OpenLegislation

Paragraph 6 Maintenance of soil organic matter

(1)

A beneficiary must not burn stubble except for the purposes of disease control or elimination of plant pests.

(2)

A beneficiary who makes muirburn must—

(a)

provide at the place where the muirburn is about to take place, and maintain there whilst the muirburn is undertaken, sufficient staff and equipment to control and regulate burning operations so as to prevent damage to any woodlands on or adjoining the land where the operations are taking place or to any adjoining lands, march fences or other things; and

(b)

do so with due care so as not to cause damage to any woodlands on or adjoining the land where the operations are taking place, or to any adjoining lands, woodlands, march fences or other things.

(3)

A beneficiary must not plough up F1or cultivate rough grazings and other semi-natural areas without approval under F2the Agriculture, Land Drainage and Irrigation Projects (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

F3(4)

Subject to sub-paragraphs (7) and (8), a beneficiary must not carry out any of the following activities on peatlands or wetlands—

(a)

reseeding;

(b)

drainage;

(c)

maintenance of existing drainage systems where that maintenance causes peatlands or wetlands to dry out;

(d)

application or use of—

(i)

pesticides;

(ii)

chemical fertilisers;

(iii)

nitrogen fertilisers;

(iv)

organic manure;

(v)

soil conditioners;

(e)

creation of roads or tracks;

(f)

any activity which damages, disrupts or removes vegetation cover resulting in exposure of the underlying soil unless that activity is the cutting of peat by the beneficiary for use as fuel for the heating of domestic premises by that beneficiary;

(g)

planting trees.

(5)

Subject to sub-paragraphs (7) and (8), a beneficiary must not carry out any of the activities described in sub-paragraph (4) on land that is adjacent to peatlands or wetlands causing damage to the vegetation covering peatlands or wetlands or causing peatlands or wetlands to dry out.

(6)

Subject to sub-paragraph (7), a beneficiary must not carry out any activities that disrupt or interfere with the flow of water between wetlands and rivers or watercourses causing wetlands to dry out.

(7)

Except for sub-paragraph (4)(d)(i), sub-paragraphs (4) to (6) do not apply to beneficiaries—

(a)

where the prohibited activity is undertaken by the beneficiary as part of works for the restoration of peatland;

(b)

where the prohibited activity is undertaken by the beneficiary as part of the installation, alteration or replacement of wind turbines;

(c)

where the prohibited activity is undertaken by the beneficiary as part of a permitted development under article 3(1) (permitted development) of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 and the permitted development falls under class 18 of schedule 1 (classes of permitted development) of that Order;

(d)

where they have the prior written consent to undertake the prohibited activity of—

(i)

the Scottish Ministers; or

(ii)

such other authority, by or under any enactment, as may be notified to the beneficiary by the Scottish Ministers when the beneficiary applies to the Scottish Ministers for consent.

(8)

Sub-paragraph (4)(d)(i) and sub-paragraph (5) insofar as the prohibited activity contained in sub-paragraph (4)(d)(i) is concerned do not apply to beneficiaries where pesticides are applied to or used on peatlands, wetlands or land adjacent to peatlands or wetlands to control—

(a)

injurious weeds to which the Weeds Act 1959 applies;

(b)

invasive species; or

(c)

if the prior written consent of the Scottish Ministers has been given, other plant species.

(9)

In this paragraph—

  • “peatlands” means land where the soil has a layer of peat with a thickness of 50 centimetres or more that is uncovered by vegetation or that is covered by—

    1. (a)

      sphagnum mosses (sphagnum spp.);

    2. (b)

      cotton grasses (eriophorum spp.);

    3. (c)

      heather (callunavulgaris; erica SPP);

    4. (d)

      blaeberry (vaccinium myrtillus);

    5. (e)

      cowberry (vaccinium vitis-idaea); or

    6. (f)

      crowberry (empetrumnigrum);

  • “prohibited activity” means an activity that is prohibited under sub-paragraphs (4) to (6);

  • “soil conditioner” means a substance utilised on land to improve its physical qualities including for the purpose of enhancing growth or vegetation;

  • “wetlands” means uncultivated and semi-natural land that contains wetland plant species.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Words in sch. para. 6(3) inserted (1.1.2025) by The Rural Support (Improvement) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (S.S.I. 2024/380), regs. 1, 2(2)

F2

Words in sch. para. 6(3) substituted (28.3.2019) by The Common Agricultural Policy (EU Exit) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.S.I. 2019/60), regs. 1(1)(a), 2

F3

Sch. para. 6(4)-(9) inserted (1.1.2025) by The Rural Support (Improvement) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (S.S.I. 2024/380), regs. 1, 2(3)