Paragraph 10 Boundary Features

(1)

Except where sub-paragraph (2) applies, a farmer must not remove, destroy or damage stone walls, stone faced banks, hedges, earthbanks, slate fences, stone gate posts and traditional stiles which serve as boundaries to agricultural land without the prior consent of—

(a)

the National Assembly,

(b)

by or under any enactment, another authority as shall be notified to the farmer by the National Assembly when the farmer applies to it for consent.

(2)

A farmer may remove, or remove stone from, a stone feature —

(a)

to widen an existing gap in the stone feature to no more than 10 metres in order to provide access to the land for machinery or livestock, but the ends of the feature created by the widening operation must be finished with a vertical face; or

(b)

if the National Assembly has given the farmer written permission to do so because it considers that the removal is necessary in the circumstances of the particular case.

(3)

In this paragraph,

(a)

“stone feature” includes a stone wall, a stone faced bank, a slate fence, and a stone gate post.

(b)

“stone wall” means a stone wall used as a field boundary—

(i)

a continuous length of 10 metres or more;

(ii)

a continuous length of less than 10 metres which meets (whether by intersection or junction) another field boundary at each end; or

(iii)

a continuous length of less than 10 metres which forms an enclosure.