The Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“agreement holder” means a CS agreement holder or a facilitation agreement holder;

“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 a countryside stewardship agreement or a facilitation agreement;

“carry out”, in relation to an obligation under a countryside stewardship agreement or a facilitation agreement, includes ensuring that the obligation is carried out;

“countryside stewardship agreement” means an agreement under regulation 3;

“CS agreement holder” means a person who enters into a countryside stewardship agreement with the Secretary of State;

“eligible person” means—

(a)

any person who has management control of the eligible land and sufficient control of the activities on that land to be able to meet the conditions of the countryside stewardship agreement for either—

(i)

the duration of the agreement and any ongoing maintenance requirements set out in the agreement, or

(ii)

part of the duration of the agreement and any ongoing maintenance requirements set out in the agreement, if the person to whom the management control will revert for the remaining part has co-signed the application for a grant under regulation 3, and

(b)

whose business is, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, viable;

“facilitation agreement” means an agreement under regulation 6;

“facilitation agreement holder” means a person who enters into a facilitation agreement with the Secretary of State;

“facilitation services” means professional services to promote cooperation between members of a group;

“officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body or any person purporting to act in such capacity;

“officer” or “member”, in relation to an unincorporated association, includes any person purporting to act in such capacity;

“partner” includes any person purporting to act in such capacity;

“partnership” does not include a limited liability partnership;

“permanent crops” means non-rotational crops other than permanent grassland that occupy the land for five years or more and yield repeated harvests;

“permanent grassland” means land used to grow grasses or other herbaceous forage naturally or through cultivation and that has not been included in the crop rotation for five years or more;

“Priority Habitat” means a type of habitat identified as being of principle importance in England in accordance with section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006(1);

“Priority Species” means those living organisms identified as being of principle importance in England in accordance with section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006;

“qualified person” means either—

(a)

a person from the farming, forestry or other land management sector, or

(b)

a person with environmental land management experience and skills in providing facilitation services;

“unincorporated association” does not include a partnership.

(2) In these Regulations “eligible land” means any land that is registered on the Rural Payments Service held by the Secretary of State, and which is—

(a) an area of agricultural land, including associated farm buildings, that is taken up by arable land, permanent grassland or permanent crops;

(b) a protected site, including—

(i) Sites of Special Scientific Interest, as defined in section 52(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(2);

(ii) Special Area of Conservation (“SAC”), as designated in regulation 13 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017(3), and proposed SACs;

(iii) Special Protection Areas (“SPA”), as classified in regulation 15 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017(4), and proposed SPAs;

(iv) Ramsar Sites, which means wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention as being of international importance, as described in section 37A of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981(5);

(c) a terrestrial Priority Habitat;

(d) land that supports a Priority Species;

(e) an area of woodland that—

(i) is at least 0.5 hectares,

(ii) has an average width of at least 20 metres, and

(iii) contains groups or lines of trees that are, or will reach, at least 5 metres in height and with a crown cover of more than 20% of the ground area;

(3) But “eligible land” does not include land—

(a) in relation to which any of the activities for which grant is sought—

(i) is funded by—

(aa) the European Union,

(bb) Parliament, or

(cc) a body exercising public functions within the United Kingdom; or

(ii) is required under any other form of legally binding obligation;

(b) on which solar panels generate electricity other than for a use connected to those activities.

(1)

2006 c. 16.

(2)

1981 c. 69; the definition of “site of special scientific interest” in section 52(1) was inserted by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), Schedule 9, paragraph 5(1) and (2).

(3)

S.I. 2017/1012. Regulation 13 is prospectively amended by S.I. 2019/579.

(4)

Regulation 15 is prospectively amended by S.I. 2019/579.

(5)

1981 c. 69; section 37A was inserted by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (c. 37), section 77, and placed under a new heading by the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (c. 16), Schedule 11 (1), paragraph 84.