Guidance

Applicant's guide: Capital Grants 2026

Published 28 May 2026

Applies to England

1. About Capital Grants 2026

These grants are standalone Capital Grants which can be used on their own, or to support and complement:

• Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements
• Countryside Stewardship (CS) Higher Tier (last agreements issued 1 January 2024)
• CS Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers (last agreements issued 1 January 2024)
• CS Higher Tier (CSHT) agreements starting from 2025
• Environmental Stewardship (ES) Higher Level Stewardship agreements

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will accept one eligible Capital Grants application submitted in a calendar year for each Single Business Identifier (SBI) that you manage. Any further applications submitted under the same SBI will be rejected.

You can also apply for other capital grants at any time of the year.

This round of the Capital Grants offer will close for applications when the available funding is allocated. Once the scheme opens, we’ll share updates on The Farming Blog. We will aim to give reasonable notice of the Capital Grant offer closure.

At the point of closure, we will not accept any further applications including those started but not yet submitted.

Funding is not guaranteed even if an application has been submitted and is eligible.

2. Check if you and your land are eligible

Capital Grants are open to land managers who are one of the following:

• an owner occupier
• a tenant
• a landlord
• a licensor if they have management control of the land and activities needed to meet the obligations of the grant for the full duration of the agreement

2.1 Land that is eligible

To be eligible for Capital Grants, land parcels must be entirely within England, and you must have management control of the relevant parcels as set out in section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’.

The following land parcels may also be eligible:

• those included in any existing agreement, see section 2.4 ‘Land receiving other funding’
• those subject to an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) agreement (read section 2.4.3 ‘English Woodland Grant Schemes’ for some exceptions)
• those included in agreements for PA1: Implementation plan, PA2: Feasibility study, PA3: Woodland management plan, PA4: Agroforestry plan, PA5 Moorland mapping, PA7: Species management plan, or a Woodland tree health grant (if all other eligibility criteria are met)
• those on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) or scheduled monument, including their boundaries
• non-agricultural land parcels where the eligibility of the capital item allows its use on that area (for example farmyards)

2.2 Land that is not eligible

The following land is not eligible for Capital Grants:

• land parcels containing common land or shared grazing rights
• land that is included in certain other schemes or under obligation (read section 2.4 ‘Land receiving other funding’)
• developed land and hard standing (including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage)

2.3 Management control of land

You must have management control of the land in a Capital Grants agreement for 5 years from the start date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’). Management control of the land for 5 years is to cover the agreement and durability periods.

This includes control over:

• all activities needed to meet the grant payment
• keeping all capital items funded through this scheme in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement for the 5 years. This is known as the durability period
• using capital items only for the approved purpose during this period, for example you cannot use a roofing item to cover an area used to house livestock

If you do not meet these requirements, you must get the written consent of all other parties who have management control.

2.3.1 Tenants

If you occupy land under a tenancy, you must have:

• a tenancy agreement granting you management control for at least 3 years from the start of the Capital Grants agreement or the countersignature of your landlord (however, see the requirements for a rolling tenancy below)
• the agreement of your landlord before you apply
• a countersignature from your landlord if you do not have management control for 5 years (for the durability period) from the start of your agreement
• control of all the activities over the land to meet the scheme requirements for the chosen capital items

It is your responsibility to check when you apply for Capital Grants that you do not breach the terms of your tenancy agreement.

If your tenancy is renewed each year on a rolling basis, you must be certain your tenancy will extend to the length of your Capital Grants agreement, or you must have a countersignature from your landlord. You must check this with your landlord before you apply.

If the landlord takes over a Capital Grants agreement from you once your tenancy has ended, they must be eligible to do so. For example, they must not be an ineligible public body.

2.3.2 Landlords

If you are a landlord and can show that you have enough management control over the land and activities, you can apply for an agreement on land you have let to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the Capital Grants agreement. RPA may ask you to provide evidence to show that you have done this. It is your responsibility to make sure that your tenant does not breach the terms of the agreement.

2.3.3 Partnerships

If you are in a business partnership, you can apply for Capital Grants. The person signing the application must have the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service.

2.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a Capital Grants agreement. It is your responsibility to make sure that the licensee does not breach the terms of the agreement.

You must make sure that the licensee is aware of the requirements of the agreement, as relevant to the licence, and include these in the licence agreement.

2.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for Capital Grants as a licence arrangement will not provide sufficient management control of the land to the licensee for the agreement period.

If in practice your licence agreement gives you wider land management responsibilities, this may mean you are a tenant and therefore may be eligible for Capital Grants. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’ for more information.

2.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for Capital Grants provided the work does not form part of their obligations as a public body.

