UK - Farmers have just 59 days to prepare
their appeal against proposed changes to Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs)
designations announced this week, the NFU has warned.
Designations are reviewed by Defra every four
years and the NFU had hoped farmers would get a minimum of three months to get
their appeal ready, as they did during the previous review.
NFU head of policy services Andrew Clark
said: “Since farmers must provide evidence to support an appeal, and the
designation method and supporting evidence can be complex in some cases, it is
important that farmers start reviewing their situation now.
“We are concerned that, especially for
complex cases, the appeal period Defra has allowed will be too short for some
farmers. There is a risk that complex cases will either have to be rushed, or
farmers will have to hope that the Tribunals Service, which will deal with
appeals, will be sympathetic to allowing extra time in their particular cases.
This is not an ideal state of affairs.
“We have prepared initial briefings to help
members get started and further information will follow as soon as possible.”
Defra’s latest consultation was launched in
December 2011. It explored two options: moving to a situation where the whole
of England would be designated; and continuing with the existing policy of
identifying specific areas for designation.
If a targeted approach is maintained as the
NFU has argued, the current patchwork of NVZs will change, with nearly four per
cent being de-designated as nitrate levels continue to fall and a smaller areas
designated for the first time. Overall NVZ designations should be smaller and
even in those areas provisionally designated the option to appeal is available.
The information published covers definitive
maps of the proposed designation area that can be examined down to field level
and detailed reasons for designation including a summary of water monitoring
results.
Speaking on the NVZ boundary maps, The
Country Land and Business Association President Harry Cotterell said: "The
Nitrates Directive is one of the most prescriptive pieces of environmental
legislation to hit farmers and land managers over the past 10 years. The CLA
has lobbied Defra and the Environment Agency to ensure our members are treated
fairly by proposed designations for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs). We have
tried to help make the appeals process more transparent for those who farm in a
NVZ so they can gather evidence and set out their case without being unfairly
disadvantaged.
"The UK Government has not followed the
approach set out by other member states which are offering capital grants for
slurry storage and supporting farm-scale anaerobic digestion better than in the
UK. Defra has been unwilling to change the appeals process, and the HM Courts
and Tribunals Service has set an appeals window of only 28 days to make an
appeal from the time a farmer is notified by Defra.
"The CLA is urging its members to check
the boundary maps published today (17 May) by the Environment Agency because we
believe 28 days is not long enough to prepare an appeal. Although not a perfect
solution to Defra's failure to extend the appeals process, the early release of
these maps will give those farmers and land managers who are considering an
appeal a few vital weeks to pull their cases together but it is essential to
view the maps now."
Further information expected shortly includes
detailed monitoring data as well as Defra guidance for farmers wishing to
appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment