Section 5 Restrictions on approval of application: general

(1)

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

(a)

is registered as common land pursuant to the Common 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 in such form as the appropriate Minister may require; or

(d)

is occupied by a grazings committee unless that committee, pursuant to section 50 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993^f2, has obtained the approval of the Crofters Commission and the consent of the landlord, and that consent has been entered in the Register of Crofts referred to therein.

(2)

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(c) above, “owner” means, in England or Wales, freehold owner, and in Scotland, proprietor of the dominium 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 unimproved land unless that land is also either disadvantaged land or severely disadvantaged land.

(6)

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, other than the harvesting of an agricultural crop growth as a result of planting woodland by sowing a mixture of tree seeds and seeds of an agricultural crop;

(b)

intended to be managed as coppice, unless that Minister has a statement in writing from the appropriate nature conservancy council to the effect that such management will enhance the conservation of wildlife; or

(c)

where the trees, other than nurse trees, are intended to be used as Christmas trees.

(7)

The appropriate Minister shall 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 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: 1993 c. 44.
f3: 1967 c. 10.
f4: Inserted by section 1(a) of the Forestry Act 1986 (c. 30).