Guidance

Apply for a lowland peat water implementation grant

Published 22 June 2026

Applies to England

1. About the scheme

The lowland peat water implementation grant scheme will support delivery of the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 commitment to improve and restore our peatlands. It will do this by funding facilitation grants to enable farmers and land managers to make changes to their water management and undertake more sustainable actions on peat. 

The scheme is designed to support projects in taking a collaborative and strategic approach to water management within lowland peatland catchments. This is to deliver the infrastructure and water management controls needed to facilitate a positive change in water management.

The lowland peat implementation grant scheme is competitive. The Environment Agency will offer a grant to the highest scoring, eligible applications.

For this grant scheme, the definition of lowland peat is below the moorland line, 20% organic matter and at least 40cm deep.

2. Aims of the grant scheme

The implementation grant scheme aims to fund the delivery of previously developed plans to safely raise water tables within lowland peat soils in England.

The scheme has a primary focus on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from lowland peat. Projects should incorporate wider benefits such as biodiversity improvements, flood and drought mitigation, and sustainable land use where possible.

The purpose of the implementation grant scheme is to provide investment that will:

• facilitate rewetting lowland peat, by installing infrastructure and other control measures to enable the safe and sustainable raising of water tables in lowland peat soils
• create or build on existing effective local collaborations with lowland peat stakeholders
• focus primarily on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from lowland peat
• enable wider benefits, for example biodiversity, flood and drought mitigation and sustainable land use – to better protecting the peat from deterioration and reduce carbon dioxide release
• contribute to the delivery of a variety of more sustainable land uses at landscape scale, including through farming conventional crops at higher water tables, paludiculture, and peatland or wetland habitat restoration

3. Scheme eligibility

3.1 Who can apply

The following organisations are eligible to apply for an implementation grant:

• charities or not for profit organisations
• public bodies (including local authorities and internal drainage boards)
• land managers
• businesses or commercial enterprises

The Environment Agency can only issue an implementation grant to a single legal entity.

You must prove that you are eligible when you apply.

You should ensure that efforts have been made to collaborate or co-ordinate work with other interested parties.

The following organisations are not eligible to apply but they are eligible to be collaborators within the projects:

• Environment Agency
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
• Natural England
• Forestry Commission

3.2 What projects can apply

Implementation grants are available for projects in England working within areas of lowland peat that have been drained and have water tables which are lower than optimum for the reduction of carbon emissions.

The approved project must both:

• promote a change in water management that allows for more sustainable land management activities at higher water tables within lowland peat soils
• include plans for the long-term maintenance of those outcomes

Applications must demonstrate how the scheme aims will be achieved in practice, including the proposed system design, delivery approach and long-term management.   

Early-stage feasibility or concept development is not eligible within an implementation grant.

4. How much you can apply for

You can apply for an implementation grant of between £100,000 and £2,000,000.

Grants can cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.

In exceptional circumstances, where you can clearly justify the need or benefit, the Environment Agency will consider a lower or higher grant. For example, where combining several projects provides better value for money or other efficiency benefits but takes the total proposed grant value over the maximum threshold.

5. When to apply

You can apply for a grant from 26 June 2026. 

The Environment Agency must receive all completed applications by 23:59 on 18 September 2026. 

We will not consider applications sent after the deadline.

You should not begin funded activities before you receive your grant award. We expect to award grants in December 2026.

You must complete grant projects and funded activities by 31 March 2030.

We expect to run another implementation grant application round in summer 2028.

6. What you need before applying

To apply for the implementation grant, you need to have produced an implementation plan.

An implementation plan details the preparatory work already completed to inform, plan and agree to a positive change water management in your project area. Your preparatory work may have been completed during a lowland agricultural peat water discovery pilot (LAPWDP) or an alternatively funded feasibility study.

Your implementation plan should include the items set out in the implementation plan scope and have progressed to at least outline design. Your plan must include the operating system changes and the infrastructure needed to deliver water table raising in your project areas.

You must detail the stakeholders you intend to collaborate with to successfully deliver your plan, including land managers whose land is within your project area. You must demonstrate the stakeholder support your project has in your application.

Before applying for an implementation grant, you must have agreed water management outcomes for your project area with your stakeholders. This can be at a catchment or hydrological unit scale. There must be an intention to progress to raising water tables within your project area, with support from the landowners for this.

6.1 Implementation plan scope   

As a minimum, you must have completed sufficient preparatory work to demonstrate that your project is feasible and capable of raising water tables. This must include at least an outline design which clearly demonstrates how the proposed works will enable the planned water management outcomes. If you have not already undertaken detailed design, you can include this as the first stage of your implementation grant.