This includes land owned by:

• local authorities
• national park authorities
• public corporations

Parish councils and former college farms are not considered to be public bodies and so are eligible to apply for Capital Grants.

Land is not eligible if it is owned or managed by:

• Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
• non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

See a list of all government departments, agencies and public bodies on GOV.UK.

2.3.7 Tenants of land owned by public bodies

If you are a tenant of a public body, you will need to check if the land is eligible for Capital Grants with your landlord. If it is, you must get the public body to countersign your application if you do not have a tenancy agreement for 5 years to cover the agreement and durability periods.

If you do have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a Capital Grants agreement and durability period, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’.

You cannot apply for Capital Grants for any work that is a requirement of your tenancy or any other legally binding obligation.

2.4 Land receiving other funding

You cannot use Capital Grants to pay for any environmental management for which you are already receiving:

• payment from Exchequer funds
• grant aid from any other public body

You cannot use a Capital Grants agreement to fund capital works that you:

• are required to carry out under other legally binding obligations
• are currently receiving funding from other sources
• have received funding for the same item on the same area in the last 5 years (except fencing where the exclusion period is 7 years)

You may be able to apply for a Capital Grants agreement in addition to an existing Environmental Land Management agreement, if you follow the rules set out in section 2.4.1 ‘Environmental Land Management schemes’ and, 2.4.2 ‘Other Capital Grants agreements

RPA will carry out checks to make sure that capital works are not funded twice from public money.

You must make sure that any work proposed for this grant does not breach the conditions of any other agreement.

2.4.1 Environmental Land Management schemes

Land parcels in a Higher Level Stewardship, SFI, Landscape Recovery or Wildlife Offer agreement may be eligible for a Capital Grants agreement providing:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants agreement are compatible
• there is sufficient space in the parcel

Land in a Countryside Stewardship agreement, including CS Mid Tier, Higher Tier, and CSHT agreements may be eligible if:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants agreement are compatible
• you have completed and been paid for all capital works in any land parcel included in your Capital Grants application
• there is sufficient space in the parcel

These conditions also apply to land in another capital grant agreement if that agreement is from one of these offers:

• Higher Tier Capital Grants
• Protection and Infrastructure grant
• Woodland Tree Health
• Capital grants plans
• PA3: Woodland management plan

2.4.2 Other Capital Grants agreements

You can include the same land parcels in a new Capital Grants agreement as an existing Capital Grants agreement if:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants application are compatible
• any capital works on the same land parcel are complete, and you have received your final payment
• you are not submitting more than one application in a calendar year for each SBI that you manage

You can apply for a Capital Grants agreement on land parcels that are not in your existing agreement if the new capital works do not conflict with that agreement.

2.4.3 English Woodland Grant Schemes

You can apply for a Capital Grants agreement on land parcels covered by an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) capital grant if both of the following apply:

• this does not result in you being paid twice for the same items or activities
• the Capital Grants do not conflict with any ongoing capital EWGS requirements

You cannot apply for Capital Grants on land parcels covered by a multi-annual EWGS agreement, England Woodland Creation Offer, EWGS Farm Woodland Payment, Farm Woodland Premium Scheme or Farm Woodland Scheme.

2.4.4 Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax exemption

Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax (or the object of a maintenance fund) may not be eligible for capital items if they:

• are not compatible with the exemption
• duplicate an activity within the exemption

Read ‘Eligible funding on land conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax’ for more information and to see which capital items are eligible or not.

3. Capital items you can apply for

There are 80 capital items available, you can find more information in section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’. The Capital grant finder gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

3.1 Capital Grant groups and funding limits

Items in the offer are divided between 6 groups:

• air quality items, for example slurry scrapers
• assessments items, for example a wildfire checklist
• boundaries, trees and orchards items, for example repairing stone walls
• improvements items, for example educational access visits
• natural flood management items, for example leaky woody dams
• water quality items, for example biofilters

There is a funding limit for 4 of the item groups.

Group	Funding limit
Air quality	£25,000 maximum
Boundaries, trees and orchards	£35,000 maximum
Natural flood management	£25,000 maximum
Water quality	£25,000 maximum

There is no funding limit for items in the assessment or improvement groups.

Supplementary items

You can apply for supplementary items for some capital items. Read section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’ to see if there is a supplementary item available with the capital item that you can apply for.

3.2 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use a Capital Grant to pay for:

• any capital works done (or materials purchased) before your agreement starts
• planning application fees or other transactional fees
• agent fees or other advisory fees
• meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions, environmental regulations and tenancy agreements
• any works on land parcels containing common land or shared grazing rights
• any works undertaken as part of another grant or obligation (read section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’
• in-kind contributions (this means the value of donated work or services) or gifted materials where you have not incurred a cost for them

3.2.1 Other schemes or grants

Capital Grants cannot fund works that form part of:

• England’s Community Forests
• England Woodland Creation Offer
• Farming in Protected Landscapes
• Farming Investment Fund
• HS2 Woodland Fund
• Woodland Carbon Fund
• any other grant funded scheme

This is not an exhaustive list.

