Access Agreements

HC Deb 04 July 1996 vol 280 cc523-4W

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many access agreements have been concluded with farmers in each of the environmentally sensitive areas in the United Kingdom. [35312]

Mr. Boswell

The following number of management agreements in environmentally sensitive areas include land entered into the access tier:

	Number
Pennine Dales	2
South Downs	2
Broads	4
West Penwith	1
Suffolk River Valleys	6
South West Peak	1
Lake District	13
Cotswold Hills	1
Dartmoor	3
Essex Coast	1
Upper Thames Tributaries	2
Argyll Islands	1
ESAs in Northern Ireland do not provide for public access.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will review his policy on concluding access agreements in environmentally sensitive areas where access routes traverse permanent grassland only. [35313]

Mr. Boswell

The Ministry will review the access provisions of the agri-environment schemes in the next financial year.