Applicant's guide: Capital Grants (SFI pilot) 2023

Q: Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

See the CS Terms and Conditions 2023 .

Question 1

1.  Important dates and main changes

Accepted Answer

Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants (SFI pilot) opened on 5 January 2023.

The application window has now closed. SFI pilot agreement holders can access the CS Capital Grants offer alongside their SFI pilot standards agreement.

If you already have a live Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement, to support your SFI pilot standard agreement, the agreement will remain live until you submit your final claim. You will have until the end date of your capital agreement, or until the end of your SFI pilot standards agreement, whichever is first, to complete the works. You will have 3 months after this date to submit your claim.

1.1 Scheme changes for 2023

We are applying more proportionate reductions where claims are received late. Instead of a 100% reduction for being one day late, the reduction will be scaled according to how late the claim is.

For applications received from 5 January 2023:

fencing specifications for FG1, FG2 and FG3 have been updated
alternative fence post material is now allowed for FG9
TE4 specification has been amended to include Phytophora pluvialis as a tree pest eligible for funding under Woodland Tree Health Improvement and Restoration grants

Question 2

2.  How Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants 2023 applies to SFI pilot participants

Accepted Answer

For 2023, there are 2 main Countryside Stewardship (CS) Capital Grants offers:

CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) which is only available to Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) pilot participants on land being used for the SFI pilot
CS Capital Grants 2023 which SFI pilot participants can also apply to on land which is not being used for the SFI pilot, but must be subject to CS scheme requirements

There are some differences between CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) 2023 and CS Capital Grants 2023. This guidance explains what’s relevant for SFI pilot participants.

CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) are 3-year standalone capital grants available under CS. There are 29 capital items available to help you meet the standards in your SFI pilot standards agreement.

As an SFI pilot participant, you can only apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on land parcels that are either:

included in your SFI pilot standards agreement
arable land or improved grassland (between 0.1 ha and 0.5 ha) that is being used to support the Farm woodland standard’s optional action to ‘expand your woodland’

This arable or improved grassland will not be in your SFI pilot standards agreement but is adjacent to established woodland included in the Farm woodland standard. To find out what improved grassland is, read the Farm woodland standard guidance on the Future Farming blog.

The capital items you can apply for in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) will depend on which standard(s) are in your SFI pilot standards agreement. Each standard has specified capital items you can choose from. Read section 2.1 for more information.

The available capital items are split into 3 groups:

boundaries, trees and orchards
water quality
air quality

There is no limit on either the maximum amount for any application or the amount you can apply for in each of the 4 groups (boundaries, trees and orchards, water quality, air quality and natural flood management). You can apply for CS Capital Grants 2023 on land which is not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI Pilot).

For both CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) and CS Capital Grants 2023, you can apply for the eligible land parcels you manage under each Single Business Identifier (SBI).

An SBI can have an agreement under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) and CS Capital Grants 2023 at the same time, as they are separate offers. You cannot apply for capital items on land parcels in an existing capital grants agreement until the capital works are completed and you have submitted your final claim.

You can submit a CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) application from 5 January 2023. Applications will stay open until the funding is allocated. If it is oversubscribed, we will need to close applications. You will get 6 weeks’ notice, and the closing date will be published on GOV.UK.

You can only apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) online using the Rural Payments service through the ‘Environmental Land Management’ area. Read section 4 for details on how to apply.

If your application is successful, we will offer you a 3-year, standalone CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement. This agreement is separate to your SFI pilot standards agreement, with its own terms and conditions. If you accept the agreement offer, you will enter into an agreement with RPA. The terms of your CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement will apply.

Your CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement start date will be set out in your Agreement Document.

Once your CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement starts, you can begin your capital items work, including ordering and paying for materials. Any capital items work you begin before your CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement starts will not be eligible for this capital items funding.

You may need to keep evidence and provide it when requested. Read section 6, the scheme’s Terms and Conditions and check the Countryside Stewardship grants (known as the grants finder) for the evidence and record-keeping requirements of each capital item that makes up your SFI capital grant before you apply for them.

2.1 Capital items available

There are 29 items available to SFI pilot participants to support delivery of the SFI pilot standards.

Some of these capital items are available in both CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) and CS Capital Grants 2023 but have a less restrictive use when applied for under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot). There are also some capital items that are usually only available in CS Higher Tier.

