Source: http://uklaws.org/statutory_instruments_34_doc34658.htm
Timestamp: 2019-07-18 11:56:23
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Matched Legal Cases: ['art 3', 'art 3', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 4', 'ART1', 'ART2', 'art 2', 'ART3', 'ART4']

Welsh Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 41 (W.7)
Coming into force 13 January 2006
The National Assembly, being designated [1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community[2], in exercise of the powers conferred on it by the said section 2(2) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf hereby makes the following Regulations:
"agreement land" means land which is the subject of a Tir Cynnal agreement;
"Code of Good Farming Practice" means the Good Farming Practice provisions set out in section 9.1 of the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2000-2006;
"the Commission Regulation" means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 817/2004 [3] laying down detailed rules for the application of the Council Regulation;
"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999[4] on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside;
"carrying out", in relation to an activity, includes ensuring that it is carried out, and "carry out" will be construed accordingly;
"eligible person" means a Tir Cynnal agreement holder who applies for aid under these Regulations and is not excluded from eligibility for that aid at the time at which that person's application is considered;
"farm resource management plan" means the activity set out in Part 3 of the Schedule;
"force majeure" means abnormal and unforeseeable circumstances outside the control of the claimant the effect of which would not have been avoided by the exercise of all due care by the applicant;
"landlord indemnity form" means the form drafted by the National Assembly wherein the Landlord of a Tenant who wishes to participate in the Tir Cynnal scheme but has less than five years to run under his or her tenancy agreement, undertakes to the Tenant to maintain the land within the Tir Cynnal scheme until at least the end of the first 5 years of any agreement made by the Tenant to enter into the Tir Cynnal scheme;
"other party" means a person who is party to a Tir Cynnal agreement with the National Assembly;
"resource management plan" means the activity set out in Part 3 of the Schedule;
"specified purposes" means the conservation of biodiversity, protection of landscape features, safeguarding the historic environment and reducing pollution;
"Tir Cynnal agreement" has the meaning given to it by regulation 4(2); and
"Tir Cynnal agreement holder" means any person who has entered into a Tir Cynnal agreement;
"whole farm section" means the environmental conditions set out in Part I of the Schedule which have to be complied with as part of the Tir Cynnal scheme;
"wildlife habitat" means the environmental conditions set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1.
"working day" means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, a common law holiday in Wales and England, or a Bank Holiday in Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act[5].
"the 5% habitat condition" means the conditions set out in Part 2 of the Schedule.”
(a) a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or Schedule to these regulations so numbered;
(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation in which the reference occurs; and
(c) a numbered or denoted sub-paragraph is a reference to the sub-paragraph so numbered or denoted in the paragraph in which the reference occurs.
3.An application by an eligible person to join the Tir Cynnal scheme will be made at such time and in such form and will contain or be accompanied by such information and subject to such conditions as the National Assembly may require.
(a) will include provision that the other party will carry out on the agreement land, the whole farm section as specified in Part 1 of the Schedule ;
(b) will include that the other party will carry out on the agreement land activities so as to protect the wildlife habitats specified in Part 2 of the Schedule insofar as the habitats exist on the agreement land;
(c) will include that the other party will agree that at least 5% of the agreement land will consist of wildlife habitat. If less than 5% of the area of the agreement land is wildlife habitat then the other party can include existing hedgerows and create new habitats in order to meet the 5% habitat condition;
(d) will include provision that the other party will complete a farm resource management plan as detailed in Part 3 of the Schedule;
(e) will, in relation to the activities referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) require or enable the National Assembly to make payment of aid which at the date of the coming into force of this instrument, (but which may be adjusted at the National Assembly's discretion) are at the rates referred to in Part 4 of the Schedule.
(1) Any requirement in a Tir Cynnal agreement to make a payment of aid under these regulations to any person will be subject to the condition that such a person is an eligible person and also to the following conditions —
(a) that such a person is not in breach of any of the terms of the Tir Cynnal agreement by which he or she is bound;
(b) that such a person complies with the requirements of regulation 7 below; and
(c) that such a person maintains an interest in the agreement land for the duration of the Tir Cynnal agreement, unless such a person is a tenant of the agreement land, such tenancy having less than five years left to run, and such a person has obtained his or her Landlord's signature to the landlord indemnity form;
(d) that such a person has complied and continues to comply with the provisions of the Code of Good Farming Practice;
6.Payments of aid under any Tir Cynnal agreement may be made during an annual payment window determined by the National Assembly.
