdrawal under paragraph (a ) of this subsection to any of the persons mentioned in subsection (1), or
(ii) if not withdrawn or confirmed by notice under paragraph (a ) or (b ) of this subsection within the said period of nine months, at the end of that period.
(4B) The Council's power under subsection (4A)(b ) to confirm a notification under subsection (1) with modifications shall not be exercised so as to add to the operations specified in the notification or extend the area to which it applies.
(4C) As from the time when there is served on the owner or occupier of any land which has been notified under subsection (1)(b ) a notice under subsection (4A) confirming the notification with modifications, the notification shall have effect in its modified form in relation to so much (if any) of that land as remains subject to it’.
(5) In subsection (5) (restrictions on carrying out operations specified in notification)—
(a ) after ‘shall not’ there shall be inserted ‘while the notification remains in force’;
(b ) in paragraph (a ) (notice by owner or occupier of proposed operations), for ‘after the commencement date’ there shall be substituted ‘after service on him of the notification’.
(6) In subsection (6)(c ) (which specifies as one of the conditions referred to in subsection (5)(b ) that three months have expired from the giving of the notice under subsection (5)), for ‘three months’ there shall be substituted ‘four months’.
(7) After subsection (6) there shall be inserted—
(6A) If before the expiry of the four months referred to in subsection (6)(c ) the relevant person agrees with the Council in writing that, subject to subsection (6B), the condition specified in paragraph (c ) of subsection (6) shall not apply in relation to the operation mentioned in subsection (5)(a ), then, subject to subsection (6B), subsection (5) shall as from the date of the agreement have effect in relation to the operation in question (as regards both the owner and the occupier of the land) as if...
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