Quote:
Originally Posted by JoulesH  Teabag
under the current agricultural support programme, in England, if a farmer is going to destroy any semi-natural /uncultivated land areas in excess of 2 ha, they must obtain permission from Natural England. Uncultivated generally means not grassland not being fertilised or sprayed, ploughed etc for 15 yrs, Semi-natural land includes species rich meadows. NE can then demand an environmental impact assessment. NE has the power to insist on surveying areas less than 2 ha too. However, unless the land or species present have special protected status then the farmer NOT doing this could lead to loss of support payment but not a prosecution. The farmer may have already started this process, but NE are the people to contact. |
While I can see the positives in this system, if 'prevention' becomes too.... common... I suspect that farmers will run a plough over fields every 7 years or less, just to make sure their rights to the use of their land isn't compromised.