8.If, in the view of the total number of applications for grant already approved or received, the National Assembly is at any time of the opinion that the financial resources which are available for payment of grant under the Tir Cynnnal scheme during any period are insufficient to satisfy any payment during the period which would result from the approval of any further application, it may, in respect of any application received at the date of its decision but not yet accepted, or any application it may receive during the relevant period—
(a) suspend further consideration of any such application until such time as may be subsequently be specified by it: or
(b) reject any such application without further consideration
(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) below, if the applicant presents a claim for a Tir Cynnal payment in respect of a particular year later than the closing date fixed by the National Assembly, the amount otherwise payable will be reduced by one percent for every working day from the closing date to the date upon which the claim was received by the National Assembly,
11.Payments of aid made in relation to the whole farm section conditions and the activities referred to in the Schedule will at the time of the coming into force of this instrument be as outlined in Part 4 of the Schedule—
(a) carrying out any inspection of such land or any document or record in the possession or under the control of the applicant relating to, or which the authorised person may reasonably suspect relates to, the application with a view to verifying the accuracy of any particulars given in the application; and
(b) ascertaining whether the terms of the Tir Cynnal agreement have been complied with.
(c) carrying out any inspection or examination necessary for the purposes of determining whether the Code of Good Farming Practice has been complied with
(e) at the request of the authorised person, accompany the authorised person in making the inspection of any land and identify any area of land which relates to the application or to any change of occupation notified under regulation 10.
(a) has failed to do something which he or she undertook to do if the aid was paid, or
(b) is in breach of any conditions subject to which the aid was paid,
(3) Any dispute in any particular case as to the withholding or recovery of aid by reference to paragraph (1) or (2) above will be referred to and determined by a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or in default of agreement to be appointed by the President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996[6] or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.
15.In any case where an amount falls to be paid to the National Assembly by virtue of, or by virtue of action taken under, these Regulations or the Commission Regulation in so far as it relates to agreement land, the amount so falling to be paid will be recoverable as a debt.
Signed on behalf of the National Assembly under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998[7]
PART1—
WHOLE FARM SECTION
• Retain all traditional field boundaries (hedgerows, dry stone walls, earth banks with or without stone face, slate fences) and associated features (stone gateposts, stone stiles).
• Any maintenance work undertaken on traditional boundaries should use traditional materials and methods.
• Leave at least 25% of hedgerows including any bank hedgerows untrimmed in any one year, with each hedge being left uncut at least one year out of every four (except where highway and/or health and safety requirements preclude this along roadsides).
• Do not cut hedges between 1 March and 31 August (except where highway and/or health and safety requirements preclude this along roadsides).
• Do not cultivate, apply fertilisers, lime, herbicides or other pesticides (unless spot treating injurious weeds or invasive alien species such as Japanese knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, Giant Hogweed or Rhododendrons, as more particularly specified in Section 1 of the Weeds Act 1959, and any other weeds subsequently prescribed by regulations under the Weeds Act 1959) within a buffer strip of 1m width from the outside edge of the base of a traditional field boundary (on both sides).
• Retain individual trees. If possible, encourage natural regeneration to replace lost trees, otherwise replant using saplings of local provenance.
• Do not damage (e.g. by pesticide drift) trees and associated plants and animals
• Any management should follow the guidelines for bats in trees.
• Retain dead trees unless they cause a hazard or obstruction
• Comply with legal requirements relating to existing public rights of way that are on land, including avoiding obstructing them, and reinstating them after ploughing.
• Allow access on foot on land identified as available for such access on the maps prepared by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
• Safeguard archaeological or historic features from damage by stock, vehicles, cultivation or land reclamation. Trees should not be planted nor stones removed.
• Maintain weatherproof and structurally sound traditional buildings in a state of good repair, using traditional materials.
• Sound and weatherproof traditional buildings that have been modified using modern materials should be maintained but the modern components may be repaired or replaced with modern materials.
• Other traditional, sound and well maintained landscape features (e.g. sheepfolds, stone slab bridges) must be maintained.
• Derelict or remnant historic features and traditional buildings must be retained unless they cause a hazard.
