The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation (Amendment) Order 1997

Statutory Instruments

1997 No. 970

AGRICULTURE

WALES

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation (Amendment) Order 1997

Made

19th March 1997

Laid before Parliament

26th March 1997

Coming into force

1st May 1997

Whereas, pursuant to section 18(1) of the Agriculture Act 1986(1) the Secretary of State has by order designated an area in the Cambrian Mountains as an environmentally sensitive area;

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 18(1) and (4) of the said Act, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, with the consent of the Treasury and after consultation with the Countryside Council for Wales(2) hereby makes the following Order:—

Title and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation (Amendment) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st May 1997.

Amendment of the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation Order 1986

2.—(1) The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation Order 1986(3) shall be further amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this article.

(2) In paragraph (1) of article 2 (interpretation)—

(a) in the definition of the word “bank”, for the word “or” where it occurs immediately after the word “stone”, there shall be substituted the word “and”;

(b) after the definition of “buffer zone” there shall be added the following definition—

““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;”;

(3) In article 6 (rates of payment under agreement)—

(a) in subparagraph (e) of paragraph (3), for “£35” there shall be substituted “£95”.

(b) in paragraph (5)—

(i) in subparagraph (a), for “£20” there shall be substituted “£30”;

(ii) in subparagraph (c), for “£25” there shall be substituted “£30”;

(iii) in subparagraph (e), for “£50” there shall be substituted “£90”;

(iv) in subparagraph (f), for “£70” there shall be substituted “£125”;

(v) in subparagraph (g), for “£80” there shall be substituted “£125”.

(c) for paragraph (7) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(7) Where an agreement includes a conservation plan, the Secretary of State shall also make payments in respect of operations included in the plan, subject to a maximum of £20,000 for that agreement.”.

(d) paragraph (8) shall be deleted.

(4) In paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 (conservation plan operations) the word “traditional”, where it occurs before the word “farm”, shall be deleted and the words “using traditional materials” shall be inserted after the word “buildings”.

Saving

3.  Paragraph (3) of article 2 of this Order shall not apply in respect of any annual payment to a farmer which relates wholly or in part to any period before 1st May 1997.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales

Jonathan Evans

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Welsh Office

17th March 1997

We consent,

Roger Knapman

Patrick McLoughlin

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

19th March 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cambrian Mountains) Designation Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/2257) which designated an area in the Cambrian Mountains as an environmentally sensitive area, in compliance with Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 (OJ No. L215, 30.7.92, p. 85) on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside.

The Order amends and adds definitions, amends the rates of payments to be made by the Secretary of State pursuant to a management agreement made under section 18(3) of the Agriculture Act 1986 and also amends the description of one of the operations that may be included in a conservation plan (articles 2 and 3).

No Compliance Cost Assessment in relation to this Order has been prepared.

(1)

1986 c. 49; section 18(11) defines “the Minister” and section 18(4) was amended by S.I. 1994/249.

(2)

The provisions in section 18 of the Agriculture Act 1986 concerning Nature Conservancy Councils were amended by part VII of, and paragraph 13 of Schedule 9 to, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43).

(3)

S.I. 1986/2257, amended by S.I. 1988/173, 1992/1359, 1992/2342, 1995/243 and 1996/3077.