Capital items for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) are made up of:

a) 24 capital items available in both CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) and CS Capital Grants 2023. However, where these capital items are applied for under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot), the use of the affected capital items is less restrictive in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) than CS Capital Grants 2023.

b) 2 capital items that are not available in CS Capital Grants 2023 are Deer pedestrian gate (FG16) and Deer vehicle gate (FG17).

c) 3 capital items are usually only available in the CS Higher Tier and CS Higher Tier Capital Grants, with supporting advice. SFI pilot participants can apply for these items in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) without advice:

Fencing supplement for difficult sites (FG5)
Deer fencing (FG9)
Temporary deer fencing (FG10)

2.2 Capital items available for each SFI pilot standard

Each SFI pilot standard has specific capital items identified as being available to support its delivery. Which capital items you can apply for depends on the SFI pilot standard(s) you have in your SFI pilot standards agreement.

For example, you can only apply for Resurfacing of gateways (RP1) on a land parcel entered into either the:

Arable and horticultural soils standard
Improved grassland soils standard

The only exception to this is the Farm woodland standard.

The 13 capital items identified as being available for the Farm woodland standard can only be used on land parcels used to deliver the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action.

This action can only be undertaken on arable land or improved grassland (between 0.1 ha and 0.5 ha) adjacent to established woodland included in the Farm woodland standard. In this case, you need to apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) in order to apply for the other capital items available to support the Farm woodland standard.

Capital items available only with the Farm woodland standard to deliver the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action:

BN13 - Top wiring - stone wall
FG9 - Deer fencing
FG10 - Temporary deer fencing
FG14 - Badger gate
FG16 - Deer pedestrian gate
FG17 - Deer vehicle gate
TE4 - Supply and plant a tree
TE5 - Supplement for use of individual tree shelters

Capital items available with the Farm Woodland standard to deliver the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action, and with other standards:

FG1 - Fencing
FG2 - Sheep netting
FG4 - Rabbit fencing supplement
FG5 - Fencing supplement - difficult sites
FG12 - Wooden field gate

2.3 When you need supporting advice

None of the capital items available in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) require Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) approval or supporting advice.

2.4 Choosing capital items

Use Countryside Stewardship grants (known as the grant finder) which gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes more information on differences in use of the available capital items in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot), where relevant, as well as evidence requirements. See section 5 for more information.

Table 1 shows:

which capital items are available under each SFI pilot standard
which of the 3 groups applies to the capital item
if there is a difference in the use of a capital item under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) compared with CS Capital Grants 2023

Table 1

SFI pilot standard	Option code	Option title	Group	Different to CS Capital Grants 2023
Arable and horticultural soils	RP1	Resurfacing of gateways	Water Quality	Yes
Arable and horticultural land	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Arable and horticultural land	WB1	Small wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Arable and horticultural land	WB2	Medium wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Arable and horticultural land	WB3	Large wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Improved grassland soils	RP1	Resurfacing of gateways	Water Quality	Yes
Improved grassland	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Improved grassland	FG2	Sheep netting	Water Quality	Yes
Improved grassland	FG3	Permanent electric fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Improved grassland	FG4	Rabbit fencing supplement	Water Quality	No
Improved grassland	FG5	Fencing supplement – difficult sites	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Improved grassland	FG12	Wooden field gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Improved grassland	WB1	Small wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Improved grassland	WB2	Medium wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Improved grassland	WB3	Large wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Water body buffering	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	FG2	Sheep netting	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	FG3	Permanent electric fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	FG12	Wooden field gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Water body buffering	LV3	Hard bases for livestock drinkers	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	LV5	Pasture pumps and associated pipework	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	LV6	Ram pumps and associated pipework	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	LV7	Livestock troughs	Water Quality	Yes
Water body buffering	LV8	Pipework associated with livestock troughs	Water Quality	Yes
Hedgerows	TE1	Planting standard hedgerow tree	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Hedgerows	BN11	Planting new hedges	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Hedgerows	BN7	Hedgerow gapping up	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Hedgerows	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Hedgerows	FG2	Sheep netting	Water Quality	Yes
Hedgerows	BN5	Hedgerow laying	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Hedgerows	BN6	Hedgerow coppicing	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Hedgerows	BN10	Hedgerow supplement – top binding and staking	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Hedgerows	WB1 Small wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Hedgerows	WB2	Medium wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Hedgerows	WB3	Large wildlife box	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG2	Sheep netting	Water Quality	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG3	Permanent electric fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG4	Rabbit fencing supplement	Water Quality	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG5	Fencing supplement – difficult sites	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Low and no input grassland	FG12	Wooden field gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	TE4	Supply and plant a tree - Please note: you need to apply for TE4 in order to apply for the other capital items available in the Farm woodland standard	Air Quality	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	BN13	Top wiring - stone wall	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG1	Fencing	Water Quality	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG2	Sheep netting	Water Quality	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG4	Rabbit fencing – supplement	Water Quality	No
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG5	Fencing supplement - difficult sites	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG9	Deer fencing	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG10	Temporary deer fencing	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG12	Wooden field gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	No
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG14	Badger gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG16	Deer pedestrian gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes
Farm woodland: These capital items are only available on eligible land being used for the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action	FG17	Deer vehicle gate	Boundaries, Trees and Orchards	Yes

