The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Lake District) Designation (Amendment) Order 1998

• Citation: S.I. 1998/1301
• Sections: 24

Section 1 Title and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Lake District) Designation (Amendment) Order 1998 and shall come into force on 22nd June 1998.

Section 2 Interpretation

In this Order “the principal Order ” means the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Lake District) Designation (Amendment) Order 1993 , as amended at the date that this Order comes into force.

Section 3 Amendment of the principal Order

The principal Order shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this Order.

Section 4 Amendment of the principal Order

In article 2(1) of the principal Order, the provisions immediately following the words “In this Order—” to the end of article 2(1), in so far as they were made under section 18 of the Agriculture Act 1986, shall be deleted and the following definitions shall be inserted at their appropriate alphabetical place:

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

“capital activity” means an activity specified in Schedule 1;

“conservation plan” means a plan incorporated into an agreement for the carrying out of one or more capital activities within a specified period;

“cultivated land” means land which is regularly ploughed or otherwise cultivated or that is regularly treated with fertilisers;

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

“fell” means land which is covered by semi-natural upland vegetation and is generally unenclosed except along ownership boundaries;

“heather fell” means fell comprised in a grazing unit where the area of heather is greater than 25 hectares or represents more than 25 per cent of the area of the unit;

“heather” means common heather ( calluna vulgaris ), and includes common heather growing in association with other ericaceous dwarf shrub species;

“inbye land” means enclosed grassland which has not been ploughed, levelled, drained or reseeded for at least ten years and which is subject to regular treatment with fertilisers, used for pasture or for the production of hay or silage;

“intake land” means enclosed land used exclusively for grazing, most of which has not been regularly ploughed, levelled, drained or treated with fertilisers, lime, slag or pesticides;

“management activity” means an activity specified in Schedule 2;

“meadowland” means grassland primarily used for the production of hay or silage;

“pasture” means enclosed grassland that is not normally ploughed or reseeded within a period of ten years, is used for the production of pasture and is subject to regular inputs of fertiliser;

“public access route” means a strip of land which is the subject of an agreement and on which access is given to the public;

“relevant date” means 22nd June 1998;

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

“woodland” means land used for woodland where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes.

Section 5 Amendment of the principal Order

In article 3 of the principal Order, for the words “dated 4th January 1993, signed and sealed by the Minister” there shall be substituted “dated 18th May 1998, signed on behalf of the Minister by the Parliamentary Secretary”.

Section 6 Amendment of the principal Order

For article 4 of the principal Order and the heading thereto there shall be substituted the following article and heading—

Matters in respect of which payments may be made

(4) A payment to be made by the Minister under an agreement may be made in respect of—

(a) a capital activity; or

(b) a management activity which—

(i) in the case of a payment to be made under an agreement entered into before the relevant date, is specified in Part I or Part II of Schedule 2; and

(ii) in the case of a payment to be made under an agreement entered into on or after the relevant date, is specified in Part I of Schedule 2.

Section 7 Amendment of the principal Order

For article 5 of the principal Order and the heading thereto there shall be substituted the following article and heading—

Rates of payment

(5)

(1) Payments to be made by the Minister under an agreement shall not exceed—

(a) in the case of a management activity, the rate specified in respect of that activity in column 2 of Schedule 2; and

(b) in the case of one or more capital activities included in a conservation plan, £100,000 in aggregate.

(2) Any works which form part of an activity which constitutes both a management activity and a capital activity may by virtue of an agreement be eligible for payment either as part of a management activity or as part of a capital activity, but the agreement together with any conservation plan incorporated in it shall not provide for payment to be made on both such bases in respect of the same works.

Section 8 Amendment of the principal Order

For Schedule 1 to the principal Order there shall be substituted the Schedule set out in Schedule 1 to this Order.

Section 9 Amendment of the principal Order

For Schedule 2 to the principal Order there shall be substituted the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 to this Order.

Section 10 Amendment of the principal Order

The following provisions of the principal Order shall be deleted—

(a) articles 4A and 6; and

(b) Schedules 1A, 4 and 5.

Section 1

Maintenance of cultivated land.

Section 1

Management of pasture land.

Section 2

Management of inbye land.

Section 2

Management of wetland.

Section 3

Management of intake land.

Section 4

Maintenance of fell without heather.

Section 5

As regards heather fell:

(a) maintenance of heather fell

Section 6

Management of meadowland.

Section 7

Management of other habitats through controlled grazing and restricted agricultural admixtures.

Section 8

Where management of any kind referred to in item 5(a), 5(b) or 5(c) is undertaken, additional management for the purpose of the early adoption of winter stocking restrictions.

Section 9

In relation to woodland:

(a) maintenance of existing woodland

Section 10

The provision of public access routes.

Section 12

Hedgerow restoration.

Section 13

Wall restoration.