4.—(1) A claimant who satisfies the conditions in paragraph (2) is eligible for an uplands transitional payment.
(2) The conditions are that—
(a)the claim relates to at least—
(i)ten hectares of severely disadvantaged land, or
(ii)one hectare of severely disadvantaged land, where the claimant is eligible for a related less favoured area allowance in another part of the United Kingdom;
(b)at least one relevant animal is on land that is—
(i)less favoured area, and
(ii)in the claimant’s holding;
(c)the land referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b)—
(i)was available to be grazed or have a forage crop taken from it for a continuous period of seven months, starting on any date from 1st January 2012 to 31st March 2012 inclusive, and
(ii)during that seven-month period, was available to the claimant to be grazed or have a forage crop taken from it for a period, or periods in total, of at least four months;
(d)the claimant farms at least one parcel that is—
(i)severely disadvantaged land, and
(ii)subject to an ESA Agreement or a CSS Agreement that was in force on 1st January 2013;
(e)the claimant—
(i)made an eligible claim for hill farm allowance under the Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2010(1), or
(ii)after 10 June 2009 took over both severely disadvantaged land and an ESA Agreement or a CSS Agreement relating to all or part of that land which was in force on 1st January 2013;
(f)no Uplands Entry Level Stewardship agreement was in force in respect of any part of the claimant’s holding on 1st January 2013; and
(g)where all or part of the claim relates to common land, that common land was subject to an ESA Agreement or a CSS Agreement on 1st January 2013.
(3) But a claimant who is in breach of the agricultural undertaking is not eligible for an uplands transitional payment, unless the Secretary of State considers it reasonable in all the circumstances that the breach should not affect the claimant’s eligibility.
(4) A claimant who ceases to farm does not breach the undertaking referred to in paragraph (3) provided that at least ten hectares of the land in respect of which the undertaking was given continue to be used for the purposes of agriculture.
(5) Where a holding in respect of which a claim has been made is situated partly outside England, the area of land which must be used for the purposes of agriculture under paragraph (4) is reduced by a percentage equal to the percentage of the land which is outside England.
(6) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), land is taken to be available to be used for grazing or to have a forage crop taken from it if it is not so available only as a result of an agri-environment agreement.
(7) In this regulation—
(a)“agricultural undertaking” means the undertaking given by the claimant pursuant to Article 14(2) of Council Regulation 1257/1999 or Article 37(2) of Council Regulation 1698/2005 to pursue farming activity in a less favoured area for at least five years from the date of the first payment to that person in a claim made under these Regulations, the Uplands Transitional Payment Regulations 2011 or 2012(2) or any of the Hill Farm Allowance Regulations 2008 to 2010(3);
(b)“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming and livestock breeding and keeping, the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the use of land for other agricultural purposes;
(c)“agri-environment agreement” means—
(i)an agreement made as part of a scheme made under Article 39 of Council Regulation 1698/2005, or
(ii)such other agreement involving environmental commitments as the Secretary of State thinks fit;
(d)“parcel” means a continuous area of land, declared by one claimant, which does not cover more than one single crop group;
(e)“crop group” has the same meaning as in the second sub-paragraph of article 16(2) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 65/2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005, as regards the implementation of control procedures as well as cross-compliance in respect of rural development support measures(4).
Commencement Information
I1Reg. 4 in force at 15.2.2013, see reg. 1(1)
S.I. 2011/135 and 2012/114.
S.I. 2008/51, 2009/138 and 2010/167.
OJ No L 25, 28.1.2011, p8, last amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 937/2012 (OJ No L 280, 13.10.2012, p1.