2.5 Agreement period

Agreements are for a maximum of 3 years.

The start date of your agreement will be set out in your Agreement Document.

You must keep all capital items funded through this scheme in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement for 5 years from the start date of your agreement.

2.6 How applications are assessed

The scheme is not competitive, and there is a rolling window for applications. Applications will stay open until the funding is allocated. If it is oversubscribed we will need to close applications. You will get 6 weeks’ notice, and the closing date will be published on GOV.UK.

2.7 What the grant does not cover

The CS Capital Grant (SFI pilot) does not cover:

any capital works done (or materials ordered) before the agreement starts
planning application fees or other transactional fees
agent fees or other advisory fees
meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions and tenancy agreements
any works on common land
any works undertaken as part of another grant or obligation (read section 3.3)

Question 3

3.  Who can apply and what land is eligible

Accepted Answer

You must read and meet the requirements detailed in this section as these are mandatory for all CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) Agreement Holders.

3.1 Land that is eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot)

To be offered a CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement you must have an SFI pilot standards agreement. If your SFI pilot standards agreement ends for any reason, your CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement will also end (read section 7.1.1 of the agreement holder’s guide.

You can only apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on land parcels that are:

included in your SFI pilot standards agreement or
arable land or improved grassland (between 0.1 ha and 0.5 ha) that is being used to support delivery of the Farm woodland standard’s optional action to ‘Expand your woodland’

This arable land or improved grassland will not be in your SFI pilot standards agreement but is adjacent to established woodland included in the Farm woodland standard. To find out what eligible improved grassland is, read the Farm woodland standard guidance on GOV.UK.

3.2 Land that is not eligible

The following land is not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot):

land (including boundaries) not included in an SFI pilot standards agreement or being used to support delivery of the Farm woodland standard’s optional action to ‘Expand your woodland’
land in a Site of Special Scientific Interest or Scheduled Monument (including the boundaries of these sites)
land where you do not have management control for 5 years from the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement start date and are not able to have your application countersigned by the landlord (read section 3.3.2)
land which you occupy under a tenancy, including the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (a Farm Business Tenancy) or equivalent, and you don’t have security of tenure for at least 2 years from the CS (SFI pilot) Capital Grants agreement start date
hedgerows where you do not have management control of both sides of the hedgerow - you cannot apply for BN5 (and the BN10 supplement), BN6, BN7 or BN11 if you only have management control of one side of a hedgerow in the Hedgerows standard
land that is already included in certain other schemes or under obligation (read section 3.4)

3.3 Management control: who can apply

The management control requirement under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) is different to your SFI pilot standards agreement.

For CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) you must have management control of:

all the land and all the activities needed to meet the requirements of the capital items you select for 5 years from the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement start date, including the durability requirement
both sides of a hedgerow if it’s being used for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) - if you only have management control of one side of a hedgerow in the Hedgerows standard, that hedgerow is not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot)

If you do not have full control of the land and all such activities, you must get the written consent of all other parties who have management control of the land and activities for 5 years from the start of the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement. Use the CS land ownership and control form to do this.

3.3.1 Tenants

The management control requirement under CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) for land occupied under a tenancy, including the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 (a Farm Business Tenancy) or equivalent is different to the management control requirement for your SFI pilot standards agreement.

