Mapping guidance for Countryside Stewardship applicants
How to check and update your land maps before applying for Countryside Stewardship.
Applies to England
This mapping guidance tells you how to check your digital maps before you apply for Countryside Stewardship (CS). If you need to make changes to your land parcels, it is important that you do this as soon as possible so that the most up to date information can be included on your application.
Use this guide to make changes, such as updating your land cover, registering a parcel for the first time or linking a registered land parcel to your Single Business Identifier (SBI).
Before applying you should also read Guidance on agri-environment agreements (CS and ES) and Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) - which includes information about land cover and non-agricultural land which is relevant for all applicants.
What to check on your digital maps before applying
You should check all land parcels you intend to include in your CS application on your digital maps. To do this:
- Go to the Rural Payments Service
- From the ‘Business overview’ screen, click ‘View land’ link. This opens a new tab. If a new tab does not open, make sure you enable ‘pop ups’ in the settings section of your internet browser.
- To view individual land parcel details, select the land parcel you need. The ‘Parcel details’ screen shows you a digital map and some land parcel details, for example land cover and total area.
You need to make sure that:
-
All the land parcels that you are including in your CS application are registered and linked to your SBI. This means the land parcels need to show on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service. All agricultural and non-agricultural land parcels which are 0.0100 hectares or above must be registered and linked to your holding (SBI). Non-agricultural land covers such as buildings and farmyards on which you want to apply for management options or capital items can be mapped as non-agricultural land covers within larger parcels. For example:
- options HS1 or HS8 for maintenance or weatherproof traditional farm buildings
- any capital works in a farmyard, such as those for water and air quality improvements
- The permanent land parcel boundaries are shown correctly. This includes:
- hedges you’re intending to use for options BE3 (management of hedgerows)
- BN5 (hedgerow laying)
- BN6 (hedgerow coppicing)
You can view permanent land parcel boundaries on your digital maps. Tick ‘Hedges’ on the relevant map on ‘View land’. For more information read the Rural Land and Entitlements (RLE 1) guidance.
- The ‘land cover’ is shown correctly. Agricultural and non-agricultural land must have an appropriate land cover.
Land cover and land use
We classify land by identifying the physical nature of the land. These categories are referred to as land covers. We then look at the activities the land is used for, these sub-categories are referred to as land uses.
Table 1: Examples of land cover and land use
| Land cover categories | Examples of land use |
|---|---|
| Arable land | Temporary grassland, fallow land, winter wheat, spring barley |
| Permanent grassland | Permanent grassland |
| Permanent crops | Permanent crops |
| Non-agricultural area | Woodland, farm building, ungrazeable scrub, reedbed |
We only map the land cover, not the land use. For a CS application, the land cover shown on your digital maps must reflect the land use declared for that land parcel as of 15 May in the year before the CS agreement starts.
The management required under some CS options means the land becomes non-agricultural. The land cover for non-agricultural land that is managed (or intended to be managed) under an agri-environment scheme needs to show correctly on your digital maps.
How to update your digital maps
Linking a registered land parcel to your SBI
If a land parcel is already registered on the Rural Payments service (Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS)) but is not shown as linked to your SBI, you may need to:
-
Ask the previous occupier to transfer it to you. This can be done online using the Rural Payments service if the land parcel shows as 100% owned. If the Holding type shows as ‘Tenant’ or it’s less than 100% owned, it cannot be transferred online. Use the change land tenure form to update the land tenure if it’s incorrect. Once RPA have made this change it should then be possible to transfer that land online.
-
If it’s not possible to transfer the land online, you should submit an RLE 1 form to us and ask that it’s added to your holding (SBI). The effective date for transfer must be when the land was legally transferred to you and must be before the CS agreement start date.
-
if you wish to maintain a dual link with the existing occupier, use the ‘Add land’ email route. This adds a link between the land parcel and your SBI, but it keeps any existing link between the land parcel and another SBI. To remove that existing link, the existing occupier should submit an RLE 1 form. For more information, read the RLE guidance
Registering a land parcel for the first time
If a land parcel is not already mapped in the Rural Payments service (LPIS ), you will need to submit an RLE 1 form and sketch map to request that it is mapped for the first time. This may include land that is not eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) such as farmyards.
Read the RLE 1 guidance for more details, in particular ‘Part D: Register a land parcel to your holding’.
The ‘Effective date of change’ on the RLE 1 form (column D5 in Part D) should be the date that you took legal responsibility for the land parcel. If the date you took responsibility was 1 January 2023, fill in the effective date of change as 31 December 2022 (the day before the agreement start date).
Updating permanent land parcel boundaries
To update a permanent land parcel boundary, including adding hedges particularly where you intend to use for BE3 (Management of hedgerows), BN5 (Hedgerow laying) or BN6 (Hedgerow coppicing), submit an RLE 1 form and sketch map.
