The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1993

• Citation: S.I. 1993/455
• Sections: 19

Section 1 Title and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1993 and shall come into force on 27th March 1993.

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;

“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;

“heathland” means sandy or chalky land which is free draining and covered by semi-natural vegetation;

“river valley grassland” means land on which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species and on 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 3rd March 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.

Section 4 Requirements and provisions of 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 Breach of requirements or provisions

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 1950 or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

Section 6 Rates of payment under agreement

(1) The Minister shall make payments under an agreement for land to which the agreement relates at the rate per annum for each hectare of that land shown in the following table—

(2) Where an agreement includes one or more of the conservation plan operations specified in Schedule 7, 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.

Section 7 Revocation and saving

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1987 is hereby revoked, except that the provisions of that Order shall continue to apply to agreements made in relation to it on or before 28th February 1993.

Section 1

The provision of water supplies and fencing where necessary to facilitate the reintroduction of livestock for grazing.

Section 2

The management of scrub.

Section 3

Works designed for the supplementary treatment of heathland or reverted heathland, including soil disturbance, the introduction of Calluna species and heather management.

Section 4

The restoration of ponds and pingos.

Section 5

The restoration of reedbeds and sedgebeds.

Section 6

The control of bracken.

Section 7

The provision of feeding areas in sites located away from heathland.

Section 8

The planting or coppicing of hedges.

Section 9

The construction of water penning structures.

Section 10

The restoration of pine belts and lines.

Section 11

The provision of rabbit-proof fencing.

Section 12

Works to protect historic or archaeological features.