Your application must only include works that are linked directly with enabling the raising and management of a higher water table. Work may include installation of gates, tilting weirs, dams, new, modified or re-routed watercourses, lagoons, land drains, earthworks to manage water on site or telemetry.

Your implementation plan must include:

• maps detailing project area, land use and land ownership – including the site’s current depth and extent of peat, seasonal water table and water levels
• the reasons for choosing the project area
• consensus from key stakeholders or landowners on the preferred outcome
• details of any current measures in place to actively manage water tables, for example gates, weirs and pumping arrangements affecting the peatland within the project area
• monitoring and baseline data already collected, and analysis undertaken and future monitoring proposals
• details of barriers and constraints that exist and how they are to be overcome or mitigated
• details of the permits and permissions required, including whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is needed, and any progress made in relation to them (including pre-application advice and predicted timelines)
• planned water table rise – highlight whether your project will deliver a water table rise or is to enable future potential water table rises
• the amount of water required and the source of water to deliver your planned water table rise (the water budget)
• the infrastructure required to deliver the plan – include details of the revised system design with supporting hydraulic and groundwater modelling data (if appropriate) and a labelled plan to show what and where new or revised infrastructure is to be installed
• future arrangements for managing and maintaining the revised water tables – include the funding options to achieve this and the future land use of the project area
• a breakdown of estimated costs including contractor, consultant, equipment (for example, telemetry and water level control devices), staff and other costs
• outline of your project delivery phases
• a risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies (RAID) log for risk management

If you do not provide this information, your application may not be prioritised.

6.2 Project delivery

Once you have identified and designed your preferred approach for raising water tables, your project must start construction to install the infrastructure or control measures.

At the end of your implementation project, all required interventions must be in place to enable the agreed changes in water management. These could include:

• tilting weirs
• solar pumps
• storage lagoons
• drainage modifications
• ditch blocking

The water table in your project area does not need to have been raised by the end of your project, but the infrastructure to enable this must be in place.

You must provide a credible plan on when the water tables will be raised.

6.3 Monitoring project outcomes

This grant scheme is a key delivery mechanism for several government targets. Robust, high-quality monitoring is essential to its success and to potential longer-term support for lowland peat delivery.

Your monitoring should begin as soon as practicable to establish a baseline and then continued as implementation occurs.

Project monitoring can only be funded through this grant scheme until 31 March 2030. You should explore other funding options for longer term monitoring to allow this valuable data collection to continue if possible.

Your project must demonstrate well evidenced progress.

The Environment Agency will use evidence from funded projects to assess the effectiveness of the grant scheme’s approach. We will also inform decisions on the scale, design and availability of future funding.

6.3.1 Measurements your project should include

To ensure monitoring is consistently useful, your project should include the following minimum set of measurements:

• peat depth (if not already surveyed)
• peat water table depth in peat areas relevant to the project – monthly as an absolute minimum
• surface water levels in ditches, carriers or channels relevant to the project – monthly as an absolute minimum and coinciding with the water table depth monitoring
• rainfall (from an on-site gauge or a justified local proxy source)

Peat water table depth and surface water level monitoring should be levelled in, to ordnance datum, to allow comparison of data. 

You must provide a strong justification if you do not intend to survey or cannot obtain the above measurements. We may not accept your project if this monitoring is not undertaken.

6.3.2 Additional measurements to include

You should add other measurements where they are relevant to the proposed works, risks and expected benefits. You should select these as appropriate and justify your selection.

Depending on your project, this may include:

• water volumes or flows and operational regime information (for example, where works influence flows, storage, pumping regimes or water demand)
• water quality (for example, basic water quality such as nutrients, dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon, pH or electrical conductivity – EC), particularly where changes are plausible or where inflows or outflows are defined
• biodiversity and habitat changes as a result of the implementation of your project
• soil moisture, peat condition or carbon content, and peat nutrients where these are important for interpreting outcomes or informing future management decisions

If the project operates within a pumped catchment, your monitoring plan should include proportionate monitoring. This should help indicate whether pumping operations or pumping patterns have changed because of the project (directly or indirectly).

Your monitoring plan should also include water-level monitoring at relevant control points.

7. Prepare supporting information and evidence

You must send some supporting documentation with your application so the Environment Agency can complete eligibility and due diligence checks. If you do not include the mandatory items, your application may not be eligible.

You must send copies, scans or photographs of supporting evidence. You must not send originals.

