WT3: Management of ditches of high environmental value

Find out about eligibility and requirements for the management of ditches of high environmental value option.

From:
Rural Payments Agency and Natural England
Published
2 April 2015
Last updated
8 February 2022 — See all updates
Grant type:
Option
Land use:
Flood risk, Priority habitats, Uplands
Tiers or standalone items:
Higher Tier, Mid Tier
Funding (per unit per year):
Up to £100

How much will be paid

£44 per 100 metres (m) for the management of both sides of the ditch.

Where to use this option

It is available for Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier and Higher Tier on ditches of high environmental value and ditches essential for the management of the following options:

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria, you have written approval from RPA and only with options GS9 and GS10.

Features that can be included in this option

You can include the following features if they are part of the land, even if they are not eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS):

  • ditches
  • dykes
  • drains

If the ditch is partly located on a neighbouring parcel of land, you can use this option with any whole-field options or supplements that can be used on that parcel.

How this option will benefit the environment

It will manage ditches of high environmental value that support target species of plants, birds, mammals and invertebrates. It will also manage ditches that are essential to carrying out the wet grassland and wetland options.

Aims

If you’re selected for a site visit, we will check that delivery of the aims is being met and the prohibited activities have not been carried out. This will ensure the environmental benefits are being delivered.

During the autumn and winter, ditches will be managed on a suitable rotation. Ditches will be managed by removing vegetation and silt to their previous profile. The arisings will be placed on top of the bank/next to the ditch and spread thinly to prevent a spoil bank from forming. One side of the ditch will be left unmanaged during any one operation. When vegetation is removed by cutting, it will be cut above the base. Some vegetation will be left uncut on one or both sides of the ditch.

Following ditch maintenance, bankside vegetation will be re-established using natural regeneration.

Ditch banks will be managed so that overhanging vegetation is very limited (except next to woodland). This will normally be achieved by grazing up to the water’s edge.

Water levels will be maintained at appropriate levels, as specified in the additional aims.

Prohibited Activities

To achieve the aims and deliver the environmental benefits, do not carry out any of the following activities:

  • re-profile or increase the width or depth of the ditch
  • use spoil to fill hollows or low areas within the field, or place spoil on historic or archaeological features
  • manage ditches between 1 April and 31 August

On your annual claim you will be asked to declare that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.

In Mid Tier you can only use this option if it meets the relevant criteria and you have written approval from RPA. Additional aims and prohibited activities may be added to refine the standard requirements, as part of the approval process.

To assist you achieving the aims and deliver the environmental benefits for this option we recommend that you use best practice.

We recommend that you:

  • manage ditches by cleaning/vegetation removal/de-silting/dredging/slubbing to their previous profile
  • manage ditches on a suitable rotation between 1 September and 31 March, so that not all ditches are managed in any one year
  • leave one side of the ditch unmanaged during any one operation, as a refuge for plants and invertebrates – manage this at another point in the rotation
  • where vegetation removal is done by cutting, cut above the base of the ditch, leaving the roots in the base and retaining a fringe of emergent vegetation on both sides/one side of the ditch.
  • dispose of spoil in an appropriate manner
  • control invasive non-native species, if they’re present
  • manage ditch water levels appropriately
  • except alongside woodland, manage ditch banks so that vegetation does not overhang more than half the width of the channel on more than 10% of the ditch length
  • trim hedges beside the ditch every 2 years, or more frequently if required to control overhanging vegetation
  • if fences are erected, place them so that livestock are able to graze up to the water’s edge (or as specified in the additional aims and prohibited activities within your agreement)

Keeping Records

Where there is uncertainty about whether the aims of the options have been delivered, we will take into account any records or evidence you may have kept demonstrating delivery of the aims of the option. This will include any steps you’ve taken to follow the recommended management set out above. It’s your responsibility to keep such records if you want to rely on these to support your claim.

  • field operations at the parcel level, including associated invoices
  • photographs of the ditch

Additional Guidance and Advice

The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.

What to do if the work is complex

Maintain a variety of successional stages within the ditch network. These may range from open water to well-developed aquatic plant communities. Draw up an implementation plan specific to the site if the work proposed is particularly complex.

How to manage the ditches

Manage the ditches in a way appropriate to their scale, number and local area (methods of ditch management vary across the country).

Using the option on one side of a ditch

Normally use this option where you have control of both sides of a ditch. However, where control is limited to one side of a ditch, you can use this option if you are able to achieve the aims.

Restoring ditches

Restore ditches covered by this option with funding from the appropriate ditch restoration capital item. However, you will need to agree this with Natural England first.

Protected species

If the ditch contains a protected species, you will need a wildlife licence.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

This option can form part of an IPM approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases. If successful, appropriate and within proximity of cropped areas, these may limit the need for the use of Plant Protection Products and enhance wildlife and biodiversity on your holding. Read information on IPM at AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Integrated Pest Management and LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming).

Further information

Read Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage to find out more information about Mid Tier and Higher Tier including how to apply.

Updates to this page

Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 8 February 2022 + show all updates

  1. New payment rate from 1 January 2022.

  2. Additional guidance and advice section updated - this option can form part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to prevent the establishment of pests, weeds and diseases.

  3. 'Aims' section updated.

  4. Option updated for agreements starting 1 January 2022

  5. The Keeping records section of this page has been updated

  6. Updated for 2017 applications.

  7. Updated information for applications in 2016.

  8. First published.

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