Apply for the Farming Recovery Fund (FRF)
Form and guidance to apply for funding to help farmers carry out recovery activities following flooding in the north of England (scheme now closed for applications).
Documents
Details
This scheme is now closed for applications.
The Farming Recovery Fund provides money to help farmers in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire, County Durham and Greater Manchester whose agricultural land has been affected by the impact of flooding that took place in December 2015.
The minimum grant available is £500.
The maximum grant available is £20,000.
Applications can be accepted from Friday 18 December 2015 to Friday 1 April 2016.
What farmers can get funding for
The money will go towards the costs of restoring their agricultural land to the state it was in before the flooding took place.
As part of their application, farmers must explain which activities they want funding for and how much the activities will cost.
A list of which items and activities farmers can apply for is in the full guidance attached to this page.
Who can apply
To be able to apply, farmers need to:
- have been trading on 1 December 2015
- have been affected by the flooding which took place from 4th to 9th or on 25th to 26th of December 2015
- be an ‘active farmer’ (as defined in Article 4 of Council Regulations (EC) 1307/2013). This covers farmers who claimed the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2015
Funding is only available for land in:
- Cumbria
- Northumberland
- Lancashire
- Yorkshire
- County Durham
- Greater Manchester
Landowners are eligible to apply for funding if they meet the criteria above and the restoration of the land is their responsibility (i.e. not the responsibility of the tenant).
How to apply
An application form and full guidance are attached to this page. There is also a calculator attached which will help farmers to work out how much funding they can apply for.
Farmers should email their application form (along with a completed calculator spreadsheet and any supporting evidence) to frf@rpa.gov.uk. This will help the RPA to process the application more quickly.
They must also send a signed paper copy of their application to:
Rural Payments Agency
C/O Environment Agency
Ghyll Mount
Gillan Way
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 9BP
A farming business can only apply once.
RPA will let farmers know whether their application has been successful. They will try to do this within 10 working days of receiving a complete application form.
What evidence to include with an application
Farmers must include as much of the following as they can:
- evidence of the damage suffered by their business (for example, photographs and maps)
- insurance details (where applicable)
- quotes to show the likely cost of the repair work
- consents and permissions (if the land is under an agri-environment agreement, they will need to speak to their advisor at Natural England)
The full guidance contains more information about what evidence to provide.
If work has already been carried out
If a farmer needs to carry out work before RPA confirm the outcome of their application, any costs the farmer incurs will be at their own risk.
Farmers should keep any records they have of the work carried out, to send as evidence. This includes:
- photographs of the work in progress and the completed repairs/restoration
- any invoices for the work undertaken
- any invoices for materials and equipment
- any independent evidence of the need for the work, such as agronomist reports
- the date they started the restoration activity
RPA can accept photographs and maps in electronic or hardcopy format only. Please do not send CDs or USB sticks.
Farmers who have already incurred costs for items since 4 December 2015, should call the Rural Services helpline on 03000 200 301 to discuss their individual circumstances.
Last updated 4 January 2016 + show all updates
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Updated in line with latest press release
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Page updated to show new deadline for applications and extension of the fund to all of Lancashire and Yorkshire
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First published.