Section 5 Restrictions on approval of applications

(1)

The appropriate Minister shall not approve an application which relates to land which—

(a)

is registered as common land pursuant to the Commons Registration Act 1965^f1;

(b)

forms part of a nature reserve;

(c)

is occupied by a lessee unless the owner of that land has given his consent in writing to the occupier’s application;

(d)

is occupied by a grazings committee or grazings constable unless that committee or, as the case may be, constable, pursuant to section 26A of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955^f2, has obtained the approval of the Crofters Commission and the consent of the landlord, and that consent has been registered.

(2)

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(c) above, “owner” means, in England or Wales, freehold owner, and in Scotland, proprietor of thedominium utile,and where land is occupied by a sub-tenant, includes a superior tenant.

(3)

The appropriate Minister shall not approve an application under paragraph 3(1) which relates to land which, in the opinion of that Minister, has been converted to woodlands or had carried out on it any operations relating to such conversion, whether or not such conversion or operations were carried out in pursuance of a written agreement made with the Forestry Commissioners under the Woodland Grant Scheme.

(4)

The appropriate Minister shall not approve an application which relates to land—

(a)

which is to be planted with trees as a condition of a felling licence granted by the Forestry Commissioners under section 10 of the Forestry Act 1967^f3;

(b)

on which trees have been felled without the authority of a felling licence granted under Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 in circumstances where section 9(1) of that Act applies so as to require such a licence;

(c)

which is to be planted with trees pursuant to a restocking notice served by the Forestry Commissioners under section 17A of the Forestry Act 1967^f4; or

(d)

which is to be planted with trees pursuant to a notice served by the Forestry Commissioners under section 24(2) of the Forestry Act 1967.

(5)

The appropriate Minister shall not approve an application which relates to any land which is to be converted to woodlands—

(a)

where the converted land is also intended for agricultural use;

(b)

intended to be managed as coppice; or

(c)

where the trees are intended to be used as Christmas trees or cricket bat willow.

(6)

The appropriate Minister may refuse to approve an application which relates to any land if it appears to that Minister that the conversion to woodlands of that land would frustrate the purposes of any assistance previously given or to be given out of money provided by Parliament or the European Economic Community, or that the payment of grant under this Scheme in respect of that land would duplicate any such assistance.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: 1965 c. 64.
f2: 1955 c. 21. Section 26A was inserted by section 1(2) of the Crofter Forestry (Scotland) Act 1991 (c. 18).
f3: 1967 c. 10.
f4: Inserted by section 1(a) of the Forestry Act 1986 (c. 30).