Soil Disposal - Infilling on farms

Building and field work on many farms will often result in the need to dispose of either soil or hardcore. If disposed of properly this material often serves a useful purpose in improving access to a gateway or levelling a small hollow in a field. Cross Compliance requires that this material is disposed of in a manner which has little or no negative effect on the countryside.

Cross Compliance permission is not normally required for the disposal of small quantities of soil or hardcore which have been generated on a farm providing it can be disposed of on improved/cultivated farmland and it is incorporated into the field by levelling and reseeding as soon as possible after dumping. For example by stoning around gateways or filling a small hollow in a field.   Where piles of soil or rubble are stored in a field, this area will remain ineligible for claiming Single Farm Payment.

Disposal on farm of soil and hardcore which originates from off farm development, for example, from a local building site, will generally require the grant of planning permission from DOE Planning Service.  In circumstances where you are unsure about whether or not planning permission is required you should contact DOE Planning Service at Millennium House, 17-25 Great Victoria Street, Belfast, BT2 7BN for site specific advice (028) 9041 6880.

As part of Cross Compliance, removal of field boundaries (dry stone walls, ditches, hedges, earthbanks) is not permitted except by prior written permission from DARD.  This includes infilling or laying drainage pipes in open sheughs.  Application forms for field boundary removal are available at all local DARD offices.   

Cross Compliance requires that all uncultivated land and semi-natural habitats (woodland, scrub, moorland, wetlands and species-rich grassland) are retained and dumping is prohibited in these areas.  Farmers must not undertake new drainage works, ploughing, clearing, levelling, reseeding or cultivations on uncultivated land or semi-natural habitats without prior approval from DARD.  For further information contact DARD Countryside Management Branch (028) 8676 8192.

A waste management authorisation from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is not required for farm disposal of soil or clay, which has been produced on the same farm as a result of an agricultural activity e.g. the construction of a new slurry tank or agricultural shed.  However, if the material cannot be disposed of on the farm where the soil or clay was produced, you must ensure that the location (either another farm or other location) receiving the waste, has an appropriate authorisation for waste management.  Although not a requirement of Cross Compliance, any landowner receiving clay or soil from outside their farm business, must obtain the appropriate waste management authorisation.

Disposing of hardcore/building rubble on your farm, for example by demolishing old agricultural buildings on the farm, will require an agricultural waste exemption.  Also, if you wish to import hardcore/building rubble from outside your farm, you will require a waste management authorisation.  For further information on agricultural waste exemptions or waste management authorisations contact NIEA Land and Resource Management Unit (028) 9056 9360.

Further information on Cross Compliance can be obtained by contacting  Countryside Management Branch at your local DARD office.

Dumping in semi natural habitats such as woodland is not permitted