Countryside Stewardship Scheme Flyer

England Rural Development Programme

The Countryside Stewardship Scheme Payments of between £4 and £525 per hectare, depending on the land type and management option entered into. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme is a grant scheme operating throughout England outside Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Its aims are to: ●

sustain the beauty and diversity of the landscape.

●

improve and extend wildlife habitats.

●

conserve archaeological sites and historic features.

●

restore neglected land or features.

●

create new habitats and landscapes; and

●

improve opportunities for countryside enjoyment.

Many landscapes and features are eligible for grants. These include: arable land, including new arable options; chalk and limestone grassland; coastal areas; community forest and countryside around towns; field boundaries; historic features; lowland heath; old meadows and pastures; old orchards; uplands; waterside land. Payments are also available for providing new public access. Countryside Stewardship is a voluntary scheme and is available to farmers and non-farming landowners and

PB8323g Printed on recycled paper containing 100% post-consumer waste.

managers (including voluntary bodies, local authorities and community groups) who enter 10 year agreements, under which they manage land in an environmentally beneficial way in return for annual payments. Grants are also available towards capital works such as hedge restoration and repairing dry stone walls. Land management payments are made annually and capital payments on completion of the work. In running the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, Defra works closely with partner organisations to ensure that the scheme is targeted on locally identified priorities. The main partner organisations include the Countryside Agency, English Nature, English Heritage, the National Park Authorities, the Wildlife Trusts, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and the RSPB.

Countryside Stewardship is a discretionary scheme and only applications that offer good value for money will be accepted. Value for money will be judged against whether an application meets the national and local objectives for Stewardship (which are explained in detail in the scheme literature) and takes into account benefits for wildlife, landscape and history and opportunities for people to enjoy the results. Countryside Stewardship is administered by Defra’s Rural Development Service.

Further information on the scheme is available from www.defra.gov.uk.