|
|
introduction
map
application
objectives
the agreement
management of land
lowland pasture with hay making
grassland supplement
old orchards
6m arable margin
buffer strips
all mapped boundaries
boundaries to be restored
annual payments 1
annual payments 2
capital work specifications
hedge restoration
hedgerow planting
livestock control
ditch and rhyne restoration
tree planting
standards of good farming practice
grassland management
Prescriptions which apply to all boundaries:
Existing boundary trees are to be protected and maintained. Where appropriate suitable saplings should be selected to grow on into boundary trees but these must, not threaten the long term viability of the boundary.
Leave an uncultivated 2 metre grass strip next to all boundaries to buffer them from farming operations. The strip must be kept free of fertilisers and pesticides.
All boundaries should be maintained to a height and width that is characteristic of the local area.
Prescriptions which apply to hedgerows only:
Hedge trimming is to take place during January or February whenever possible and in any case between 1 October and the end of February. Trimming of hedges is to take place no more than twice in every five years and should be rotated to avoid cutting all the hedges in the same year. The following exceptions apply:
Trimmed hedges are to be managed so as to reach and then maintain a minimum height of two metres.
The following management prescriptions apply to all existing hedgerows shown in light blue on Schedule 1 (the Agreement Map). They also apply to those boundaries shown in red on Schedule 1 both prior to, and after, their restoration (unless specified ot . lerwise in this Schedule).
Prescriptions which apply to all boundaries:
Existing boundary trees are to be protected and maintained. Where appropriate suitable saplings should be selected to grow on into boundary trees but these must not threaten the long term viability of the boundary.
Leave an uncultivated 2 metre grass strip next to all boundaries to buffer them from farming operations. The strip must be kept free of fertilisers and pesticides.
All boundaries should be maintained to a height and width that is characteristic of the local area.
Prescriptions which apply to hedgerows only:
Hedge trimming is to take place during January or February whenever possible and in any case between 1 October and the end of February. Trimming of hedges is to take place no more than twice in every five years and should be rotated to avoid cutting all the hedges in the same year. The following exceptions apply:
Where essential for public safety trimming of roadside hedges may be carried out every year between 1 October and the end of February. This annual trimming must be restricted to that side of the hedge which is directly next to the road. The field side of the hedge, and the top, must be managed as other hedges under Agreement.
Trimmed hedges are to be managed so as to reach and then maintain a minimum height of two metres.
Prescriptions which apply to ditches only:
Where boundary ditch sides are not grazed they should be cut on rotation between 31 August and 1 April. No more than one half of any one side should be cut in any one year. Dense cuttings must not be allowed to fall into the water. Cutting of well-established scrub and woody vegetation or bankside trees must only be carried out once agreed in writing with DEFRA.
Clean ditches on rotation between 31 July and 31 January so that each section is cleaned every 4 - 10 years. No more than half of one side of each ditch should be cleaned in any one year to ensure adequate refuge for wildlife and a resource for recolonisation. Clearance work should not cut deeper into the channel bed or ditch banks than the previous level and only silt and organic matter must be removed.
Cut vegetation/dredgings should be removed far enough away from the top of the ditch bank to prevent decaying material from falling in and polluting the ditch. They must not be used to fill in any low parts of the field. They should be set back from the top of the bank, spread thinly, levelled and allowed to re-vegetate naturally.
 |
