The Countryside Stewardship Regulations 2000

Title and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Countryside Stewardship Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 5th December 2000.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “agreement” has the meaning given to it by regulation 3(2);

• “agreement land” means land which is the subject of an agreement;

• “agreement year” means a period of 12 months commencing with the date of, or any anniversary of the date of, the coming into effect of an agreement;

• “application” means an application to enter into an agreement with the Minister, and “applicant” shall be construed accordingly;

• “beneficiary” means a person who has entered into an agreement with the Minister;

• “carrying out”, in relation to an activity, includes ensuring it is carried out, and “carry out” shall be construed accordingly;

• “Commission Regulation 746/96” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 746/96(1), laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation 2078/92 as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 435/97(2);

• “Commission Regulation 1750/1999” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1750/1999(3), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2075/2000(4) laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation 1257/1999;

• “Council Regulation 2078/92” means Council Regulation (EEC) 2078/92(5) on agricultural methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside;

• “Council Regulation 1257/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999(6) on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF);

• “Countryside Agency” means the body established by section 1 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(7), formerly known as the Countryside Commission(8);

• “former scheme” means the Countryside Stewardship Scheme administered by the Countryside Agency under section 4 of the Countryside Act 1968(9) from 25th June 1991 to 31st March 1996;

• “former scheme agreement” means an agreement made with the Countryside Agency under the former scheme by any person with an interest in land, the rights and obligations of the Countryside Agency under which have been assumed by the Minister;

• “interest”, in relation to land, means:

  (a)

  a freehold estate;

  (b)

  a leasehold estate;

  (c)

  a licence to occupy; or

  (d)

  a right to graze common land;

• “Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

• “special project agreement” has the meaning given to it by regulation 3(4);

• “specified purposes” means—

  (a)

  the conservation or enhancement of the natural beauty or amenity of the countryside (including its flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features) or of any features of archaeological interest there; or

  (b)

  the promotion of the enjoyment of the countryside by the public.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to—

(a) a numbered regulation or the Schedule is a reference to the regulation so numbered in, or the Schedule to, these Regulations; and

(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation (or, in Part I or II of the Schedule, the Part) in which the reference occurs.

(3) A reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.

(4) Part IV of the Schedule shall have effect for the purposes of interpreting Parts I to III thereof.

Power to enter into agreements

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (3) and regulations 4 and 5, where the Minister is of the opinion that the carrying out by an applicant of any activity in relation to land in which the applicant has an interest, and which is the subject of an application, would be conducive to any of the specified purposes, he may enter into an agreement with the applicant.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “agreement” means an agreement which remains in force for a specified term, provides for the activity in question to be carried out in relation to land which is the subject of the agreement and requires the Minister to make payments to the beneficiary in respect of the carrying out of that activity thereon.

(3) The Minister may only enter into an agreement which—

(a) requires the beneficiary to carry out at least one activity specified in column I of Part I or II of the Schedule;

(b) in respect of any activity specified in column I of Part I, II or III of the Schedule, does not require the Minister to make payments in excess of the maximum payment rate specified in column 2 thereof; and

(c) does not require the Minister to make payments in respect of any activities not specified in Part I or II of the Schedule.

(4) Paragraph (3) shall not apply where the Minister is of the opinion that the specified purposes would be better or more fully achieved by entering into an agreement other than one in accordance with paragraph (3) (“a special project agreement”).

Power to make payments

4.  Subject to regulation 6, the Minister may make payments to the beneficiary in accordance with an agreement.

Conditions of payment

5.  Subject to Article 48.3 of Commission Regulation 1750/1999, or, in relation to agreements applications for which were received before 30th July 1999, Article 20.3 of Commission Regulation 746/96 (exclusion from entitlement to payments), a beneficiary’s entitlement to receive payments shall be subject to the following conditions—

(a) that he is not in breach of any of the terms of the agreement;

(b) that he has complied with the requirements of regulation 7; and

(c) that he maintains an interest in the agreement land for the duration of the agreement.

Activities and matters in respect of which payments may be made

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), payments may be made in respect of any activity or matter specified in Part I, II or III of the Schedule or, in the case of a special project agreement, in respect of any activity specified in that agreement.

(2) Paragraph 4(b) of Part II of the Schedule shall not apply to any agreement commencing on or after 1st October 2000.

Rates of payment

7.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, the rate of payment in respect of any activity shall not exceed that specified in column 2 of Part I, II or III of the Schedule.

(2) Payments in respect of any activity specified in a special project agreement shall not exceed 120% of the loss of income and additional costs incurred as a result of carrying out that activity.

(3) Where, with respect to any activity specified in paragraph 9(b), (d), (f), (i) or (j) of Part I of the Schedule, an agreement provides for a payment at a rate less than the former maximum payment rate in respect of the year ending on 31st July 2000, and a payment in respect of the year ending on 31st July 2001, and the aggregate amount of those payments will not exceed the amount that would be payable in respect of a single year if the applicable rate were the former maximum payment rate, the maximum payment rates specified in Part I of the Schedule in respect of those paragraphs shall not affect the rates of payment in relation to the agreement in question in respect of any activity carried out before 1st August 2001.

(4) In paragraph (3), “former maximum payment rate” means the maximum payment rate specified in the Countryside Stewardship Regulations 1998(10) in respect of the activity specified in the correspondingly numbered paragraph in Part I of the Schedule to those Regulations.

Applications for payment

8.  An application by a beneficiary for a payment under these Regulations shall be made at such time and in such form and shall contain or be accompanied by such information as the Minister reasonably may require.

Time for making payment

9.  A payment may be made at such time during or after the agreement year as the Minister reasonably may determine.

Revocation and saving

10.—(1) The Countryside Stewardship Regulations 1998 are revoked, except that—

(a) regulations 9, 10, 11 and 12 of those Regulations shall continue to apply in relation to any person who is a beneficiary under any agreement in respect of which an application was received before 30th July 1999; and

(b) in addition, regulation 13 shall continue to apply in relation to former scheme agreements.

(2) The Countryside Stewardship (Amendment) Regulations 1999(11) are revoked.

Elliot Morley

Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

9th November 2000

We consent,

Jim Dowd

Clive Betts

Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury

13th November 2000