A reminder that the deadline for applications to the Hedgerows and Boundaries Grant scheme is 30th April. And for those that are considering making an application to the CSS Mid-tier or one of the four new Wildlife Offers, application packs must be requested by 31st May.
Our article of 16th January reported on the opening of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme application window. This included information on the new four ‘streamlined’ offers. The ‘Arable offer’ is now available to apply for online (see below). Application packs must be requested for all the strands before an application can be made, this is still a requirement even if applicants are applying for the Arable offer online. Natural England has made ‘request forms’ available now for each of the strands and this appears to be its current preferred method of issuing application packs. Note that the four streamlined offers are now being referred to as ‘Wildlife Offers’.
The forms can be found on the gov.uk website through the Countryside Stewardship pages at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/countryside-stewardship-get-paid-for-environmental-land-management. The deadline for requesting packs for the Mid-Tier, including the streamlined Wildlife Offers is 31st May 2018 and 13th April 2018 for Higher-Tier application packs.
From mid-May, until the end of the month, it is hoped that application packs for Mid-Tier and the Wildlife offers will be able to be requested online.
The Arable offer was made available online as from 20th February. None of the other three Wildlife Offers will be available online. The application process is located in customers’ Rural Payments accounts. Those wishing to use it need to sign into Rural Payments (as per making a BPS application) and from the Business Overview page scroll down to Countryside Stewardship. Those making or preparing the claim must have the correct Permissions. If, when the ‘Countryside Stewardship’ tab is clicked on, it is not possible to access ‘Countryside Stewardship Applications’ (or Claims), then the applicant will need to get their Permissions changed by an eligible person. There are Permissions for CS Applications and CS Agreements. To create an online Arable offer application, the applicant must have either Amend or Submit Permission under CS (Applications). To submit an application, the Permissions must be set to ‘Submit’.
Once the correct Permissions have been set up, applicants will be able to create an online application to complete. There are ‘Help’ buttons on each screen and a manual to assist online applications can be downloaded from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/682976/cs-arable-offer-apply-online.pdf. Note, the field data is imported from the same ‘Land Use’ information which is used for BPS applications. If applicants change their Land Use or digital maps after an Arable offer CS application has been submitted, this could invalidate part or all of the application. It may be prudent to complete an ‘Arable’ application once the Land Use ‘exercise’ has been completed for 2018 BPS. In fact, once a BPS application has been submitted applicants will be (immediately) ‘invited’ to make a CS online Arable offer.
Even though the main part of the application is completed online applicants will still need to send the following by post to Natural England;
These must all reach Natural England by 31st July.
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) is now open for applications. This includes the Mid Tier, Higher Tier, the Hedgerows and Boundaries Capital Grant Scheme and the four new Streamlined offers; Arable, Lowland, Mixed and Upland.
Applications to the Hedgerows and Boundaries Scheme and the new Arable Offer (where the holding has less than 100 parcels) can be made online, for the other ‘strands’ of the CSS, an application pack must be requested from Natural England by 31st May 2018. This can be done by phoning the Natural England Enquiries Team on 0208 026 1089 or by emailing [email protected]. Note the deadline for submission of applications this year is the earlier date of 31st July 2018 (previously 30th September).
We wrote last month about the four new streamlined offers available. These are non-competitive; if applicants fulfill the requirements they will be successful and will receive an annual payment for five years. The streamlined offers are also simpler to apply for. They can be mixed with Higher and Mid-Tier applications. Each offer has a set of options and minimum requirements. Each option has a payment rate and a specific benefit for wildlife. The amount received will depend on the options selected. A minimum of 3% of the land must be placed in the scheme.
The Arable offer is the only strand which will be available to apply for online, this functionality will be available as from 20th February, claimants should request a pre-application pack from Natural England. The Arable offer has 11 options, divided into 3 categories, an option from each category must be selected. There is no maximum number of options. In the Mixed offer, claimants can choose from 14 options, divided into 3 categories. Again, at least one from each category must be chosen. For both the Arable and the Mixed offer the Wild Bird Food option is effectively mandatory and requires at least 2% of applicant’s land to be entered. The annual payment rate for Wild Bird Food is £640 per Ha. Other options available under both the Arable and Mixed Offers include:
The Upland offer has 4 ‘base’ options and 4 supplements to choose from. Applicants must choose a minimum of either 1 base and 2 supplements, 2 base and 1 supplement or 3 base options. There is no maximum. The Base options are:
The supplements are:
There are 7 options, divided into 3 categories in the Lowland Grazing offer. Applicants must choose at least one option from categories 1 and 2;
Category 1 (Minimum of 2%):
Category 2 (Minimum 1% or 500m of hedgerow mgt.)
There are three further options in category 3 which are optional and include Ryegrass seed for bird food (£331 per Ha), a lenient grazing supplement (£44 per Ha) and buffering of in-field ponds and ditches (£201 per Ha).
Further information and guidance of the requirements for each option can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/wildlife-offers-countryside-stewardship
Similar to last year, delays are expected in issuing Countryside Stewardship Agreements. Although the problem is not expected to affect as many potential agreement holders as the previous year, there are still going to be a significant number of Mid-tier Agreements due to commence on 1st January 2018 which will not have been sent to applicants by the end of December. Natural England will write to those affected and will remind them that scheme rules have to be adhered to from 1st January if they intend to sign their contract offer. Applicants are also reminded to check their Agreements carefully and that any mapping updates which may have taken place due to the RPA’s Proactive Land Change Detection (PLCD) are correct.
According to feedback, uptake for the scheme this year hasn’t been much better than in 2016, hence DEFRA offering the Streamlined options (see earlier article) in 2018. It also looks likely that the application deadline next year will be brought forward (possibly to 31st July) to give Natural England more time to process applications so that we do not see delays in offers being made again next year.
The Countryside Productivity Small Grants Scheme is to be re-launched in 2018. Currently there are no details on the funding available, but previously up to 40% was provided towards grants of between £2,500 and £35,000. This time the scheme is expected to be similar to the Welsh Farm Business Grant Scheme which provides a set list of eligible items and the grant that is payable, making the application process a lot simpler. Applications will be online, with potentially 3 to 4 rounds available next year, the first round could be open for applications as early as January 2018.
A reminder that other funding is also available through the LEADER programme and the Growth Programme. See earlier article for further information on the Growth Programme. LEADER is delivered via Local Action Groups (LAGs). Potential applicants have to make contact with their local LAG to ascertain what support there is. Funding is usually available around the following themes:
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rural-development-programme-for-england-leader-funding