ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS (Hansard, 18 December 1986)

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)

My right honourable friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Wales have today laid before Parliament six orders designating the areas whose selection was announced on 14th August. The areas are West Penwith, the Somerset Levels and Moors, the South Downs, the Norfolk Broads, the Pennine Dales and the Cambrian Mountains.

355WA

In presenting the orders, my right honourable friends have been guided by the formal reports submitted to them by the Countryside Commission and the Nature Conservancy Council. The two departments have also undertaken extensive consultations with a range of local and national representatives of environmental, farming and other interests. The objective has been to remain as faithful as possible to the original recommendations while ensuring that the schemes will be sufficiently attractive to generate the high level of uptake on which the achievement of their environmental aims will depend.

My right honourable friends will be encouraging farmers not simply to refrain from damaging operations but to play an active part in conserving landscape, wildlife and historic features. My right honourable friends look forward to inviting applications from farmers in the six areas during the spring.

In each area in England an ADAS officer has been nominated to co-ordinate the technical aspects of the schemes. These officers are all qualified surveyors and are already in contact with local farming and environmental 356WA representatives. They will play a major part in monitoring the progress of the schemes on which my right honourable friend the Minister will produce public reports from time to time.

My right honourable friend the Minister is also making available to Parliament maps which show the boundaries of the areas. The rates of payment and management prescriptions are shown in the orders themselves. Farmers who wish to participate in the schemes will be invited to do so for an initial period of five years. My right honourable friend the Minister is pleased to announce that the rate of payment will be reviewed in three years' time to take account in particular of economic developments over the period. The rates of payment are as follows:—

The Broads	£125 and £200 per hectare
Pennine Dales	£100 per hectare
Somerset Levels	£82 and £120 per hectare
South Downs	£35 and £160 per hectare
West Penwith	£60 per hectare
Cambrian Mountains	£30 and £45 per hectare