Citation, commencement, extent, and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Countryside Stewardship (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 and come into force on 27th September 2023.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales but apply to England only.

Amendment of the Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020

2.—(1) The Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020( 2) are amended as follows.

(2) In the Schedule, in Part 2 (“Management activities”), in the table—

(a) under the heading “4. Grassland”, in the entry “(e) Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs”, in column 3, for “£98 per ha” substitute “£151 per ha”;

(b) under the heading “7. Soil and water”, in the entry “(j) Seasonal livestock removal on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes”, in column 3, for “£77 per ha” substitute “£115 per ha”;

(c) under the heading “8. Uplands”—

(i) in the entry “(h) Restoration of wood pasture and parkland”, in column 3, for “£316 per ha” substitute “£371 per ha”;

(ii) in the entry “(i) Creation of wood pasture”, in column 3, for “£333 per ha” substitute “£544 per ha”;

(d) under the heading “9. Woodland and scrub”, in the entry “(d) Management of wood pasture and parkland”, in column 3, for “£198 per ha” substitute “£212 per ha”; and

(e) under the heading “12. Organic conversion”, in the entry “(e) Organic conversion – top fruit”, in column 3, for “£1,254 per ha per year for up to 3 years” substitute “£1,920 per ha per year for up to 3 years”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Countryside Stewardship (England) Regulations 2020 (“ the 2020 Regulations”) ( S.I. 2020/41) and are made pursuant to section 98 of the Environment Act 1995 (c. 25).

Regulation 2 amends, with effect from 27th September 2023, the maximum payment rates per agreement year for six management activities carried out as part of a countryside stewardship agreement under regulation 3 of the 2020 Regulations.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary, or public sector is foreseen.