Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Order)
Section 112 of the Water Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”) gives the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (“the Minister”) and the Secretary of State for the Environment (“the Secretary of State”) power, acting jointly, to designate land in England as a nitrate sensitive area where they consider it appropriate to do so with a view to preventing or controlling the entry of nitrate into controlled waters as a result of, or of anything done in connection with, the use of any land for agricultural purposes.
This Order designates as nitrate sensitive areas the following areas: Ogbourne St. George NSA, Egford NSA, Sleaford NSA, Branston Booths NSA, Kilham NSA, Old Chalford NSA, Wellings NSA, Tom Hill NSA, Wildmoor NSA and Boughton NSA (article 3 and Schedule 3). The areas are defined by reference to maps which are available for inspection during normal office hours at the offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HX and at:–
| Ogbourne St. George NSA | South Western Regional Office Block III Government Buildings Burghill Road Westbury on Trym Bristol BS 10 6NJ |
| Gloucester Divisional Office Elmbridge Court Cheltenham Road Gloucester GL3 1AG | |
| Egford NSA | South Western Regional Office Block III Government Buildings Burghill Road Westbury on Trym Bristol BS10 6NJ |
| Taunton Divisional Office Quantock House Paul Street Taunton TA1 3NX | |
| Sleaford NSA and Branston Booths NSA | Eastern Regional Office Block C Government Buildings Brooklands Avenue Cambridge CB2 2DR |
| Lincoln Divisional Office Ceres House 2 Searby Road Lincoln LN2 4DH | |
| Kilham NSA | Northern Regional Office Block 1 Government Buildings Lawns Wood Leeds LS16 5PY |
| Beverley Divisional Office Crosskill House Mill Lane Beverley HU17 9JB | |
| Old Chalford NSA | South Eastern Regional Office Block A Government Offices Coley Park Reading RG1 6DT |
| Oxford Divisional Office Government Buildings Marston Road Oxford OX3 0TP | |
| Wellings NSA, Tom Hill NSA and Wildmoor NSA | Midlands and Western Regional Office Wood Thorne Wolverhampton WV6 8TQ |
| Worcester Divisional Office Government Buildings Block C Whittington Road Worcester WR5 2LQ | |
| Boughton NSA | Midlands and Western Regional Office Wood Thorne Wolverhampton WV6 8TQ |
| Nottingham Divisional Office Block 7 Chalfont Drive Nottingham NG8 3SN |
Sketch maps of the areas are attached hereto.
Section 112(2) of the 1989 Act enables the Minister to enter into an agreement with the owner of the freehold interest in any agricultural land, or a person having any other interest in agricultural land who has the consent of the owner of the freehold interest, in a nitrate sensitive area, imposing obligations with respect to the management of the land.
The Order differentiates between a basic scheme agreement and a premium scheme agreement (article 2) and specifies requirements as to the practices which must be included in each type of agreement (Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 respectively).
The Order also contains provisions in relation to:
applications (article 4);
conditions of entry into agreements (article 5);
monitoring of compliance with an agreement (article 6);
payments to be made by the Minister (article 7 and Schedule 4);
recovery of payments (articles 8 and 9); and
the determination by arbitration of any question arising under an agreement and the determination of a dispute as to the economic optimum (article 8).
