Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage
What farmers, foresters and land managers need to know and do before applying for a Countryside Stewardship grant, and how to manage a grant agreement.
Applies to England
If you have a Countryside Stewardship (CS) or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement, you can close your agreement early to apply for a Sustainable Farming Incentive or CS Higher Tier agreement.
About Countryside Stewardship
Countryside Stewardship (CS) provides financial incentives for farmers, foresters and land managers to look after and improve the environment.
CS protects and enhances the natural environment by:
- increasing biodiversity
- improving habitat
- expanding woodland areas
- improving water quality
- improving air quality
- improving natural flood management
CS supports Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan ‘for our country to be the healthiest, most beautiful place in the world to live, work and bring up a family’. It also supports Defra’s strategic objective of ‘a cleaner, healthier environment, benefitting people and the economy’.
Grants for 2024
CS grants are closed. To apply for capital items, go to Capital items: guidance for applicants and agreement holders.
Existing agreement holder’s guidance
Existing CS agreement holders should follow the relevant scheme guidance to manage their agreement effectively and meet all its requirements.
How to make a claim for payment
CS agreement holders should follow the guidance on how to make a capital or revenue claim to get paid under the terms of their CS agreement.
Revenue payment rates from January 2024
Defra has reviewed and updated CS payment rates based on current costs. See the rate changes for CS revenue options.
Land use codes 2024
See the land use codes you should use in your application.
How HMRC treats subsidy payments
Your grant and subsidy payments are paid before tax is taken off. You may need to tell HMRC about these if you or your business pay UK tax. For more information, read HMRC’s Business Income Manual BIM40451 - Specific receipts: grants and subsidies. If you have an accountant, you should also discuss this with them.
How Countryside Stewardship fits in with the Agricultural Transition
Countryside Stewardship remains part of the Environmental Land Management offer but has undergone some changes in 2024.
CS Mid Tier is now closed. You can apply for equivalent Mid Tier grants available as actions under the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) expanded offer for 2024.
CS Higher Tier is currently under review. The aim is to focus CS Higher Tier on the most environmentally important land, such as sites of special scientific interest, commons and woodlands.
When CS Higher Tier opens, you will be able to choose from a range of actions to carry out more ambitious environmental activities. You will also be able to apply for capital items to help you do the actions. You will need specialist advice from Natural England or the Forestry Commission to apply.
Later this year, we will publish:
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who is eligible
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what actions are available
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how to apply and request specialist advice
How CS interacts with the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
If you’re an existing CS agreement holder you can apply for SFI actions under the SFI expanded offer for 2024 as long as you’re not already being paid for the same activity under CS. Find out how SFI eligibility works if you already have a scheme agreement
As part of the SFI expanded offer, you can also get funding for a vet-led annual health and welfare review.
CS and SFI pilot scheme
The SFI pilot is currently running alongside SFI. Applications for the pilot are closed.
SFI pilot agreement holders can apply to the SFI expanded offer if:
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the activities under each scheme are compatible
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you will not be paid twice for similar activities on the same area of land
Find out how eligibility works if you already have a SFI pilot agreement.
SFI pilot agreement holders can access one-off payments to buy equipment or other capital items from through capital grants funding or the Farming Investment Fund.
Landscape Recovery
If you have an existing CS Mid Tier or Wildlife Offer agreement you can also be involved in Landscape Recovery projects. You can stay in your CS agreement during the development phase of a Landscape Recovery project. Defra will help you transition into the Landscape Recovery implementation phase to avoid any double funding.
Register yourself and your land
Before you apply for a CS grant, you need to register on the Rural Payments service. Follow the guidance on how to register and check your details.
For help, telephone RPA on 03000 200 301.
Authorise an agent
You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. This also applies to payment claim forms for agreement holders.
For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.
Read the guidance on how to give someone else permission to act on your behalf for more information on the different levels of permission. You should also read the information on the ‘Permission levels’ screen in the Rural Payments service. This lists what is permitted at each level.
You are responsible for making sure that you assign permissions on the Rural Payments service correctly and that contact details are correct.
How to check and update your maps when applying for Countryside Stewardship
Use the mapping guidance to check all land parcels you intend to include on your CS application on your digital maps.
Site visits
Under a CS agreement, you will get a site visit. Site visits will assess how the environmental aims are met under the options you have in your agreement. We will also check that you have not carried out any prohibited activities.
Where there is uncertainty about whether the environmental aims have been achieved, we will consider any records or evidence you may have kept demonstrating you have achieved the environmental aims.
This will include any steps you’ve taken to follow the recommended management, which you can find by using the Countryside Stewardship grant finder. It is your responsibility to keep records demonstrating that you have followed the recommended management if you want to rely on these to support your claim.
Find out what to expect from a site visit.
Keeping farm records
You should keep farm records as evidence you are meeting your scheme agreement. Read the guidance for agreement holders for the scheme you’ve applied for to find out what records you should keep.
Reductions to payments
We may reduce the amount we pay you. The reasons are included in the guidance for agreement holders under each CS scheme.
Prevent financial fraud against your farm business
You need to be aware of financial fraud and take measures to prevent it if you’re receiving large sums of grant money.
How we handle your data
Defra is the data controller for personal data you give to the RPA. Read the RPA personal information charter to find out how we handle your data.
How to complain
Follow the complaints procedure if you’re unhappy about a decision made by the RPA.
Contact 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.
Updates to this page
Last updated 14 October 2024 + show all updates
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Updated how Countryside Stewardship fits in with the Agricultural Transition.
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Removed information about capital items and replaced with a link to the new capital items collection.
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Added link to information on closing your agreement early to apply for a Sustainable Farming Incentive if you have a Countryside Stewardship (CS) or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement. Added link to information on when you’ll be able to apply to the CS Higher Tier offer and what improvements have been made under the 'Higher Tier' section.
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In section Implementation Plan (PA1) and Feasibility Study (PA2) grants added 'you must speak to Natural England or Historic England (PA2 only)' .
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Added Revenue payment rates from 1 January 2024 to the page.
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Updated links to capital grants and land-use codes for 2024.
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Information updated for capital grants listed under Countryside Stewardship grants for 2023 - grants close at 11:59 on 31 December 2023 and reopen on 3 January 2024.
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Link to land use codes added. Link to Facilitation Fund 2024 added.
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Applications for Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers are now closed
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Updated CS and SFI pilot scheme section to say that SFI pilot agreement holders can access one-off payments to buy equipment or other capital items from existing offers such as CS Capital Grants and the Farming Investment Fund.
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Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier application deadline for application submissions has been extended until September 15 2023
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Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier application deadline has been extended to 18 September 2023
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Included updated upland and lowland payment rates for GS5, SW10, WD4, WD11 and WD12 in the Grant Finder section.
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Added a link to the Higher Tier grants 2023 guidance page
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The section about Higher Tier has been updated to show that applications are closed now that the deadline (28 April) has passed.
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Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers grants are now open to applicants.
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Added section: How HMRC treat subsidy payments.
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Added a link to what to expect from a site visit.
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Scheme information and guidance published to support the opening of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier grant applications.
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Update guidance with information about transferring land and BPS entitlements, and adding land by email.
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First published.