§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has now completed his review of the five environmentally sensitive areas which were first designated in 1988; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerI am today laying before both Houses of Parliament statutory instruments providing for the upgrading of the five environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) that were first designated in 1988. These are:
- Breckland;
- Clun (formerly Shropshire Borders);
- North Peak;
- Suffolk River Valleys;
- Test Valley
In the Breckland ESA I am introducing new payments aimed at extending the area of lowland heath. New payments will also be available in the Clun ESA to enhance grassland diversity and encourage hedgerow and woodland management. The provisions extend the boundaries of the North Peak ESA and provide additional encouragement to regenerate heather moorland. In the Suffolk River Valleys ESA the boundary extensions bring in additional valleys and provide for further enhancement of the valley grasslands. I have also decided that new management agreements should be offered to farmers and landowners in the Test Valley ESA and that the boundaries of this area should be extended. I hope that the changes that I am introducing in this ESA will attract wider support than has the current scheme.
I am also laying before both Houses a short amending order which will bring the Pennine Dales ESA scheme into line with other ESAs by extending the scope of woodland payments.
Information packs giving details of the new schemes are being placed in the Libraries and are being sent to farmers in each area from whom applications are now invited. The revisions that I am introducing build on the achievements of the existing schemes. They will strengthen their beneficial environmental effects which are described in the published monitoring reports which will also be available in the Libraries later this month.