You should label documents clearly before sending them with your application.

You must provide the following mandatory supporting information.

7.1 VAT status

You can only claim VAT if irrecoverable VAT is in the proposal costs.

If you intend to claim VAT as part of your project costs, you’ll need to submit a letter from an independent accountant. The letter should state if your organisation is VAT registered and that VAT costs on the grant costs are irrecoverable.

Without this evidence, you’ll not be able to claim VAT as part of your grant.

7.2 Proof of costs

You’ll need to provide:

• organisation procurement policy that shows the process is open, transparent, competitive and awards the most economical bid
• your breakdown of costs including internal salary cost calculations (based on employee gross salary, employer national insurance and pension contributions) and day rates for staff and contractors
• a list of any assets that you intend to purchase to deliver the project
• comparisons of proposed costs with similar works to show project costs represent market value
• 3 comparable quotes – you must use the cheapest quote unless you can justify why a higher quote gives better value for money
• the reason for using a single award where you did not use a tender process
• other related evidence to show the costs are reasonable

7.3 Project maps

You must provide the project maps in an accessible format. Export maps at a scale with enough detail to accurately interpret where you plan to work.

You should include:

• an overview map showing all your total project area, with references to the individual site maps (if applicable)
• if applicable, maps of individual sites at no more than 1:25000 scale
• maps showing every landowner, location of proposed infrastructure or works and the current land use of the project area
• GIS shapefile showing the total project area

You should provide the maps as either a PDF or JPEG file, and at least one GIS shapefile of the total project area.

7.4 Written support for the project

You must provide written supporting evidence with your application.

You’ll need to provide written evidence of:

• support from key stakeholders
• support from your main project collaborators, for example, those who will be involved in the project delivery – this can include letters or emails of support from main members of the project consortium

7.5 Landowner support or agreement

You’ll need to provide written evidence with locations from landowners in your project area to show support for your project. Every landowner within your project area must demonstrate support for the project.

Evidence can include letters or emails. This must demonstrate that you have permission in principle for access to their land to undertake your project.

7.6 Implementation plan

You’ll need to provide a copy of your implementation plan.

7.7 Monitoring plan

You’ll need to provide a copy of your monitoring plan.

8. What the grant can pay for

Your project must only undertake work that is directly required to deliver your implementation plan. This can include:

• collaborative working arrangements
• detailed design – this can include ground investigations and options appraisal (if there are several viable options available that would deliver the plan)
• securing final approvals for permits or consents (for example, from Environment Agency, local authorities, planning, Natural England, internal drainage boards, Historic England), including for any environmental mitigation required
• mitigation, for example peat (if peat soils will be disturbed by the implementation activities), environmental or ecological, including surveys needed to directly inform mitigation
• procurement of materials, equipment and contractors needed to deliver the plan
• construction and site works
• project management, including reporting required as part of the grant award
• engagement activities
• monitoring, including continued baseline and delivery of your future monitoring plan (including any agreed updating of your monitoring plan) to enable assessment of interventions after implementation
• works linked with facilitating future monitoring of key project elements
• engagement with Defra’s overall monitoring and evaluation project – allow up to 5 days for this

9. What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot get funding for:

• costs already covered through other funding
• work undertaken and costs outside your grant funding period
• meeting your own legal requirements
• gifts, entertaining or alcohol
• your tax liabilities, including recoverable VAT
• purchase of vehicles
• equipment not to be exclusively used in project delivery or the operation of infrastructure delivered under it
• maintenance costs outside of your grant period
• fines, charges or dividends
• lobbying costs to influence parliament, government or political activity, or legislative or regulatory action
• payments for activities of a political or religious nature
• payments to staff relating to previous employment within the organisation, such as redundancy, pensions or Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) liabilities
• insurance – except employer National Insurance relating to eligible staff costs
• organisation branded clothing or uniforms – essential personal protective equipment (PPE) directly linked to project activities is an eligible cost
• volunteer time – volunteer expenses, which you normally cover, will be considered on a case-by-case basis
• land purchase
• compensation for loss of land
• international travel

10. How to apply

10.1 Request and complete your application form

Email peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk to request a lowland peat water implementation grant application form. Put ‘Lowland peat water implementation grant form’ as the email subject.

Once you receive the application form by email, you must:

• fill in all the form fields that apply to you
• include your supporting information

You must not alter the form or add additional pages. We may reject forms that have been altered.

Someone of suitable authority within your organisation must sign your declaration.

