Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 455

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1993

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© Crown Copyright 1993

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1993 No. 455

AGRICULTURE

The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1993

Whereas, as mentioned in section 18(1) of the Agriculture Act^[1], it appears to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ("the Minister") that it is particularly desirable—
    (1)  to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area referred to in article 3 of the following Order;

    (2)  to conserve the flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features of that area; and

    (3)  to protect buildings and other objects of historic interest in that area;

And whereas, as mentioned in the said section 18(1) it appears to the Minister that the maintenance or adoption of the agricultural methods specified in the Schedules to the following Order is likely to facilitate the aforementioned conservation, enhancement and protection;

Now, therefore, the Minister, 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 Secretary of State, the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council for England^[2] as to the inclusion of the area referred to in article 3 of this Order and the features of that area for which conservation, enhancement and protection are desirable, hereby makes the following Order:

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

Interpretation
    2.—(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.

Designation of environmentally sensitive area
    3.    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.

Requirements and provisions of agreement
    4.    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.

Breach of requirements or provisions
    5.    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^[3] or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.

Rates of payment under agreement
    6.—(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—

	£ per hectare of land per annum
Schedule 1	100
Schedule 2	300
Schedule 3	125
Schedule 4	350
Schedule 5	110

(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.

Revocation and saving
    7.    The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation Order 1987^[4] 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.

In witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on
3rd March 1993.


John Selwyn Gummer

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

We consent

Tim Wood

Irvine Patnick

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury

4th March 1993

[1] 1986 c. 49. The expression "the Minister" is defined in section 18(11). back

[2] The provisions in section 18 of the Agriculture Act 1986 concerning Nature Conservancy Councils were amended by Part VII of, and Schedule 9 to, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43). back

[3] 1950 c. 27. back

[4] S.I. 1987/2029, amended by S.I. 1988/1645. back

Explanatory Note