Statutory Instrument 1994 No. 708

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cotswold Hills) Designation Order 1994

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© Crown Copyright 1994

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1994 No. 708

AGRICULTURE

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cotswold Hills) Designation Order 1994

Whereas, as mentioned in section 18(1) of the Agriculture Act 1986^[1], it appears to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ("the Minister") that it is particularly desirable—
    (1)  to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area referred to in article 3 of the following Order;

    (2)  to conserve the flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features of that area; and

    (3)  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 her by section 18(1) and (4) of the said Act, and of all other powers enabling her 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 England^[2] as 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:

Title and commencement
    1.    This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cotswold Hills) Designation Order 1994 and shall come into force on 6th April 1994.

Interpretation
    2.—(1)  In this Order—

"access route" means a strip of land 10 metres wide which is the subject of an agreement including the requirements specified in Schedule 2 as to public access;


"agreement" means an agreement under section 18(3) of the Agriculture Act 1986 as respects agricultural land in the area designated by article 3;


"conservation plan" means a plan for the carrying out of one or more of the operations specified in Schedule 5 which the farmer undertakes, as part of an agreement, to implement within a period of two years;


"extensive permanent grassland" means permanent grassland which is receiving no or only minimal inputs of fertiliser or pesticides;


"farmer" means a person who has an interest in agricultural land in the area designated by article 3 and who has entered into an agreement with the Minister;


"grassland" means land on which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species;


"hay meadow" means land used for the production of hay;


"improved permanent grassland" means permanent grassland which is receiving regular inputs of fertiliser;


"livestock unit" means—
 (a) 1 bovine animal more than two years old;
 (b) 1.66 bovine animals from six months old to two years old inclusive;
 (c) 6.66 sheep; or
 (d) 1 horse more than six months old;


"permanent grassland" means grassland which has not been ploughed or reseeded for at least five years;


"recognised dairy breed" means one of the following breeds, namely, Ayrshire, British Friesian, British Holstein, Dairy Shorthorn, Guernsey, Jersey and Kerry;


"wetland" means land which is subject to regular flooding or which is waterlogged for the greater part of the year;


"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.

Designation of environmentally sensitive areas
    3.    There is hereby designated as an environmentally sensitive area the area of land in the Cotswold Hills in the Counties of Avon, Gloucestershire and Hereford and Worcester which is shown coloured yellow on the maps contained in the volume of maps marked "volume of maps of the Cotswold Hills environmentally sensitive area" dated 3rd March 1994, signed and sealed by the Minister and deposited at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.

Requirements included in an 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.

    5.    An agreement may also include the requirements as to public access specified in Schedule 2 to this Order.

Breach of requirements
    6.    An agreement shall include provisions that—
 (a) in the event of a breach by the farmer of the requirements referred to in article 4 which are included in the agreement, 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 1950^[3] or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

Rates of payment under agreement
    7.—(1)  The Minister shall make payments under an agreement for land to which the agreement relates at the following rates—
 (a) £12 per annum for each hectare of land other than improved permanent grassland or extensive permanent grassland or woodland;
 (b) £30 per annum for each hectare of improved permanent grassland;
 (c) £60 per annum for each hectare of extensive permanent grassland, unless a higher rate is applicable in accordance with paragraph (4) below.

    (2)  The Minister shall make payments at the rate per annum of £4 for each 0.25 metre of drystone walls restored per hectare in accordance with the programme referred to in Schedule 1 paragraph 1(5), subject to a maximum of 2 metres of drystone walls per hectare per annum, and to a maximum number of hectares corresponding to the area of land subject to the provisions of Schedule 1 which contains or is enclosed or partially enclosed by such walls.

    (3)  Where an agreement includes the requirements as to public access specified in Schedule 2 the Minister shall make payments at the rate of £170 per annum for each hectare of access route.

    (4)  Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in Schedule 3 in relation to any land, the Minister shall make payments at the rate of £260 for each hectare of that land.

    (5)  Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in Schedule 4, the Minister shall make payments at the rate per annum of £2 for each 0.5 metre of non-stockproof hedges per hectare, subject to a maximum of 2 metres of non-stockproof hedges per hectare per annum, and to a maximum number of hectares corresponding to the area of land subject to the provisions of Schedule 1 which contains or is enclosed or partially enclosed by such hedges.

    (6)  Where an agreement includes a conservation plan, the Minister shall also make payments in respect of the aggregate of the operations included in the plan 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 for each such plan.

In witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on


Gillian Shephard

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

3rd March 1994.
We consent,

Timothy Wood

Nicholas Baker

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

3rd March 1994

[1] 1986 c. 49. The expression "the Minister" is defined in section 18(11). Section 18(4) was amended by S.I. 1994/249. back

[2] The provisions in section 18 of the Agriculture Act 1986 concerning Nature Conservancy Councils were amended by Part VII of, and Schedule 9 to, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43). back

[3] 1950 c. 27. back

Explanatory Note