Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Hansard, 16 July 1992)

§ Mr. Wallace
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what basis the then Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland made its selection of areas appropriate for designation as environmentally sensitive areas.

§ Sir Hector Monro
The then Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland put forward its list of priority areas for designation in a third round of environmentally sensitive areas in response to a request from the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department in terms of section 18(1) and (2) of the Agriculture Act 1986. The selection of areas for inclusion in the list was a matter for the council in the light of the guidance issued by the Department.

§ Mr. Wallace
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria his Department has set for the former Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland for application when it is considering areas in Scotland appropriate for designation as environmentally sensitive areas; and if he will make a statement.

§ Sir Hector Monro
When the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department asked the former Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and the Countryside Commission for Scotland to consider areas in Scotland appropriate for designation in a third round of environmentally sensitive areas, it suggested that the areas should be of high conservation interest; that the conservation interest of the areas should, to a considerable extent, depend on maintaining or adopting particular farming practices; and that the areas should be relatively homogeneous in agricultural terms. In addition, the Department asked the council and commission to consider areas suitable for designation in order to protect or enhance heather or other upland vegetation.

§ Mr. Wallace
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what areas were recommended to him for designation as environmentally sensitive areas by the former Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland prior to the announcement in March 1992 of a further five areas in Scotland.

§ Sir Hector Monro
The Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland's list of priority areas for designation in a third round of environmentally sensitive areas contained the following areasThe Inner Hebrides (Islay, Jura, Colonsay, the west coast of Mull, Coll, the Firth of Lorn, Skye, Lochalsh and the Small Isles), the Cairngorms, Shetland, Orkney, South Lochaber, Deeside, and the Outer Hebrides. The council also recommended the southern uplands as an area suitable for designation in order to enhance and restore upland plant communities. In putting forward these recommendations the council indicated that in its view a larger part of Scotland would also benefit from environmentally sensitive area designation.