The Common Agricultural Policy Direct Payments and Support Schemes (Cross Compliance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014

Interpretation N.I.

11.  In this schedule:

“archaeological site” means a historic or archaeological site which has been identified by the Department of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record;

“area of Special Scientific Interest” is an area of land that is of special interest by reason of its, fauna, or geological, physiographical or other features that has been declared an area of special scientific interest by the Department of the Environment pursuant to Article 28 of the Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 M1 or previously in accordance with Article 24 of the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 M2 ;

“borehole” means a hole which has been drilled in land in order to provide a water supply whether or not currently used for this purpose;

“groundwater” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 2(1) of the Groundwater (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2009;

“intensify” means to increase the productivity of land for agriculture;

“invasive species” means rhododendron, Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, wild oat (Avena fatua L, and Avena lodoviciana Durieu) dock (Rumex obtusifolius L and Rumex crispus L.) thistle (Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten and Circium arvense (L.) Scop.) and ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.);

“landscape feature” means dry stone walls, sheughs or ditches, hedgerows, including trees in hedgerows, and earthbanks;

“mechanical operations” means field operations, for example, harvesting, manure spreading, ploughing or discing;

“overgrazing” means grazing land with livestock in such numbers as to damage the growth, quality of species composition of vegetation on that land to a significant degree;

“ploughing” means making furrows in land mechanically, by breaking and turning over the soil;

“poaching” means the prolonged trampling of waterlogged soil by animals or humans or the use of machinery or vehicles on waterlogged soil;

“sacrifice area” means a supplementary feeding site which is grazed bare by livestock;

“scrub” means areas which contain shrubs, stunted trees or brambles. Scrub may be open or dense and contain hawthorn, blackthorn, gorse (whin), bramble, honeysuckle, dog rose, bushy willows (sally) or stunted hazel with few or no mature trees present;

“semi-natural habitat” without prejudice to the generality of the expression includes an area which is not subject to an intensive farming regime, such as calcareous grassland; acid grassland; bracken; dwarf shrub heath; fen, marsh and swamp; bog; montane habitats; inland rock; neutral grassland; broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland; standing water and canals; species-rich upland or lowland hay meadow; and coastal and floodplain grazing marsh;

“sheugh or ditch” means an open channel with water in it for at least part of the year and no more than 2 metres wide at the base. Naturally flowing streams and rivers of any width are excluded as are watercourses of any width maintained by the Rivers Agency;

“Special Area of Conservation” means an area of land designated as a Special Area of conservation by the Department of the Environment pursuant to Article 4 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora M3 ;

“Special Protection Area” means an area of land classified as a Special Protection Area by the Department of the Environment pursuant to Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds M4  (the codified version of Council Directive 79/409/EEC as amended M5 );

“supplementary feeding site” means any land under the control of a farmer (other than a farm building or farmyard) where concentrates, fodder or mineral licks are fed to livestock;

“tree preservation order” has the same meaning as in Article 65 of the Planning Order (Northern Ireland) 1991 M6 ;

“Water Order” means the Water Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 M7 ;

“waterlogged” means a situation when the watertable rises into the root zone of the plant and the soil is saturated with water. The soil is boggy under foot;

“waterway” has the same meaning as in Article 2(2) of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 2002 No 3153 (N.I.7)

M2 S.I. 1985 No 170 (N.I.1)

M3 O.J. No L206 22.7.92 p 7-50

M4 O.J. No L20 26.01.10 p 7-25

M5 O.J. No 103 25.04.79 p 1-18

M6 S.I. 1991/1220 (N.I. 11): Article 65 has been amended by Article 26(1) of the Planning (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 S.I. 2003/430 (N.I. 8)

M7 S.I. 1999/662 (N.I. 6) to which there are amendments not relevant to the subject matter of these Regulations