The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Suffolk River Valleys) Designation Order 1993

• Citation: S.I. 1993/458
• Sections: 17

Section 1 Title and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Suffolk River Valleys) 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;

“grassland” means land on which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species and includes meadowland, pasture and rough grazing;

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

“reverted grassland” means grassland established pursuant to the provisions of an agreement on land previously used for arable cropping;

“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 the Suffolk River Valleys in the Counties of Suffolk and Essex which is shown coloured yellow on the maps contained in the volume of maps marked “volume of maps of Suffolk River Valleys 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 specified in Schedule 1 as to agricultural practices, methods and operations and the installation and use of equipment.

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) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Minister shall make payments under an agreement for land to which the agreement relates at the rate of £70 per annum for each hectare of permanent grassland and £220 per annum for each hectare of reverted grassland.

(2) Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in Schedule 2, 3 or 4 in relation to any land, the Minister shall make payments at the rate per annum for each hectare of that land shown in the following table–

Schedule 2

permanent grassland

reverted grassland

(3) Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in Schedule 5, the Minister shall also make payments at the rate of £8 per annum for each hectare of land which is subject to the agreement.

(4) Where an agreement includes one or more of the conservation plan operations specified in Schedule 6, 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 (Suffolk River Valleys) 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

As regards any permanent grassland or reverted grassland which is the subject of an agreement–

(1) the farmer shall maintain grassland and shall not plough, level or re-seed. The farmer shall not cultivate except by chain harrow or roller;

(2) the farmer shall graze with livestock, excluding pigs or poultry, but not so as to cause poaching, undergrazing or overgrazing;

(3) where the farmer cuts grass for hay or silage, he shall graze the aftermath with livestock;

(4) the farmer shall not increase existing application rates of inorganic or organic fertiliser and in any event shall not apply more than 250 kilogrammes of nitrogen per hectare per year. He shall not apply organic fertiliser within 50 metres of any spring, well or borehole supplying water for human consumption or within 10 metres of any watercourse;

(5) the farmer shall not apply fungicides or insecticides;

(6) the farmer shall not apply herbicides except to control nettles, spear thistle, creeping or field thistle, curled dock, broadleaved dock, ragwort or bracken. The farmer shall control infestations of these weeds by cutting or the use of herbicides. Herbicides used for these purposes shall be applied by wick applicator or spot treatment. Where bracken cannot be controlled by mechanical means, asulam shall be used;

(7) within two years from the start of the agreement, the farmer shall obtain from a person approved by the Minister written advice on the management of any woodland, scrub and reedbeds, unless such advice was obtained under a previous agreement in respect of the same land;

(8) the farmer shall maintain banks, pollarded willows and other trees, ponds and reedbeds using traditional methods;

(9) the farmer shall maintain hedges using traditional methods, including stockproof hedges, which shall be kept in a stockproof condition;

(10) the farmer shall not install underdrainage or mole drainage or use a sub-soiler. The farmer shall not modify any existing drainage system so as to bring about improved drainage;

(11) the farmer shall maintain ditches and dykes (including banks and margins) in rotation by mechanical means. The farmer shall dry and level spoil and shall not use it to fill depressions;

(12) the farmer shall not damage or destroy any feature of historic or archaeological interest and shall obtain written advice from a person approved by the Minister on the management of any such features;

(13) the farmer shall dispose of sheep dip safely and shall not spread it where it may affect areas of nature conservation value;

(14) the farmer shall obtain written advice on siting and materials from the Minister before constructing buildings or roads or before undertaking any other engineering or construction operations which do not require prior notification determination by the local planning authority under the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 , or planning permission.

Section 1

The planting, laying or coppicing of hedges, other than hedges subject to the provisions of Schedule 5.

Section 2

The provision of water penning structures.

Section 3

The restoration of ponds, ditches and dykes.

Section 4

The restoration of reedbeds or sedgebeds.

Section 5

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

Section 6

The management of scrub.

Section 7

The control of bracken.

Section 8

The creation or improvement of herb-rich meadows.

Section 9

Works to protect historic or archaeological features.