{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/countryside-stewardship-regulations-1998/regulation-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/countryside-stewardship-regulations-1998/regulation-3.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1998/1327",
  "legislation_title": "The Countryside Stewardship Regulations 1998",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/countryside-stewardship-regulations-1998",
  "path": "regulation/3",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—\n“agreement land” means land which is the subject of a stewardship agreement or a former scheme agreement;\n“agreement year”, in relation to any stewardship agreement or former scheme agreement, means a period of 12 months commencing with the date of, or any anniversary of the date of, the coming into effect of the agreement;\n“agri-environment scheme” means an arrangement which is—\n(a) regulated by statutory instrument providing for the payment of aid to persons who give an undertaking or enter an agreement in relation to land to which that instrument relates; and\n(b) approved by the Commission of the European Communities under Article 7(3) of the Council Regulation as part of a zonal programme drawn up pursuant to Article 3 of the Council Regulation;\n“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 746/96 laying down detailed rules for the application of the Council Regulation, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 435/97;\n“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92 on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside, as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2772/95 as rectified in turn by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1962/96;\n“Countryside Commission” means the body established by section 1 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949;\n“carrying out”, in relation to an activity, includes ensuring that it is carried out, and “carry out” shall be construed accordingly;\n“eligible person” means—\n(a) a stewardship agreement holder, or\n(b) a former scheme agreement holder,\nwho applies for a grant under these Regulations and is not excluded from eligibility for that grant at the time at which his application is considered by application of Article 10 of the Commission Regulation (which restricts duplication of aid payments), by application of a penalty consequent upon Article 20(2) of the Commission Regulation (which requires member States to determine a system of penalties which are effective, commensurate with their purpose and of adequate deterrent effect to be imposed for breaches of undertakings) or by application of Article 20(3) of the Commission Regulation (which requires a person covered by that provision who, intentionally or by reason of gross negligence, makes a false declaration to be excluded from all aid under the Council Regulation);\n“former scheme” means the countryside stewardship scheme administered by the Countryside Commission under section 4 of the Countryside Act 1968 from 25th June 1991 to 31st March 1996;\n“former scheme agreement” means an agreement made with the Countryside Commission by any person with an interest in land under the former scheme, the rights and obligations of the Countryside Commission under which have been assumed by the Minister;\n“former scheme agreement holder” means—\n(a) a person (other than the Minister or the Countryside Commission) who is a party to a former scheme agreement; and\n(b) any person with an interest in the agreement land who is bound by the terms of a former scheme agreement as successor to a person falling within sub-paragraph (a) of this definition;\n“interest”, in relation to land, means a freehold or leasehold interest in it, or a licence to occupy it;\n“the Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;\n“special project agreement” has the meaning given to it in regulation 4(4);\n“specified purposes” means—\n(a) the conservation or enhancement of the natural beauty or amenity of the countryside (including its flora and fauna and geological and physiographical features) or of any features of archaeological interest there; or\n(b) the promotion of the enjoyment of the countryside by the public;\n“standard agreement” has the meaning given to it by regulation 4(4);\n“stewardship agreement” has the meaning given to it by regulation 4(3); and\n“stewardship agreement holder” means any person who has entered into a stewardship agreement.\n(2) Any reference in these Regulations to—\n(a) a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or Schedule to these Regulations so numbered;\n(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation (or, in Part I or II of Schedule I, the Part) in which the reference occurs; and\n(c) a numbered or denoted sub-paragraph is a reference to the sub-paragraph so numbered or denoted in the paragraph in which the reference occurs.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "OJ No. L102, 25.4.96, p.19."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "OJ No. L67, 7.3.97, p.2."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "OJ No. L215, 30.7.92, p.85."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "OJ No. L288, 1.12.95, p.35."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "OJ No. L 259, 12.10.96, p.7."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f6",
      "text": "1949 c. 97 (12, 13 and 14 Geo 6); section 1 was substituted by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), section 130 and Schedule 8, paragraph 1."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f7",
      "text": "1968 c. 41; section 4 was amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69), section 40, the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), section 130 and Schedule 8, paragraph 2(4) and the Environment Act 1995, section 78 and Schedule 10, paragraph 8(1)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1327/regulation/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:30:03.217751+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}