3.3.2 Landlords

A landlord cannot apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on land let to a tenant. This is because a landlord could not include land let to a tenant in an SFI pilot standards agreement.

3.3.3 Partnerships

If you are in a business partnership with an SFI pilot standards agreement, you can apply for CS (SFI pilot) Capital Grants. The person signing the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) application must have the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service.

3.3.4 Licensors

A licensor was eligible to include land entered into a licence arrangement in an SFI pilot standards agreement. Therefore, if you are an SFI pilot participant you can apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on eligible land parcels entered into such a licence arrangement.

It is the licensor’s responsibility to make sure that the licensee does not breach the terms of the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement.

3.3.5 Licensees

A licensee cannot apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on land they only access under a licence arrangement. This is because that land was not eligible for an SFI pilot standards agreement.

3.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

Public bodies (such as local authorities or government departments) cannot apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot). This is because they were not eligible to apply for an SFI pilot standards agreement.

3.4 Land receiving other funding or under other agreements or obligations

You cannot use a grant for capital works which you are required to carry out under other legally binding obligations or for which you are receiving or have received funding from other sources. We will carry out checks to make sure that capital works are not funded twice from public money.

You must make sure that any work proposed for this grant does not breach the conditions of any other agreement. The most common examples are listed below.

It is only possible to apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) on land parcels in an SFI pilot standards agreement (and eligible land being used to deliver the ‘Expand your woodland’ optional action under the Farm woodland standard but is not in an SFI pilot standards agreement). Land in an existing agri-environment agreement is not eligible for the SFI pilot. It is also not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

3.4.1 Applying for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) where someone else is claiming Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on the same land (‘dual use’)

In certain circumstances, it is possible for a land parcel to be used by one SBI to claim BPS and that same land parcel to also be included in a Countryside Stewardship application submitted by someone else under their SBI. This is known as ‘dual use’.

Dual use is not possible in the SFI pilot or the CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) scheme. Only the SFI pilot participant is eligible to use a land parcel in their SFI pilot standards agreement to claim BPS.

3.4.2 Environmental Stewardship

Land parcels in an existing Environmental Stewardship agreement are not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

3.4.3 Countryside Stewardship

Land parcels in an existing Countryside Stewardship agreement (both capital and revenue grants) are not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

3.4.4 Environmental Land Management schemes, SFI pilot

SFI pilot participants can enter land parcels into a CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) agreement that are either:

in an SFI pilot standards agreement
arable land or improved grassland (between 0.1 ha and 0.5 ha) that is being used to support delivery of the Farm woodland standard’s optional action to ‘Expand your woodland’.

This arable land or improved grassland will not be in an SFI pilot standards agreement but is adjacent to established woodland included in the Farm woodland standard. To find out what eligible improved grassland is, read the Farm woodland standard guidance on GOV.UK.

3.4.5 English Woodland Schemes

Land parcels covered by a multi-annual English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) agreement, England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO), Farm Woodland Payment (FWP), Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS) and Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS) are not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

3.4.6 Farming Recovery Fund

Land parcels covered by the Farming Recovery Fund are not eligible for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

3.4.7 Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax exemption

CS options and capital items may be available on land designated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax or as the object of a Maintenance Fund, depending on the specific undertakings and proposed options or capital items.

Read Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax exemption: Countryside Stewardship to find out whether capital items available under the CS Capital Grants are always eligible, never eligible or need checking.

3.4.8 Other schemes or grants

CS cannot fund works that form part of these, or similar schemes or grants, including:

Capital Grants under Countryside Productivity
Growth Programme
LEADER
Water Environment Grant
Farming in Protected Landscapes
Farming Investment Fund
Woodland Carbon Fund and
HS2 Woodland Fund
England Woodland Creation Offer

3.5 Business viability test

We will check all applicants against an insolvency register. If we assess your application as not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.

For applications including capital expenditure of more than £50,000 in total, you must submit a statement from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered accountant or certified accountant). This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to undertake the work in the proposed agreement schedule.

Where confirmation from an accountant is needed, the accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms at least the following:

they are a registered accountant
they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
they can confirm that you as the applicant have sufficient finances to complete the capital works in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings or loans)
their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application
applications involving capital expenditure over certain limits will require additional evidence and undergo additional checks

Question 4

4.  How to apply

Accepted Answer

This section gives the information you need to apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot).

