Capital grants in 2024: an overview
In this post, I'll provide an overview of capital grants for environmental land management, the current offer and recent updates.
Farming and Countryside Programme
Agri-environment schemes work: Natural England’s latest findings
Posted by:
Usha Waygood, Posted on:
-
Categories:
environmental land management schemes, Farming and Countryside Programme
This month, Natural England published its annual report summarising projects of the Agri-Environment Scheme Monitoring & Evaluation Programme. In this guest post, Natural England’s Usha Waygood, Senior Officer in the Evidence Directorate, highlights some of the team’s findings from the report.
Dartmoor Land Use Management Group: appointment of a chair
In April, we published our response to the Independent review of protected site management on Dartmoor. We agreed with the recommendation to create a land use management group. I'm pleased to say that the position of chair has just been advertised. In this post, I'll share a short summary and provide links to learn more.
Hedgerow regulations now law
In a post published last month, I said I’d let you know when Parliament passed the new hedgerow regulations. Today, I’m doing just that.
The Smaller Abattoir Fund: increase in intervention rate and grant amount
In December, we shared details of a new capital grant to support smaller abattoirs in England, offered through the Smaller Abattoir Fund . To recognise the cash flow challenges that many smaller abattoirs face, we’re increasing this support. We’ve raised the intervention rate from 40% to 50% and we’ve increased the maximum grant amount from £60,000 to £75,000.
Changes to permitted development rights
We want to make it easier for farmers to strengthen their businesses. To that end, several changes to permitted development rights are coming into effect from 21 May.
Apply now for a water screening study
From today, small groups of farmers in England can apply for a Local Resource Option (LRO) screening study. An LRO is a water resources scheme that improves the resilience or supply of water in a local area. LRO screening studies are one way farmers and growers can better understand their options to improve the supply or resilience of water. In this post, I’ll share the background, explain how the studies work and include links to learn more and apply.
Laying the hedgerow regulations
We are pleased to tell you that legislation to protect hedgerows has today been laid in both Houses of Parliament. If approved by Parliament, the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 will put baseline hedgerow management practices into law, providing a consistent approach across all people operating on agricultural land.
Water Restoration Fund: grants now available
Groups of farmers in England can now apply for a grant to improve freshwater habitats. Through the new Water Restoration Fund, local groups can apply for funding to bolster their capacity and capabilities for delivery of on-the-ground projects which improve the water environment. In this post, we'll explain how the fund works.
Blending private and public finance
We want farmers and land managers in England to confidently and securely access payments from both the public and private sector for the environmental benefits and food they produce. In this post, we'll give a summary of our work and the initiatives supporting our ambitions in this space.
Related content and links
Talk to us
On 21 and 21 September, we’ll be at the Newbury Show in Berkshire.
Find us at these shows and conferences in 2024.
