The Habitat (Salt-Marsh) Regulations 1994

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, livestock breeding and keeping and freshwater fish farming, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, reed beds, market gardens and nursery grounds, and “agricultural” shall be construed accordingly;

• “application” means an application for aid under regulation 4 and “applicant” shall be construed accordingly;

• “arable land” includes ley grassland;

• “beneficiary” means a person whose application has been accepted;

• “coastal defence authority” means the National Rivers Authority, an internal drainage board or any other body having power to undertake or maintain works for the defence of land against sea water, or a coast protection authority or sea defence commissioners within the meaning of the Coast Protection Act 1949(1);

• “eligible land” means an area of arable land or permanent grassland of not less than one hectare which—

  (a)

  is situated adjacent to the coast, and

  (b)

  in the opinion of the Minister is suitable for the establishment of salt-marsh vegetation;

• “eligible person” means a person who on the date of the submission of his application occupies eligible land as an owner or tenant;

• “holding” means land which is occupied as a unit for agricultural purposes;

• “landlord” means, in relation to a tenant of any land, any person who either solely or jointly owns or has a superior tenancy of that land;

• “managed land” means the area of land in relation to which a beneficiary has assumed management obligations;

• “management obligations” means the obligations assumed by a beneficiary by virtue of the undertakings referred to in regulation 3 or 6;

• “management period”, in relation to an application accepted by the Minister, means the period of 20 consecutive years commencing on a date agreed by the Minister and the beneficiary;

• “the Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

• “permanent grassland” means agricultural land on which the vegetation consists primarily of grass species and which has not been ploughed or re-seeded for at least five years;

• “tenant” means a person who occupies land—

  (a)

  under an agreement for the letting of land for a tenancy from year to year;

  (b)

  under an agreement which has effect by virtue of section 2(1) or 3(1) of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986(2) as an agreement for the letting of land for a tenancy from year to year; or

  (c)

  under a contract of tenancy for a fixed term of years of which at least 20 years remain unexpired at the commencement of the management period.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or “the Schedule” shall be construed as a reference to the regulation so numbered in these Regulations or the Schedule to these Regulations.

(1)

1949 c. 74. Section 1, which contains a definition of “coast protection authority”, was amended by the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Schedule 30.

(2)

1986 c. 5.