This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Re-opening of NVZ Grant Scheme
17/12/2003
A second tranche of the capital grant scheme towards the cost of provision, replacement or improvement of slurry storage was announced today.
Applications for its Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) grant scheme will re-open on 5 January 2004 for a further period to allow farmers to apply for capital grants. The new period will run until 12 March 2004.
The grants in question are at the rate of 40 per cent, and basically cover the provision, replacement or improvement of slurry and manure storage. The maximum grant which any business can obtain is £34,000.
This announcement follows the coming into force on 8th December of EC-led amendments to the original NVZ Grants Scheme introduced in March 2003. The main amendment is a requirement to have all works completed by 31st October 2005.
In view of the earlier completion date for work, the Executive is encouraging farmers to apply as quickly as possible after the scheme opens for applications.
Application forms for the new tranche are being distributed to the SEERAD Area Offices at Inverurie, Perth, Galashiels and Dumfries, and will also be available online.
The areas in Scotland which have been designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones ("NVZs") are :-
(a) an area of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Banff and Buchan.
(b) an area of Strathmore and Fife
(c ) an area of Lothian and Borders
(d) Lower Nithsdale.
Farmers in NVZs have to abide by "Action Programme" requirements. One of the most fundamental of these is a closed period each autumn, when slurry, poultry manure and Liquid digested sewage sludge are not allowed to be spread on fields with sandy or shallow soils. Because of that restriction, farmers in NVZs may find that their current slurry storage capacity is insufficient.
The NVZ Grants Scheme introduced in March 2003 offered 40 per cent grants towards the improvement (or provision / replacement) of slurry and manure storage facilities. The first tranche for applications closed on 30th June 2003. The life of the Scheme was set at 5 years, and initial funding of £6.8 million in 2003/4, £4.8 million in 2004/5 and £5.8 million in 2005/6 was made available.
The Executive required to obtain State Aid approval for the Scheme from the European Commission, and this was eventually forthcoming in September. However, one of the conditions of the State Aid approval was that all the grant-aided work would be completed by 31st October 2005. This meant that the original provisions of the Scheme had to be amended by statutory instrument, and the necessary legislative procedures have now been completed.
The conditions attached to State Aid approval have necessitated changes to the Scheme's literature (i.e. the booklet "NVZ Grant Scheme Explanatory Notes", and the application form). Copies of the revised versions of both these documents will be available soon from the SEERAD Area Offices within the NVZs.