Read the RLE 1 guidance for guidance on updating permanent land parcel boundaries and what to include on a sketch map.
Registering or updating ‘land cover’
To register or update the land cover, fill in an RLE 1 form and provide a sketch map.
Read the RLE 1 guidance for more details, in particular ‘Part D: Add a permanent non-agricultural area or feature’ or ‘Change land cover’.
Write ‘Land cover change’ at the top of your sketch map. Clearly label the land parcel with the new land cover (arable, permanent grassland, permanent crops or non-agricultural). If the land cover is non-agricultural, write the relevant land use code to identify the appropriate type of non-agricultural land cover for the land parcel(s). For example:
- WO12 (woodland)
- WO25 (ungrazeable scrub)
- IW05 (shingle)
- IW07 (bog)
- MW02 (tidal area)
- MW03 (reed bed)
- MW04 (intertidal habitat)
- MW05 (saline habitat)
- CF02 (vegetated shingle)
- CF03 (sand dunes)
Table 2 lists the CS options that typically mean agricultural land is classed as non-agricultural. It also provides some useful non-agricultural land use codes you can use on your sketch map to support an RLE 1 form to register or update land cover.
Table 2: List of CS non-agricultural land use codes
| CS option code | CS option name | Non-agricultural land use code |
|---|---|---|
| CT2 | Creation of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle on arable land | CF03 or CF02 as applicable |
| CT4 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| CT5 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| CT7 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland | MW04 or MW05 as applicable |
| WD7 | Management of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| WD8 | Creation of successional areas and scrub | WO25 |
| WT6 | Management of reedbed | MW03 |
| WT7 | Creation of reedbed | MW03 |
| WT8 | Management of fen | IW06 |
| WT9 | Creation of fen | IW06 |
| WT10 | Management of lowland raised bog | IW07 |
| WD1 | Woodland creation – maintenance payments | WO12 |
For CS Higher Tier, Mid Tier or Wildlife Offer agreements with a start date of 1 January 2024, the ‘Effective date of change’ on the RLE 1 form (column D5 in Part D) should be 31 December 2023 (the day before the agreement start date).
For CS Woodland Creation, if the agreement start date will be after the BPS application deadline (15 May in 2023), the ‘Effective date change’ on the RLE 1 form should be 1 January 2024. If the agreement start date is before the BPS application deadline, the ‘Effective date of change’ should be the actual agreement start date.
CS applications 2023 and land use
When you include land parcels in a CS Higher Tier, Mid Tier or Wildlife Offer application that has been used to claim BPS in the same year, we will check that the CS management option applied for is compatible with the BPS land use declared for that land parcel. This should be the land use for that land parcel as of 15 May 2023. It is the ‘land use’ declared in the year you apply that we will check for your CS application, even though the CS agreement start date is 1 January 2024.
If the land use is changed after 15 May 2023, you do not need to change the land use declaration for your 2023 BPS application.
CS Wildlife Offers starting from 1 January 2024 can only be located on agricultural land declared on the BPS 2023 application with an arable or permanent grassland use.
For a CS Higher Tier, Mid Tier or Wildlife Offer application submitted in 2023 (with an agreement start date of 1 January 2024), the land cover shown on your digital maps must reflect the land use declared on the BPS 2023 application. This should be the land cover for that land parcel as of 15 May 2023 (the year before the CS agreement starts on 1 January 2024).
Where the land cover is changed after 15 May 2023, the land cover on your digital maps must also be changed by submitting an RLE 1 form. If the same land is used to claim BPS payment in 2023, the ‘Effective date of change’ on the RLE 1 form (column D5 in part D) should be 31 December 2023 (the day before the agreement start date).
When including land parcels in your CS application (for a 1 January 2024 start date), you should note that:
- some CS grassland options can only be located on land declared with a land use of permanent grassland on the BPS 2023 application (with a corresponding ‘land cover’ shown on your digital maps)
- you can usually only locate CS arable options on land declared with a land use of temporary grassland or other arable land use (matching the option requirements) on the BPS 2023 application (with the corresponding arable ‘land cover’ shown on your digital maps)
You may need to submit an RLE 1 form and sketch map to request the ‘land cover’ is updated to correspond with the land use declared on the BPS 2023 application.
Completing the RLE 1 form
Send your completed RLE 1 form to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk.
Please make sure that your RLE 1 form, and any associated sketch maps are sent in a separate email to any other documents you need to send us, using the subject heading ‘RLE 1 Land Change [SBI number]’.
Read the RLE 1 guidance about completing the RLE 1 form. For additional information read ‘How to use the electronic RLE 1 form’.
Make sure you submit the RLE 1 form to the RPA before you submit your CS application. Try to do this do this as early as possible, or at least one month before CS applications close. This will allow RPA to make the requested changes to your digital maps so your application will have the most up-to- date information.
Make sure you keep a copy of all completed or submitted RLE 1 forms and sketch maps for your records.