The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1987

• Citation: S.I. 1987/2029
• Sections: 8

Section 1 Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1987 and shall come into force on 1st January 1988.

Section 2 Interpretation

(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;

“dry grassland” means grassland in which the soil is predominantly free-draining;

“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;49.

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

“the Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

“wet grassland” means grassland in which the soil is not predominantly free-draining;

“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.

Section 3 Designation of environmentally sensitive area

There is hereby designated as an environmentally sensitive area the area of land in Breckland in the Counties of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire which is shown coloured yellow on the maps contained in the volume of maps marked “volume of maps of Breckland environmentally sensitive area” dated 25th November 1987, signed and sealed by the Minister and deposited at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at Great Westminster House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AE.

Section 4 Requirements to be included in agreement

An agreement shall include the requirements as to agricultural practices, methods and operations and the installation and use of equipment specified in Schedule 6 and in one of the Schedules numbered 1 to 5 inclusive.

Section 5 Provisions as to breach of requirements to be included in agreement

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 civil 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 an 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 or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

Section 6 Rates of payment under agreement

Payments made by the Minister under an agreement shall be at the following rates: —

(a) £100 per annum per hectare of heathland or dry grassland subject to the provisions specified in Schedule 1;

(b) £100 per annum per hectare of arable land subject to the provisions specified in Schedule 2;

(c) £125 per annum per hectare of wet grassland subject to the provisions specified in Schedule 3;

(d) £300 per annum per hectare of arable land subject to the provisions specified in Schedule 4;

(e) £100 per annum per hectare of arable land subject to the provisions specified in Schedule 5.

Section 1

As regards any land which is the subject of an agreement and to which the provisions of any of the previous Schedules apply —

(1) The farmer shall maintain in the traditional manner all hedges and hedgerow trees which he is entitled to maintain.

(2) The farmer shall maintain existing ditches by non-chemical means.

(3) The farmer shall ensure in farming the land that he does not damage or destroy any feature of historic interest or any feature of geomorphological interest notified to him by the Minister.

(4) The farmer shall maintain ponds.

(5) The farmer shall obtain written advice from the Minister concerning siting and materials before constructing buildings or roads or carrying out other engineering operations authorised under Class VI of the Town and Country Planning General Development Orders 1977 to 1985 . This requirement shall not apply to any development in respect of which notice of a direction restricting permitted development has been served under article 4 of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1977 .

Section 2

As regards any woodland, copses or trees on any land which is the subject of an agreement —

Within two years of the commencement of the agreement, the farmer shall obtain from the persons or bodies designated by the Minister written advice on the management of woodland, Scots Pine belts, copses and trees.