Category: Land & Rural Environment

Programme The current CAP program period runs from 2014 to 2020. This is scheduled to be the last in which the United Kingdom participates.The aggregate value of the schemes for England are £15 billion. Most of the payment is through the Basic Payment Scheme including the Greening payment and Young Farmer payment which together replace […]

Axis 1 Measures “Axis” 1 measures are to be delivered by the eight English Rural Development Agencies.  The measures include support for vocational training and information actions; support for advisory service for farmers and forest holders, support for setting up farm management, farm relief and advisory services and support for modernisation. The objective is to […]

Planning Legislation in Agriculture   England and Wales Planning and Environmental legislation is broadly similar to the equivalent Irish legislation, but with some significant differences.  Irish planning legislation is modelled on English planning legislation.  Both Ireland and England’s environmental legislation is largely derived from European Union Directives and requirements. See our detailed guide to the […]

Water pollution and abstraction If it is intended to discharge anything other than clean, uncontaminated surface water to surface waters or groundwater, a Discharge Consent from the Environment Agency is required. The conditions of the Discharge Consent must be complied with. Anyone who disposes of listed substances in a way that might cause a discharge […]

Protected Animals Unless licensed, it is illegal intentionally or recklessly to kill, injure, take, or trade in specified wild animals listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act or to damage or destroy or obstruct access to any structure or place used by a wild animal listed on Schedule 5, or disturb such […]

Land Ownership The majority of farm holdings in England and Wales are held for a freehold title i.e. unconditional ownership.  Approximately one third are held under various types of leases and farm tenancies. In Ireland nearly all agricultural land is held for freehold title which is registered in the Land Registry.  This is a consequence […]

Boundaries Registration of title has been compulsory in England and Wales since 1990. Where title land is registered, its extent can be shown by reference to the public Land Registry maps. The Land Registry maps are available on line through a number of information channels. Land Registry plans do not give the precise position of […]

Commons and Open Spaces There exists a good deal of common land in the United Kingdom which may not be fenced. It is the intention that over time the ownership of common land will be entered on a Land Registry data base.  Commons legislation may provide some indication of ownership, but it is not intended […]

General Farm Tenancies are much more significant in England than in Ireland.  The Land Purchase Act, which commenced at the end of the 19th century, saw the purchase out of most tenanted agricultural land in Ireland through the Land Commission.  In England, estates have been broken down to a more limited extent. The Department of […]

New (Post 1995 Act) Farm Tenancies The onerous and detailed regulation in the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1986 (which itself repeated a system that had been in place for many years) was thought to be responsible for the decline in the availability of agricultural land for letting.  It was thought that the provisions for security of […]