Section 124C Environmental management agreementsF1

For the purposes of this Chapter, land is to be treated as agricultural property occupied for the purposes of agriculture if—

A building occupied with land that is treated as agricultural property occupied for the purposes of agriculture under subsection (1) is to be treated in the same way if—

For the purposes of subsection (2), where a building is occupied with land that is treated as agricultural property under subsection (1) and land that is otherwise agricultural property occupied for the purposes of agriculture, the question of whether the building is of a character appropriate to the land is to be considered by reference to all of that land.

The agricultural value of property that is agricultural property as a result of this section is to be taken to be the value that would be the value of the property if it were subject to a perpetual covenant prohibiting its use otherwise than in accordance with the environmental management agreement (whether or not the agreement is still in place) (and section 115(3) does not apply).

In subsection (1)(a) the reference to agricultural property includes land treated as agricultural property under this section.

In this section—

• “environmental management agreement” means a legally enforceable agreement between an occupier or other person with a right in land and a public authority which—

  1. (a)

     is entered into for the purpose of protecting, restoring or enhancing the natural environment, or natural resources, of land or water, and

  2. (b)

     in practice requires the land to be used and managed in a way that would (apart from this section) prevent it from being agricultural property occupied for the purposes of agriculture;

• “land” includes pasture and woodland;

• “public authority” means a person that is in entering the environmental management agreement—

  1. (a)

     exercising public functions, or

  2. (b)

     acting under arrangements with a public authority in relation to the exercise of the authority’s functions.

This section does not apply in respect of an environmental management agreement that ended before 6 March 2024.