This post was updated 1 June.
Guidance for the 2026 Capital Grants offer is now available on GOV.UK.
The Capital Grants 2026 manual consists of:
- applicant’s guidance
- agreement holder’s guidance
- terms and conditions
A total of £225 million will be invested through Capital Grants this year to help farmers and land managers carry out environmental improvements across England.
Applications open in July, with funding available for a variety of capital items to support hedgerow and tree planting, restore boundaries, improve natural flood management, and support better air and water quality.
The available items will continue to be organised into the same 6 groups as last year’s offer:
- boundaries, trees and orchards
- improved water quality
- improved air quality
- improved natural flood management
- assessments
- improvements
Funding limits will continue to apply to 4 of these groups:
- Up to £25,000 for the air quality, natural flood management and water quality groups
- Up to £35,000 for the boundaries, trees and orchards group
Applications can include items from these groups up to the relevant funding limit, alongside items from the assessments and improvements groups.
In the same way as last year’s offer, you can submit one eligible application for each Single Business Identifier (SBI) you manage.
Demand for last year’s offer was very high, and we expect strong interest again this year.
Capital Grants have already delivered important benefits for the environment, nature recovery and farming practices across England.
Last year’s offer committed funding for more than 1,200km of new hedgerows, creating valuable habitats for birds and pollinators.
It also supported the renewal of more than 800 concrete yards, helping improve slurry and effluent management and reduce pollution entering watercourses.
Changes to some items for 2026
This year, the agroforestry items and the woodland condition assessment will not be available through Capital Grants. They will instead be available later this year through the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer.
You can find a list of the items included in this year’s Capital Grants offer in section 5.2 of the applicant’s guidance.
One item has been withdrawn from the 2026 Capital Grants offer: TE6: Tree guard (tube and mesh). For 2026, this will be replaced by a new item, TE19: Tree guard (narrow weld mesh).
We will also update the names and specifications for tree guard items TE7 and TE8 when the Capital grant offer opens.
Learn more
In my last post, I set out how farmers and land managers can start preparing for the 2026 Capital Grants offer.
I explained why we are asking for more supporting evidence at the start of the application process this year.
In 2025, many applications were incomplete, which caused delays and meant some applications were rejected. We therefore ask applicants to provide their supporting evidence together with their application.
I also explained what applicants can do now to prepare. This includes completing previous claims, checking business and land details, making sure maps are accurate, and preparing financial evidence if applying for more than £50,000.
The post also covered the support available through Catchment Sensitive Farming ahead of the 2026 round, requirements for tenant farmers, and the additional evidence needed for some items, such as consents for historic or archaeological features.
Do please give it a read.
I’ll blog again in July when it’s time to apply, so make sure to subscribe to the Farming Blog.
Once the offer opens, we’ll also provide updates on the blog when 25%, 50% and 75% of the available funding has been allocated.
By subscribing, you’ll receive a notification as soon as we publish a new post.
18 comments
Comment by Lucy posted on
Do we know exactly when the Capital Grants scheme is open please? It states "July" but it is now the end of June with no date given.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Lucy,
It will open by the end of the month.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Lucy posted on
Is the standalone Hi-tier Capital grant application still open all year round?
Do you need to apply via the PDF application form and not online?
Do you need an existing Hi-Tier agreement to apply?
Are the following items still available?
AC1 Access capital items
FG10 Temporary deer fencing
FG11 Deer exclosure plot
FG16 Deer pedestrian gate
FG17 Deer vehicle gate
FG5 Fencing supplement – difficult sites (this item can only be applied for with FG7, FG8 and FG9)
FG7 Anti-predator combination fencing
FG8 Anti-predator temporary electric fencing
FG9 Deer fencing
FM1 Management of geodiversity features
FM2 Carry out customised capital works to manage specific sites or species
FY1 Deer high seat
FY4 Create 2-zone rides in woodland
FY5 Create 3-zone rides in woodland
FY6 Restore coppicing in woodland
FY8 Supplement for a freestanding deer high seat (FY1)
GR1 Create or restore grassland habitat
GR2 Standard seed mix for grassland habitat
GR3 Floristically enhanced seed mix for grassland habitat
HE1 Historic and archaeological feature protection
LV1 Cattle grid
LV2 Livestock handling facilities
RP8 Constructed wetlands for the treatment of pollution
SB1 Scrub control and felling diseased trees
SB2 Scrub control difficult sites
SB3 Tree removal
SB4 Chemical bracken control
SB5 Mechanical bracken control
SB6 Rhododendron control
SM1 Training to control and manage deer
SM2 Training to control and manage American mink
SM3 Training to control and manage non-native plants
SM4 Traps for American mink
SM5 Traps for edible dormouse
SM6 Use monitoring equipment to manage invasive species
TE12 Stump grinding
TE13 Creation of dead wood habitat on trees
TE14 Identification of orchard fruit tree varieties
TE15 Plant groups of trees in large guards
TE16 Use tree surgery to ‘hinge’ a tree into a watercourse
TE17 Tree surgery for veteran trees
TE18 Pruning to restore veteran fruit trees
TE2 Planting standard parkland tree
TE9 Parkland tree guard - welded steel
WN1 Grip blocking drainage channels
WN10 Construction of water penning structures
WN11 Install temporary water storage features
WN13 Manage wetland cutting supplement
WN2 Creation of scrapes and gutters
WN3 Ditch, dyke and rhine restoration
WN4 Ditch, dyke and rhine creation
WN7 Restoration of large water bodies
WN8 Timber sluice
WN9 Brick, stone or concrete sluice
Guidance is not very clear unfortunately.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hello Lucy,
1. The Higher Tier Capital Grants offer is open for applications year-round from 5 January 2026. This is set out at the beginning of the applicant's guidance.
