The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Exmoor) Designation Order 1993

Title and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Exmoor) Designation Order 1993 and shall come into force on 13th February 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;

“enclosed unimproved permanent grassland” means enclosed permanent grassland which has not undergone regular land cultivation, or which has not been regularly treated with fertilisers, lime, slag or pesticides;

“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 of which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species;

“grazing unit” means an area of land on which stock management and numbers can be controlled by existing boundaries or by shepherding;

“heather moorland or coastal heath” means moorland or coastal heath comprised in a grazing unit where the area of heather is greater than 10 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 including western gorse (Ulex gallii);

“improved permanent grassland” means permanent grassland used for pasture or for the production of hay or silage which is regularly treated with fertilisers;

“livestock unit” means—

(a)

1 bovine animal more than 2 years old, or

(b)

1.66 bovine animals from six months old to two years old inclusive, or

(c)

6.66 sheep, or

(d)

1 soliped (other than a pure bred Exmoor pony) more than six months old;

“managed woodland” means an area of at least one hectare of woodland for which, within two years of the start of the agreement, the farmer obtains approval for a grant either in connection with the management of the land for forestry purposes under section 1 of the Forestry Act 1979(1) or in relation to the conservation and enhancement of a National Park under section 39 or 44 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(2);

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

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

“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 on Exmoor in the Counties of Devon and Somerset which is shown coloured yellow on the maps contained in the volume of maps marked “volume of maps of Exmoor environmentally sensitive area” dated 4th January 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 specified in Schedule 1 as to agricultural practices, methods and operations and the installation and use of equipment.

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) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Minister shall make payments under an agreement for land to which the agreement relates (except any woodland) at the following rates—

(a) £10 per annum for each hectare of land other than improved permanent grassland, enclosed unimproved permanent grassland, moorland or heather moorland or coastal heath;

(b) £25 per annum for each hectare of improved permanent grassland;

(c) £32 per annum for each hectare of enclosed unimproved permanent grassland;

(d) £25 per annum for each hectare of moorland; and

(e) £35 per annum for each hectare of heather moorland or coastal heath.

(2) Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in any of the options in Schedule 2 or in Schedule 3 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—

	£ per hectare of land per annum
Schedule 2	50
Schedule 3	25

(3) Where an agreement includes the additional provisions specified in Schedule 4, the Minister shall make payments at the rate per annum of £2 for each 10 metres of hedgerow per hectare, subject to a minimum of 20 metres and a maximum of 60 metres of hedgerow per hectare, and a maximum number of hectares corresponding to the area of land subject to the provisions of Schedule 1, less any moorland, heather moorland or coastal heath.

(4) Where an agreement includes one or more of the conservation plan operations specified in Schedule 5, the Minister shall also make payments in respect of the aggregate of the operations included in the agreement at a rate not exceeding £100 per hectare, subject to a maximum of £4,000 per agreement.

In witness whereof the Official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on

L.S.

John Selwyn Gummer

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

15th January 1993.

We consent,

Nicholas Baker

Irvine Patnick

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

14th January 1993