24.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), a farmer must not, without consent under section 2(3) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979(1), execute any of the following works—
(a)any works resulting in the demolition or destruction of or any damage to a scheduled monument;
(b)any works for the purpose of removing or repairing a scheduled monument or any part of it;
(c)any works for the purpose of making any alteration or additions to a scheduled monument or any part of it;
(d)any flooding or tipping operations on land in, on or under which there is a scheduled monument.
(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), if a farmer executes any works to which a scheduled monument consent relates, he or she must comply with all conditions attached to that consent.
(3) If a farmer can show that—
(a)in relation to works prohibited under sub-paragraph (1)(a), he or she took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid or prevent damage to the monument;
(b)in relation to works prohibited under sub-paragraph (1)(a) or (c), he or she did not know and had no reason to believe that the monument was within the area affected by the works or, as the case may be, that it was a scheduled monument; and
(c)in relation to any works under sub-paragraph (1) or (2), the works were urgently necessary in the interests of safety or health and that notice in writing of the need for the works was given to the National Assembly as soon as reasonably practicable.
In this paragraph, “scheduled monument” has the meaning given to it in section 1(11) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and “scheduled monument consent” is construed in accordance with sections 2(3) and 3(5) of that Act.