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Rewilding in England & Wales: Legal Guidance Notes

Our rewilding legal guidance notes for England & Wales cover the following broad topics:

  • Developing and managing rewilding projects;
  • Legal responsibilities and liabilities:
  • Animal reintroductions;
  • Legal mechanisms to protect land; and
  • Tax and Subsidies.

Within these topics, there are often several notes. The content of each note is summarised below and you can either view them online or download them.

scotlandbigpicture.com


Developing and Managing Rewilding Projects

Planning Permission and Environmental Impact Assessments

Planning Permission and Environmental Impact Assessments

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Planning permission and when it is required
  • Special considerations applicable to non-developed land
  • Material changes of use
  • Environmental Impact Assessments (including for forestry)
View

Planning Permission and Environmental Impact Assessments

Downloads
Protected Areas

Mark Hamblin / scotlandbigpicture.com

Protected Areas

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Key designated areas for the protection of nature and limitations on managing these areas
  • Proposed legislative reform to designated areas of protection
Invasive and Protected Plant Species

Mark Hamblin / scotlandbigpicture.com

Invasive and Protected Plant Species

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Obligations to control the spread onto agricultural land of native plants that can be toxic to livestock or interfere with the growing of crops (including ragwort)
  • Offences relating to growing certain non-native of species in the wild
  • Protected species of plant and the implications for rewilders
View

Invasive and Protected Plant Species

Downloads

Animal Reintroductions

Reintroduction of Animals

James Roddie / scotlandbigpicture.com

Reintroduction of Animals

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Licences and statutory requirements relating to the reintroduction of animals
  • Animal welfare obligations before and after reintroduction
View

Reintroduction of Animals

Downloads

Protecting Wild Land

Conservation Covenants and Legal Protection of Wild Land

Nick Fewings

Conservation Covenants and Legal Protection of Wild Land

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Conservation covenants: their use for rewilding and how they work
  • Private law protection of rewilding land
View

Conservation Covenants and Legal Protection of Wild Land

Downloads

Tax and Subsidies

Tax

Mark Hamblin / scotlandbigpicture.com

Tax

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Its impact on various tax regimes
Subsidies under CAP

Solvin Zankl / Rewilding Europe

Subsidies under CAP

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Basic Payment Scheme and phase-out
  • English Countryside Stewardship Scheme
  • Rural Development Programmes in Wales
Subsidies after CAP

Ricardo Ferreira / Rewilding Europe

Subsidies after CAP

This note covers rewilding and:

  • Environmental Land Management schemes (“ELMs”) in England
  • Sustainable Farming Scheme (“SFS”) in Wales

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