• Do not disturb protected species that may be using these sites.
• Use of metal detectors must comply with the Treasure Act 1996.
• Safeguard rock features and geological sites by avoiding physical disturbance. Do not extract rock, scree, sand, shingle, gravel, clay or peat (except from existing quarries for on-farm use) and do not burn vegetation on rocky areas.
• Maintain a 2m buffer zone around rock features without using cultivation, fertilisers, lime, herbicides or other pesticides, (unless for spot treatment of injurious weeds or invasive alien species).
• Keep the farm clear of rubbish and avoid dumping rubbish such as derelict vehicles and disused domestic appliances, in the fields or curtilage of the farmstead.
• Protect all water features — lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and ditches from damage due to leaching of manure, fertilisers, other chemicals and spray drift from adjacent fields.
• Do not cultivate or apply fertilisers, off-farm wastes, lime, pesticides or other chemicals to land within 1m of a water feature.
• Do not apply farm yard manure or slurry within 10m of a water feature.
• Manage the land in order to avoid excessive poaching of the soil to the extent that it impairs the environment beyond the site itself, through run-off and soil erosion leading to pollution and increased sedimentation of watercourses.
• Avoid heavy grazing where this results in the removal of vegetation leading to soil erosion.
• Avoid excessive erosion of the banks of watercourses and pollution of the water by livestock and where necessary control access.
• Do not introduce any non-native animal or plant species, other than for agricultural production, to the land.
• Do not disturb protected species like dormice, bats, water voles, otters and badgers and consult the CCW or Welsh Assembly Government and obtain any necessary licence before undertaking work where protected species are present.
• Comply with the relevant Welsh Assembly Codes for the Welfare of Livestock.
PART2 —
• A generic set of prescriptions has to be adhered to on habitat areas on the agreement land. These are as follows:
• Do not plough, cultivate or re seed
• Do not roll or chain harrow between 1 April and 15 July of each year.
• Do not install new drainage
• Do not clear out ditches between 1 March and 31 August
• Do not use herbicides or pesticides (other than for spot treatment of injurious weeds).
• Consult with Countryside Council Wales and/or Environment Agency Wales on bracken spraying and consider if Environmental Impact Assessment required.
• Do not apply inorganic fertilisers, purchased bagged organic fertilisers, slurry or other off-farm wastes.
• Do not apply any lime, basic slag, calcified seaweed, waste paper, sludge or other off-farm wastes
• Stock the land in line with the Code of Good Farming Practice particularly so that there is no over or under grazing.
• Avoid undertaking supplementary feeding practices where these cause damage to vegetation and poaching of the soil.
• Do not undertake supplementary feeding within broad leaved or mixed woodland.
• Avoid the rutting of vegetation by vehicles.
• Do not extract peat or remove rock.
• Retain ant hills.
• Do not remove any accumulations of seaweed.
• Be at least 2 metres wide between the edges of the hedge including associated adjacent rank vegetation — the calculation of the area of hedgerow will use 2 metres as a standard width
• Consist of native species such as hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn and holly
• Have no gaps (except for gateways and beneath hedgerow trees) between the field corners so as to provide a continuous wildlife corridor along the hedge length
• Be protected from livestock on both sides. Where livestock are not present (e.g. on arable farms) a width of 2 metres consisting of the hedge itself and associated rank vegetation have to be retained without interference of any kind
• Be completely under the Tir Cynnal agreement holder's management control so that the Tir Cynnal agreement holder can fully implement the conditions for hedgerows in the Whole Farm Section. This means that in many cases perimeter hedgerows that you share with another farmer or those along public highways may not be eligible for inclusion as a habitat.
• If including hedgerows as habitat the 1 metre buffer strip condition has to be added to the 2m width of the hedgerow.
If the areas of habitat (together with eligible hedgerows if these have been included) amount to less than 5% of the land on the farm the farmer will need to identify areas of improved land in which to create new habitats. These additional areas, plus existing habitat will be required to reach or exceed the minimum 5% .
1.Creating streamside corridors alongside watercourses.
2.Reducing inputs to revert improved land to semi-improved
3.Leaving uncropped cereal margins on cereal land
4.Creating grass margins on cereal land
5.Small scale broad leaved tree planting
6.Establishing a wild bird cover crop
7.Establishing a crop of unsprayed roots.
• A strip of land with an average width of 10m adjacent to a watercourse should be rendered stockproof. This will normally be achieved by fencing, unless circumstances can ensure that no stock can enter (e.g. agreement land with no livestock, or areas protected by natural features). The strip should not be narrower than 6m at any point.
• Undertake all relevant prescriptions that apply to wildlife habitats designated under Tir Cynnal.
• Do not apply any farm yard manure.
• Undertake all relevant prescriptions that apply to wildlife habitats designated under Tir Cynnal (refer to safe guarding wildlife habitat prescriptions in Part 2).
• The margin should be applied to selected headlands which have to be at least 4 metres in width and up to a maximum of 12 metres, beyond the 1 metre field boundary buffer.
• The margin may be located in the same place or rotated around the agreement land in each year of the agreement. If rotated, the minimum area required to satisfy the "5% rule" should be established each year.
• The margin should be allowed to regenerate naturally.
• Exclude all livestock from the margin.
• Do not apply farm yard manure.
• Do not apply molluscicides.
• Cultivate the margin once each year between 1 October and 31 March (if the margin remains in the same location for more than one year, cultivating once every other year is permissible).
• No part of the margin is to be used for regular machine access or as a trackway. It is acceptable to trim hedges or carry out routine inspections, but where regular access is essential, the margin have to be at least 7 metres wide.
• The margin should be applied to selected headlands which have to be a minimum of 4 metres in width and up to a maximum of 12 metres beyond the 1 metre field boundary buffer zone. The margin can be rotated annually or, provided all the prescriptions can be adhered to, it can remain in the same location.
• Complete ground cover of the margin have to be established by sowing a mixture made up of at least two of the following grass species:—
Plus at least 3 kg/ha of either red clover, alsike clover or bird's foot trefoil
• As long as the margin remains in the same location the existing vegetation can be retained in the second and subsequent years.
• The grass has to be left uncut and ungrazed between sowing and 15 July.
• The margin has to be cut at least once per year and the cuttings may be removed (they can be destroyed, e.g. by composting, or used, e.g. as hay, silage or green fodder).
• Do not allow vehicles on to the margin between sowing and 15 July in the first year, or subsequently before 15 July if the margin is maintained in the same location for a number of years.
• The area planted has to be on improved grassland or arable land before planting.
• The trees have to be broad-leaved native species and should be planted at a density of no less than 3 metres between trees.
• Protect the trees planted form livestock for the duration of the Tir Cynnal agreement. This will normally be achieved by fencing, unless circumstances ensure no livestock can enter (e.g. agreement land with no livestock, or areas protected by natural features).
• An application of farmyard manure at a rate not exceeding 25 tonnes per hectare may be applied before planting. After planting do not apply any farmyard manure.
• Cultivate a seedbed containing at least two or three different types of crop of at least 4metres width on field margins (but whole fields are also acceptable) and establish the crop annually before 20 April. Typical species include: barley, oats, triticale, linseed, quinoa, millet, mustard, kale, teasel, fodder beet, red clover, and sainfoin.
• The crop has to not be cut or grazed before 15 March in the year following establishment.
• Do not apply insecticides, fungicides, molluscicides or herbicides (except for the spot treatment of injurious or invasive alien species).
• Use of lime or fertiliser (organic or inorganic) is permitted only at the time of crop establishment.
• Establish a root crop annually before 1 July (e.g. swedes or turnips) in whole fields or on field margins
• Glyphosate may be applied to destroy existing vegetation prior to establishing the crop, but no other herbicides, (except as a spot treatment for injurious weeds or invasive alien species weeds) should be used.
• Molluscicides may only be used if drilled at the time of crop establishment. No other pesticides may be used.
• Use of lime and fertiliser is acceptable.
• The crop should not be grazed before 15 October and the land should not be ploughed until 1 March in the year following establishment.
• The option is rotational and can be moved around the farm on an annual basis as long as the total area agreed is maintained.
PART3 —
FARM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN
PART4 —
[1]S.I. 2005/2766back
[2]1972 c.68back
[3]OJ No. L74/1, 26.2.04back
[4]OJ No. L343, 23.6.99back
[5]1971 c.80back
[6]1996 c.23back
[7]1998 c.68back
ISBN0 11 091251 9