Apply for a Lowland Peat Water Discovery Grant

You can now apply for a Lowland Peat Water Discovery Grant. Up to £4.5 million is available to help farmers and local partners explore more sustainable ways of managing water in lowland peat areas. 

Background 

Peatlands hold over half of England’s land-based carbon. When they’re healthy and wet, they lock in carbon and support wildlife, cleaner water and natural flood protection. 

But most of our lowland peatlands have been drained over the past few centuries to make them suitable for farming. 

As the peat dries, it breaks down, the soil is lost, the land sinks and carbon is released into the atmosphere. Today, only a small fraction of lowland peat remains in a near-natural state. 

These soils are home to some of our most productive farmland, but without changes to how water is managed, we risk losing them. In some areas, there may only be enough peat left to enable us to farm in the same way for another 20 to 50 years. 

The grant

Delivered by the Environment Agency, the grant will encourage and enable groups of local stakeholders to work with farmers or landowners.  

Together, they will explore what changes to water management could mean for farmland on lowland peat. Projects can receive between £50,000 and £300,000 in funding. 

Each project will produce a practical plan to show how water tables could be raised safely and sustainably. This will consider land used for conventional farming, wetter farming and paludicuture, or peatland restoration. 

It will also look at the wider environmental benefits and risks. For example, cutting emissions and supporting wildlife, as well as improving flood and drought resilience. 

This plan will set out the systems and infrastructure needed to manage higher water tables in the project area. 

When projects finish in 2028, they will be well placed to apply for a Water Implementation Grant. This funding can help pay for installing the infrastructure set out in their plan. 

Applying

We are looking for applications from lowland peat areas where the lead applicant is part of, or has brought together, a local group. 

To be eligible to apply, the lead applicant must be a: 

• charity or not-for-profit organisation  

• public body (including local authorities and internal drainage boards)  

• land manager  

• business or commercial enterprise 

Grants will be awarded competitively, to the highest scoring applicants.  

Alongside other criteria, higher scores will be given to applications from suitable groups of local interested parties that include a farmer or landowner. 

A project could, for example, bring together neighbouring farmers or land managers, internal drainage boards, wildlife trusts or peatland partnerships.  

If you manage lowland peat and are interested in joining or leading a group application, you can register your details in this consortium-building database. This is hosted by Defra’s delivery partner, Niab.  

Further details, including a link to a dedicated SharePoint site hosting the grant handbook and application form can be found on the Find a Grant site. 

The deadline to apply is 26 June 2026. 

Join the Environment Agency Webinar

The Environment Agency Peatland Team will host a webinar on 12 May at 11am to help potential applicants prepare their applications.  

The webinar will provide an overview of the grant, how to apply, and offer an opportunity for applicants to put questions to the team. 

To sign up for the webinar, please email peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk. If you can’t make the webinar, or you have questions not answered by the guidance, you can contact the team using this email address. 

To hear about future grant opportunities and lowland peat news, join the Defra Lowland Peat contacts list by emailing lowlandpeat@defra.gov.uk.