The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994

Interpretation and application E+W+S

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

“agriculture Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the Secretary of State;

“competent authority” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 6;

“destroy”, in relation to an egg, includes doing anything to the egg which is calculated to prevent it from hatching, and “destruction” shall be construed accordingly;

“enactment” includes a local enactment and an enactment contained in subordinate legislation within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978(1);

“European site” has the meaning given by regulation 10 and “European marine site” means a European site which consists of, or so far as it consists of, marine areas;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

[F1 “the Habitats Directive” means Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora as amended by the Act of Accession to the European Union of Austria, Finland and Sweden(3) and by Council Directive 97/62/EC(4).]

“land” includes land covered by water and as respects Scotland includes salmon fishings;

“livestock” includes any animal which is kept–

(a)

for the provision of food, skins or fur,

(b)

for the purpose of its use in the carrying on of any agricultural activity, or

(c)

for the provision or improvement of shooting or fishing;

“local planning authority” means–

(a)

in England and Wales, except as otherwise provided, any authority having any function as a local planning authority or mineral planning authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990(2), and

(b)

in Scotland, a planning authority within the meaning of section 172(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973(3);

“management agreement” means an agreement entered into, or having effect as if entered into, under regulation 16;

“marine area” means any land covered (continuously or intermittently) by tidal waters or any part of the sea in or adjacent to Great Britain up to the seaward limit of territorial waters;

“Natura 2000” means the European network of special areas of conservation, and special protection areas under the Wild Birds Directive, provided for by Article 3(1) of the Habitats Directive;

“nature conservation body”, and “appropriate nature conservation body” in relation to England, Wales or Scotland, have the meaning given by regulation 4;

“occupier”, for the purposes of Part III (protection of species), includes, in relation to any land other than the foreshore, any person having any right of hunting, shooting, fishing or taking game or fish;

“planning authority”, in Scotland, means a planning authority within the meaning of section 172(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973;

“the register” means the register of European sites in Great Britain provided for by regulation 11;

“relevant authorities”, in relation to marine areas and European marine sites, shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5;

“statutory undertaker” has the same meaning as in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949(4);

“the Wild Birds Directive” means Council Directive 79/409/EEC(5) on the conservation of wild birds.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, expressions used in these Regulations and in the Habitats Directive have the same meaning as in that Directive.

The following expressions, in particular, are defined in Article 1 of that Directive–

• “priority natural habitat types” and “priority species”;

• “site” and “site of Community importance”; and

• “special area of conservation”.

(3) In these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated–

(a) any reference to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation or Schedule in these Regulations which bears that number, and

(b) any reference in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph of that regulation or Schedule which bears that number.

(4) Subject to regulation 68 (which provides for Part IV to be construed as one with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990), these Regulations apply to the Isles of Scilly as if the Isles were a county and the Council of the Isles were a county council.

(5) For the purposes of these Regulations the territorial waters of the United Kingdom adjacent to Great Britain shall be treated as part of Great Britain and references to England, Wales and Scotland shall be construed as including the adjacent territorial waters.

For the purposes of this paragraph–

(a) territorial waters include any waters landward of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured; and

(b) any question as to whether territorial waters are to be treated as adjacent to England, Wales or Scotland shall be determined by the Secretary of State or, for any purpose in relation to which the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has responsibility, by the Secretary of State and that Minister acting jointly.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2(1) substituted (30.1.1998) by The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/3055), regs. 1, 2(2)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2 in force at 30.10.1994, see reg. 1(2)

(1)

1978 c. 30.

(2)

1990 c. 8.

(3)

1973 c. 65.

(4)

1949 c. 97.

(5)

O.J. No. L103, 25.4.79 p.1.