2. Yes. Applications should be submitted to the RPA by email or post using the Higher Tier Capital Grants application form (PDF). Further details on the application process can be found in section 4.2, "Ways to apply", of the guidance.
3. No. You do not need an existing Higher Tier agreement to apply. Information about who can apply and which land is eligible can be found in section 3 of the guidance.
4. A list of the items available through this year's Higher Tier Capital Grants offer can be found in section 5.2 of the applicant's guidance.
Please note that you must discuss your application with a Natural England adviser before submitting it. They will help you identify the capital items most appropriate for your circumstances.
To arrange this, please email enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk and include "Standalone Higher Tier Capital Grants Query for Natural England" in the subject line. A Natural England adviser will then contact you by phone or email.
We hope this helps.
Kind Regards,
The Team
Comment by Linda Bratley posted on
When will the new TE19 Tree Guard management prescription be available please?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your question. The new item TE19 Tree Guard item will be available when Capital Grants 2026 opens in July. We will publish the details on the Capital grant finder once it’s available.
Hope that helps,
The Team
Comment by charlotte russell posted on
what is the minimum parcel or holding size to be eligible to apply for capital items funding .
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks for getting in touch. There isn't a minimum parcel or holding size. Here is the full eligibility guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-grants-2026/applicants-guide-capital-grants-2026#check-if-you-and-your-land-are-eligible
Best wishes,
The team
Comment by Rachael posted on
I was hoping this guidance would provide clarity on whether one group can benefit from more than one visit under the VED1. For example, one class in a local school attending the farm weekly for 6 weeks as part of a project. Please can you clarify if this is allowed under an exisiting VED1 agreement?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Rachael,
Thank you for getting in touch. We've updated the GOV.UK guidance to make this clear. This grant pays for one visit per group only. If a group visits more than once, you cannot make another claim. So we can fund multiple visits from the same school but each group/class can only visit once.
Hope that helps,
The Team
Comment by Rona Amiss posted on
Good evening. If i have an existing ed1 with my CS HT would i be able to also apply for the capital grant educational vists of 25 visits per year?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Rona,
Thank you for getting in touch. No you cannot use this item if you have an existing Countryside Stewardship agreement with ED1: Educational access.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Mick Holding posted on
Thanks for all the information. Not a moment too soon. I think the guidance could be more consistent/clear though. For example, the 'agroforestry items' still appear to in the list of capital items you can apply for. There should be a note there to say they're not available this year. Also, some items appear to be available under general Capital Grants, but may not be practically when reading down through the detailed guidance. This could be clearer at the start.
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Mick,
Thank you for your comment. We've shared it with the policy team to consider. Under “Changes to some items” for 2026 we explain that the agroforestry items will be available later this year in the Higher Tier capital grants offer.
Details of the items remain on the Capital grant finder as they are currently available in the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) offer. When you look at an item on Capital grant finder, the first section tells you which offer it is available in.
Hope that helps,
The Team
Comment by Jet posted on
TE19 specification isn't online yet via Capital Grant finder pages
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Jet,
Thanks for raising this. The details for TE19 will be published on the Capital grant finder once the item is available in the Capital Grants offer.
Best wishes,
The Team
Comment by Carol Johnson posted on
When will the window open please?
Comment by The Team posted on
Hi Carol,
Applications will open in July, if you subscribe to the Farming blog you'll be notified as soon as this happens: https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/subscribe/
Best wishes,
The Team