4.1 Check you’re registered

Before you apply for a grant you must register on the Rural Payments service, if you have not done so already. (If you’re an SFI pilot participant, you should already be registered).

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service.

For land parcels to be included they must be registered on the Rural Payments service. If you need new land parcel numbers, fill in an RLE1 form and send to us with sketch maps.

4.2 Ways to apply

You can only apply for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) online.

If you’re unable to apply online, you can ask for digital assistance by calling RPA 03000 200 301.

4.2.1 Apply online

You can apply online using the Rural Payments service. Make sure your details are correct and up to date.

Log into Rural Payments service, enter your Customer Registration Number (CRN), then your password.

Click on ‘new business’ to get to the business overview page.

Click on ‘Sustainable Farming Incentive’

Then ‘Pilot Sustainable Farming Incentive’

Click on the green box for ‘Apply for SFI Capital Grants’

Use the Help screens from this point to progress an application.

You must send us a map and any supporting documents by email or post. Mark the subject of your email ‘CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) supporting documents’.

4.3 Prepare a map to support your application

You must submit a map or maps in support of your application.

Mark your CS capital (SFI pilot) maps to show the location of your CS capital (SFI pilot) items on your land parcels. You’ll need to cross-refer the locations on the maps with the details you enter on the application form. We suggest you complete the application form and your CS capital (SFI pilot) item maps alongside each other.

If you are an SFI pilot participant applying for CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot), put ‘CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot)’ on your maps.

If your application is successful and you are offered an agreement, your CS capital (SFI pilot) maps will become your Agreement Maps.

4.4 How to create a map

You can create your base map yourself by printing your digital maps in the Rural Payments service. Make sure your printed map is clear, readable and meets the standards set out below.

If you cannot create the map yourself, you can request one by either calling us or you can use MAGIC maps.

If you choose MAGIC maps, use the ‘export map tool’ as this adds the required licence information. Wherever you get your base map from, make sure it has the copyright licence for this use.

4.5 Minimum mapping standards

The map must be:

A3 or A4 in size
1:2,500 or 1:10,000 scale (unless using the Rural Payments Land View screen in the Rural Payments service to produce a map as it will automatically scale the map to fit A4, which is acceptable)

You must:

show the whole land parcel on which the boundaries to be included are located and the boundaries of the land parcel must be clear
give each map a unique number and include total number of maps, for example ‘map 1 of 3’
include the scale of the map
write your Single Business Identifier (SBI) – consisting of 9 digits, application year and agreement title (as entered on the application form) – on the top right of the map
write the name of business or applicant on the right-hand side of the map – this should be the name (beneficiary) that is registered with us for the SBI
write ‘CS Capital Grants SFI pilot’ on the right-hand side of the map
if there are no numbered Ordnance Survey (OS) grid lines, write a 6-figure OS grid reference for the centre of the map on the bottom left of the map (format AB 123 456)
include land parcel reference numbers, for example SK 1234 5678, for the land parcels where the capital items will be undertaken
circle the land parcel reference number for all parcels that you include in your application
add the capital item code to the land parcel where the capital works will be undertaken
mark the boundaries you include in your application with a thick black line –only include the field parcels adjacent to one side of each boundary, not the parcels on both sides of a boundary
use black ink when you write on your map
cross out any mistakes – do not use correction fluid

If you send a map that does not meet these requirements, we’ll return it to you to amend or ask you to send us a new one. You’ll need to complete this map to the minimum standards and return it to us.

4.6 Supplementary information map required for BN5, BN6, BN11, TE1

Option	Name of option	Evidence required at application stage
BN5	Hedgerow laying	A map showing the location of existing hedgerow trees in each length of hedge
BN6	Hedgerow coppicing	A map showing the location of existing hedgerow trees in each length of hedge
BN11	Planting new hedges	Historic maps or other records to show that the proposed location of the hedge planting is on an original footprint or extends existing hedges or contributes to the reduction of soil erosion and run-off – this can be marked on any map
TE1	Planting standard hedgerow tree	A record of where hedgerow trees are to be planted

4.7 Example map

You must check each capital item you are applying for to see if any consents are needed.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permissions, exemptions and written advice needed for your application. You will not be paid for any work undertaken without all the necessary consents and permissions being in place before you begin any work.