10.2 Send your application

Email your completed application form and all your supporting information to peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk by 23:59 on 18 September 2026.

The Environment Agency will not consider applications sent after the deadline.

You should send your application with enough time before the deadline to avoid any delays in forms being received.

We’ll confirm that we have received your application by email within 5 working days to the email address given in your application form.

If there is any missing information, we’ll contact you by email. You’ll have 10 working days from the date of this email to send this. If we do not receive the missing information, we’ll reject your application.

11. How we will assess your application

The lowland peat implementation grant scheme is competitive. The highest scoring, eligible applications will be offered a grant.

Your project is eligible if the following apply:

• it is focused on delivering positive change in water management for an area of actively drained lowland peat soils within England
• there is no pre-existing legal requirement to carry out the proposed plan
• the proposed plan is not or will not receive full funding from other sources which would be considered duplicate funding
• you are an eligible organisation

The Environment Agency is aiming for a strong programme of projects, supporting eligible applicants to undertake work across the country. We’ll assess projects against a number of criteria to prioritise projects that provide best value for money and greatest benefits. Following prioritisation, a moderation panel will review all bids to ensure the distribution of projects across geographies and organisational types best meets the scheme objectives.

Your application will be strong if it demonstrates:

• a clear and deliverable approach to raising water tables
• a robust understanding of site hydrology
• strong landowner and stakeholder support
• good value for money

11.1 Assessment criteria  

Following an initial eligibility screening, the Environment Agency will score your application based on the proposed work and the benefits the project will provide. We will use the details included in your application form and supporting information, such as your implementation plan, to assess your project.

Greater weighting will be given to proposals which provide:

• more benefits for the amount of grant requested
• evidence that these benefits are durable and deliverable with low risk

We will use the following high-level criteria to assess and prioritise your application.

Level of confidence that your project is deliverable by March 2030 

To assess these criteria, we will consider: 

• your approach to project management
• your project risks and milestones
• your project budget and cost justification

Level of confidence that project benefits are additional to what would have happened in absence of funding

To assess these criteria, we will consider:

• your rationale for why the funding is needed
• any other funding sources
• whether the project is likely to go ahead if the application was unsuccessful

Level of confidence in the technical understanding of your project to raise the water table of peat soils 

To assess these criteria, we will consider: 

• your understanding and evidence of the peat soils, the hydraulics of the local drainage system, water tables and source of water for suggested changes within the project area
• the infrastructure or control measures you will install to raise water tables

Level of confidence in the collaborative approach your project will take 

To assess these criteria, we will consider: 

• the support you have from landowners within the project area
• the input of other local stakeholders into the design of your implementation project

The scale of peat to be rewetted 

To assess these criteria, we will consider: 

• the total area of peat soils your project aims to improve
• the change in water table depth your project aims to deliver
• the change in water level your project aims to deliver
• the timescale for when peat soils will be rewet

The wider improvements that your project will deliver 

To assess these criteria, we will consider: 

• the scale of measures taken to reducing carbon emissions in the design and delivery of your project, such as low carbon construction methods or use of solar pumps
• the scale of habitat and biodiversity improvements
• other additional benefits from the project, such as flood risk reduction, water quality improvement, and drought and wildfire resilience

12. Outcome of your application

The Environment Agency will provide an update on the outcome of your application in December 2026. We may contact you during our assessment if we need any clarifications about your application.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will notify you in writing. You’ll have the opportunity to seek further feedback.

If your application is successful, we will notify you in writing. We’ll confirm with you the project budget and milestone schedule before sending you a grant offer letter.

The grant offer will include:

• the start and end date of your agreement
• the amount of your grant
• your payment schedule and milestones
• the terms and conditions of your grant

After you receive your Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant Agreement, someone from your organisation authorised to enter into a grant agreement must sign and return the offer letter within 10 days to peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk.

You must not start the project until you have signed and completed all documents in the grant offer letter and fulfilled any special conditions. We will reject claims for any costs incurred outside the agreed timescales of your grant agreement.

13. Access the fund community

The lowland peat water grants team runs a SharePoint website to:

• provide more information about the scheme
• share answers to common questions

If you would like access to this, email peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk with ‘Lowland peat water grants SharePoint access’ as the email subject.

If you’re interested in building or joining a consortium ahead of a group application, you can save your details to this consortium-building database.

14. If you have any questions

Email peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk to request clarification about the application process. Submit questions as early as possible.

15. If you have a complaint

You can complain if you’re unhappy with the level of service or the way you have been treated. Use the Environment Agency’s complaints procedure.