Environmentally Sensitive Areas Designation Order (Northern Ireland) 2001 No. 269

Article 4(1)

SCHEDULE 2 Requirements to be included in an Agreement

1.  The farmer shall—

(a) prepare and follow a nutrient management plan;

(b) retain and not damage any habitat, landscape or water feature, or heritage feature;

(c) retain existing field boundaries and not remove any hedge, tree, copses, scrub, ditch, dyke or wall or any part thereof, except with the prior written permission of the Department;

(d) maintain open drains and sheughs in accordance with the written advice of the Department;

(e) keep the eligible land free from rubbish and litter;

(f) seek the permission of the Department before undertaking work which may have a detrimental impact on any habitat, landscape feature or heritage feature;

(g) comply with the Codes of Good Agricultural Practice for the protection of—

(i) soil(1);

(ii) air(2); and

(iii) water(3),

published by the Department; and

(h) comply with the Good Farming Practice for the Environment(4) published by the Department.

2.  The farmer shall not—

(a) increase the overall stocking density on lands owned or occupied by him for the purpose of his farm business to a level above that which existed on average in the year preceding the year in which the agreement is made unless permitted to do so by the Department to achieve environmental objectives;

(b) in any year apply nitrogen at a rate exceeding 260 kilogrammes per hectare from either organic or inorganic sources;

(c) undertake ploughing, levelling or reseeding of unimproved land, or any semi-natural grassland;

(d) apply weed control on unimproved land or any habitat other than by spot treatment or weed wiper for noxious weeds;

(e) undertake any land reclamation or install new underdrainage or substantially modify the existing drainage system;

(f) apply lime to any habitat unless with prior written approval of the Department;

(g) cause severe damage to vegetation by poaching or repeated vehicular access, (including all terrain vehicles) nor graze land with livestock in such numbers as adversely to affect the growth quality or species composition of vegetation (other than vegetation normally grazed to destruction) to a significant degree;

(h) carry out any activity or deposit on, or extract from the land, any article, material or substance in a manner likely to detract significantly from the natural beauty of the land or damage or destroy flora or fauna or materially alter the geological or physiographical features of the land; or

(i) realign, dredge or dam any watercourse nor alter the water levels within any existing water feature without the prior agreement of the Department.

(1)

Soil ISBN 1 85527 1591 (1995)

(2)

Air ISBN 1 85527 1605, 1613, (1995)

(3)

Water ISBN 1 85527 057 9, 059 5, 112 5, 115, 114 1, 246 6, 351 9, 361 6 (1991-1999)

(4)

ISBN 1 855 472 8