In some cases, you will not be offered an agreement if these are not in place.

You may need to submit necessary consents or permissions with your claim, or you may need to supply them on request. See the individual capital item specifications for details.

Your local planning authority can give you informal advice on whether a proposal needs planning consent. There is also general guidance on planning permission for farms available.

You do not need to provide evidence of whether planning permission or consent is needed with your application. However, if required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work.

4.8.2 Other consents

You may need to apply for other consents or licences even if you do not need planning consent. Examples of areas where a consent or licence is likely to be needed includes where the work affects:

protected species (as defined by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)
registered parkland
a registered battlefield
a watercourse or highway
areas subject to a Tree Preservation Order - a licence may be needed for any changes to trees and hedges

4.8.3 Work on trees and hedges

You may need permission for work on trees that are under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). If this applies to you, contact your Local Authority or National Park Authority. Read more information on Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas on GOV.UK.

You may need a Forestry Commission Felling Licence to remove trees or manage hedges. This applies whether they are in woodland or not.

You can fell up to 5m³ and sell up to 2m³ of timber without a felling licence each calendar quarter. If you plan to fell or sell more, you must get a felling licence before your agreement offer can be issued. Read more information about tree felling licences on GOV.UK.

You do not need to provide evidence of any TPO permission or a felling licence with your application. If required, you will need to have the consent before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this when you make a claim for this work.

4.8.4 Other considerations

When you carry out work under the agreement, you must not breach any other rules or laws, such as:

break byelaws
obstruct public rights of way
block or restrict access to ‘open access’ land
affect oil or gas pipelines
breach your cross compliance requirements in relation to any other existing commitments you hold, where applicable, for example if you claim BPS payments

4.9 Submit your application and supporting documents

Submit your application by following the online application process.

You also need to send us:

the application map
a CS land ownership and control form, if applicable
any other supporting documents we ask for

We’ll only accept supporting documents, such as photos or forms, if they are either printed and sent by post or scanned and attached to an email. The maximum email size that we can accept is 32MB. For security reasons, we cannot accept discs, USB pen drives or other external storage media.

If required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.

4.10 After you apply

Once we receive your application, we will check it to confirm that:

it meets the eligibility requirements
you have filled in all the necessary details on the application form
you have completed the map

If you are successful, we will write to you to make you an agreement offer which cannot be amended.

If you want to accept the agreement offer you must sign and return the declaration by post within 20 working days. If you do not accept your offer in time, it will be withdrawn.

You can withdraw an application at any point after submission, prior to an agreement offer being made. Once an agreement offer has been made, you cannot withdraw your application, but you can reject your agreement offer.

You can find more information about entering into an agreement at section 6.1.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know why we rejected it. You will then have the right to appeal to us, as set out in section 7.9 of the agreement holder’s guide.

Question 5

5.  Choosing capital items

Accepted Answer

Choose the capital item available in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) that supports the delivery of actions in the SFI pilot standards.

Also read section 2.1 for information on the available capital items.

Use Countryside Stewardship grants (known as the grant finder) to get:

a description and essential requirements for each capital item
more information on differences in use of the available capital items in CS Capital Grants (SFI pilot) compared with CS Capital Grants 2023, where relevant
evidence requirements

