The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (Wales) Regulations 2008

Provisions as to issuing or refusal of licences

7.—(1) A person may apply to the Welsh Ministers for a licence permitting the applicant to burn specified vegetation outside the burning season or in a manner otherwise prohibited by regulation 6(1).

(2) Any application must be made in a manner specified by the Welsh Ministers and must be made not less than 28 days before the date (or the first date if more than one) on which the applicant proposes to burn, and—

(a) in the case of a burn (or burns) intended to take place during a burning season, not before the end of the preceding burning season; or

(b) in the case of a burn (or burns) intended to take place outside a burning season, not more than 56 days before the date (or the last date if more than one) on which the applicant proposes to burn.

(3) The Welsh Ministers may grant a licence only if they are satisfied that the proposed burning is to be carried out in accordance with the provisions of a burning plan prepared by the applicant and is—

(a) in the case of railway land, necessary or expedient for good maintenance of the land or for the purpose of pest control; or

(b) in the case of all other land, necessary or expedient for—

(i) the conservation, enhancement or management of the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations; or

(ii) the safety of any person.

(4) If the Welsh Ministers decide—

(a) not to issue a licence under paragraph (3);

(b) to issue a licence in respect of only part of the land to which the application relates; or

(c) to issue a licence subject to any conditions,

they must notify the applicant in writing of their decision and of the reasons for it.