21.—(1) Article 4 applies to a removal activity using a vehicle carried on by or on behalf of a local authority for the purpose of removing any litter or seaweed from a beach.
(2) But article 4 does not apply to any such removal activity—
(a)that falls within sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph (3); and
(b)that is not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site or zone (as the case may be) referred to in that sub-paragraph.
(3) An activity falls within this paragraph if—
(a)it is a plan or project likely (either alone or in combination with other plans or projects) to have a significant effect on a European site;
(b)it is likely to have a significant effect on a Ramsar site; or
(c)it is capable of affecting (other than insignificantly)—
(i)the protected features of an MCZ;
(ii)any ecological or geomorphological process on which the conservation of any protected feature of an MCZ is (wholly or in part) dependent.
(4) In paragraph (1), “local authority” has the meaning given by section 68(9) of the Act.
(5) In paragraph (3)(a) and (b), “likely” has the same meaning as in Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.