Capital Item	Where to use this item
BN5 – Hedgerow laying	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Hedgerows standard.
BN6 – Hedgerow coppicing	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Hedgerows standard.
BN7 – Hedgerow gapping up	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Hedgerows standard.
BN10 – Hedgerow supplement – top binding and staking	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Hedgerows standard,
BN11 – Planting new hedges	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Hedgerows standard.,
BN13 – Top wiring – stone wall	Available as a standalone item to help you undertake the SFI pilot Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the stone wall on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG1 - Fencing	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Hedgerows standard, Water body buffering standard, Arable and horticultural land standard, Improved grassland standard, Low/no input grassland standard Farm Woodland – expand your woodland optional action. In the above instances, you do not have to locate the fencing in a position to prevent water pollution caused by farming.
FG2 – Sheep netting	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Hedgerows standard, Water body buffering standard, Improved grassland standard, Low/no input grassland Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the sheep netting on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action In the above instances, you do not have to locate the sheep netting in a position to prevent water pollution caused by farming.
FG3 – Permanent electric fencing	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Waterbody buffering standard Improved grassland standard Low/ no input grassland In the above instances, you do not have to locate the permanent electric fencing to prevent water pollution caused by farming.
FG4 – Rabbit fencing supplement	Available if used with FG1 (Fencing), FG2 (Sheep netting), FG3 (Permanent electric fencing) or FG9 (Deer fencing) to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Improved grassland standard, Low and no input grassland standard Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the fencing on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG5 – Fencing supplement – difficult sites	Available if used with FG1 (Fencing), FG2 (Sheep netting), FG3 (Permanent electric fencing) or FG9 (Deer fencing) to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Improved grassland standard, Low and no input grassland Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the fencing (FG1, FG2, FG3 or FG9) on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG9 – Deer fencing	Available to support the SFI pilot Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the deer fencing on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG10 – Temporary deer fencing	Available to support the SFI pilot Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the temporary deer fencing on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG12 – Wooden field gate	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Water body buffering standard, Improved grassland standard, Low and no input grassland standard, Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the wooden field gate on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG14 – Badger gate	Available to support the SFI pilot Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the badger gate on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action
FG16 – Deer pedestrian gate	Available to support the SFI pilot Farm woodland. standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the deer pedestrian gate on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
FG17 – Deer vehicle gate	Available to support the SFI pilot Farm woodland standard, but only if you also apply for TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) and locate the deer vehicle gate on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
WB1 – Small wildlife box	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Hedgerows standard, Arable and Horticultural land standard, Improved grassland standard. In the above instances, you do not need to seek advice from Natural England.
WB2 – Medium wildlife box	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Hedgerows standard, Arable and Horticultural land standard, Improved grassland. In the above instances, you do not need to seek advice from Natural England.
WB3 – Large wildlife box	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Hedgerows standard, Arable and Horticultural land standard, Improved grassland standard. In the above instances, you do not need to seek advice from Natural England.
LV3 – Hard bases for livestock drinkers	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Waterbody buffering standard. In this case, you can locate the hard base outside areas targeted for the reduction of water pollution caused by farming, with no requirement for it to be on sites where livestock have been excluded from stream or surface waters.
LV5 – Pasture pumps and associated pipework	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Waterbody buffering standard. In this case, you can locate the pump and associated pipework outside areas targeted for the reduction of water pollution caused by farming, with no requirement for it to be on sites where livestock have been excluded from stream or surface waters.
LV6 – Ram pumps and associated pipework	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Waterbody buffering standard. In this case, you can locate the pump and associated pipework outside areas targeted for the reduction of water pollution caused by farming, with no requirement for it to be on sites where livestock have been excluded from stream or surface waters.
LV8 – Pipework associated with livestock troughs	Available to help you undertake the actions in the SFI pilot Waterbody buffering standard. In this case, you can locate the pipework outside areas targeted for the reduction of water pollution caused by farming, with no requirement for it to be on sites where livestock have been excluded from stream or surface waters.
RP1 – Resurfacing gateways	Available to help you undertake the actions in the following SFI pilot standards: Arable soils standard and Improved grassland soils standard. In these instances, the gateway can be located outside areas targeted to reduce water pollution from agriculture.
TE1 - Planting standard hedgerow tree	Available to help you undertake the actions in the Hedgerows standard.
TE4 – Supply and plant a tree	Available without Catchment Sensitive Farming approval to help you undertake actions in the following SFI pilot standards: woodland standard, but only if you locate the tree on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.
TE5 – Supplement for use of individual tree shelters	Available as a supplement to TE4 (Supply and plant a tree) without Catchment Sensitive Farming approval to help you undertake actions in the following SFI pilot standards: woodland standard, but only if you locate the tree (TE4) on arable land or improved grassland used for the optional ‘Expand your woodland’ action.

Question 6

Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

Accepted Answer

See the CS Terms and Conditions 2023.

Question 7

Annex 2: Contact details

Accepted Answer

Contact Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

You can contact RPA by email, phone or post.

Rural Payments Agency (CS)
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

Please quote your single business identifier (SBI) and agreement number in all enquiries.

Contact Natural England

You can contact Natural England by email, phone or post.

Natural England
County Hall
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

Email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 060 3900
March to September: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, except bank holidays
October to February: Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

Contact other organisations

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