4. Evidence and supporting documents

You should prepare the evidence and supporting documentation required before applying.

You must send us all the evidence needed to support your application within 10 working days of submitting it.

You can check if capital items in your application need any additional evidence other than that below using the Capital grant finder.

The evidence you will need depends on your application but can include:

• a letter from an accountant confirming you have the financial resources to carry out the work under your agreement. See section 4.1 ‘Business viability’ for the details of when you need to do this and what you need to do
• Catchment Sensitive Farming support for any items in your application that need it. See section 4.2 ‘Catchment Sensitive Farming’ and Table 1 in Annex 2 for more information
• a map or maps showing where the capital works are to be carried out, see section 4.3 ‘Maps’
• a land ownership control form countersigned by your landlord if you are a tenant and you do not have a tenancy which lasts at least 5 years from when you apply, see section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’

In addition, some items may need further supporting evidence with your application. You can check each item using the Capital grant finder.

4.1 Business viability

RPA will check your business or SBI on the bankruptcy and insolvency register. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the capital expenditure required. If your application is not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.

4.1.1 Check you have sufficient funds

If you are offered an agreement, you’ll need to pay for capital items or works before you can claim back costs. Use the payment rate information in section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’ or the Capital grant finder to calculate the value of your application to make sure you have sufficient funds.

If the value of your capital application is estimated to be more than £50,000 in total, you must submit a statement from an accountant with your application’s supporting documents. This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to carry out the work in the proposed agreement.

The accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms:

• they are chartered or certified, or registered with a professional body such as ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) or CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
• they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
• you as the applicant have sufficient finances to complete the capital works in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings or loan)
• their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application

4.2 Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) support

Some capital items are only available with support from CSF following an advisory consultation to discuss your local environmental priorities. You’ll need support from CSF to apply for capital items listed in Table 1 of Annex 2.

CSF area teams are not currently able to prioritise any new requests for advisory visits but will be able to offer advisory visits later this year. Use the ‘CSF advice request form’ to ask for an advisory consultation. They will get in touch when they have capacity to help. In the meantime, you can register for one of their free events.

If you have received CSF support in the last 2 years for the relevant items, you can use this support when you apply.

RPA will remove from your application any relevant capital items which do not have CSF support.

Read Annex 2 to find out:

• which capital items require support
• which capital items help to improve water quality, air quality and natural flood management
• how to identify air or water priorities on your land

4.3 Maps

You must create and submit a map or maps to support your application. You can create your base map by printing your land parcel digital maps in the Rural Payments service.

You need to mark your maps to show the location of your capital items on your land parcels. It may help to complete the application and your maps alongside each other.

Read Annex 3 for more information on creating your supporting maps.

4.4 Check if you need consent to carry out capital works

You must check each capital item you are applying for on the Capital grant finder to see if any consents, permissions or permits are needed.

You will not be paid for any capital works without the necessary consents, permits and permissions being in place before you begin any work.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permits, permissions, exemptions, and written advice needed for your application.

In some cases, you will not be offered an agreement if these are not in place.

4.4.1 Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI)

You must get consent from Natural England if your application includes land on a SSSI.

4.4.2 Scheduled monuments

Your local Historic England officer can provide advice on any management or changes needed to maintain or bring the scheduled monument into favourable condition. You will also need Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for some of the chosen work (such as fencing and gateways).

In these situations, you must contact Historic England to see whether consent is needed, or for advice on how to go about works to avoid or reduce negative effects on the scheduled monument.

Historic England can advise if proposals affecting registered parks and gardens, or registered battlefields are likely to be accepted.

4.4.3 Planning consent

Your local planning authority can give you informal advice on whether a proposal needs planning consent. Read the guidance on planning permission for farms.

You must have any required permission or consent in place before you start any capital works. You will need to provide evidence when you make a claim. You do not need to provide this with your application.

4.4.4 Other consents

You may need to apply for other consents or licences if work affects:

• protected species (as defined by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)
• a watercourse or highway

If you have protected species on your land, you must meet the requirements for their protection before carrying out any activities. For more information, read ‘Managing wildlife on your land’. If you have consent for work that affects protected species, you may need to plan around seasonal activity. You should have consent in place before you start any activity.

If the work affects priority habitats (other than SSSIs), you should consider the effect on these even if you do not need consent. To find out more about how to avoid harming protected area and species read ‘Construction near protected areas and wildlife’.

4.4.5 Work on trees and hedges

You may need permission for work on trees that are under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). If this applies to you, contact your Local Authority or National Park Authority.

Find out when you may need a Forestry Commission tree felling licence.

You can fell up to 5 cubic metres (m³) and sell up to 2m³ of timber without a felling licence each calendar quarter. If you plan to fell or sell more, you must get a felling licence before your agreement offer can be issued.

You do not need to provide evidence of any TPO permission or a felling licence with your application. If required, you will need to have the consent before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this when you make a claim for this work.

4.4.6 Applying for items that do not require capital works

Some items do not require capital works. They are:

• AC2: Countryside educational access visits accreditation – you can only apply for this item in the same application as VED1: Educational access visits.

• WF1: Create a wildfire checklist – this will cover all your holding. In your application apply for one unit against one land parcel. You do not need to add the details of all the land parcels in the checklist.

• VED1: Educational access visits – when you apply, the number of visits defaults to 75 (for a 3-year agreement). You do not need to carry out 75 visits during the agreement period. You need to include one land parcel in your application, but it does not need to be in an existing agreement to be eligible.

4.4.7 Waste permits

You may need an exemption or Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) waste permit from the Environment Agency to carry out certain activities. This applies to activities that produce, treat, dispose of, or use waste. This can include biobeds, biofilters, or sheep dips. You may need to contact your local Environment Agency office for advice.

4.4.8 Other considerations

When you carry out work under the agreement, you must not:

• break byelaws
• obstruct public rights of way
• block or restrict access to ‘open access’ land
• affect oil or gas pipelines

If required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.

5. How to apply

You should apply online for Capital Grants in the Rural Payments service.

You need to register or be registered in the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details to help you.

5.1 Check your land is registered

All land parcels listed in your application must also be registered in the Rural Payments service and have a parcel reference number (in the format AA1234 5678). Check the Rural Payments service to find out if your land parcels are registered and up to date.

5.1.1 Release a land parcel in an existing agreement

Make sure you claim for any completed works under an existing CS Mid Tier, Higher Tier or Capital Grant agreement.

If you have finished claiming for a capital item, confirm it is a final claim in the Rural Payments service. This will release the associated land parcel so you can include it in your application.

5.1.2 Authorise an agent if required

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you, and manage your agreement if you are offered one, including making claims for payment.

For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.

You are responsible for ensuring that permissions assigned in the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

5.1.3 Apply online

To apply, sign into the Rural Payments service and select ‘View business’. Scroll down the ‘Business overview’ screen and select ‘Countryside Stewardship applications’. You use the Countryside Stewardship application screens to apply online for Capital Grants.

Follow the onscreen guidance in the Rural Payments service to complete all the sections of your application.

If you are unable to apply online, call the RPA on 03000 200 301 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm, except bank holidays).

5.2 Choosing capital items

This section summarises the capital items available. Use the Capital grant finder for more details and specific requirements for these items.

You can select multiple items from the 6 groups listed in the following tables. There is a funding limit on groups for:

• air quality items
• boundaries, trees and orchards items
• natural flood management items
• water quality items

If you exceed the funding thresholds for any group of items, you will not be able to submit your application. You should calculate the value of all items in a group and check they do not exceed the limit for that group before you apply.

5.2.1 Air quality items - funding limit £25,000

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
AQ1	Automatic slurry scraper	£2,760 per passageway or channel	Not applicable
AQ2	Low ammonia emission flooring for livestock buildings	£72 per metre2	Not applicable
TE4	Supply and plant a tree	£1.72 per tree	Not applicable
TE5	Supplement for use of individual tree-shelters	£2.43 per unit	Yes, with TE4

5.2.2 Assessments items - no funding limit

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
WF1	Create a wildfire checklist	£327.12 per farm	Not applicable

5.2 3 Boundaries, trees and orchards items - funding limit £35,000

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
BN1	Stone-faced bank repair	£67.25 per metre	Not applicable
BN2	Stone-faced bank restoration	£163.26 per metre	Not applicable
BN3	Earth bank creation	£20.59 per metre	Not applicable
BN4	Earth bank restoration	£10.54 per metre	Not applicable
BN5	Hedgerow laying	£13.52 per metre	Not applicable
BN6	Hedgerow coppicing	£5.33 per metre	Not applicable
BN7	Hedgerow gapping-up	£17.22 per metre	Not applicable
BN8	Hedgerow supplement - casting up	£4.39 per metre	Yes, only use with BN5 and BN6
BN10	Hedgerow supplement - top binding and staking	£5.82 per metre	Yes, only use with BN5
BN11	Planting new hedges	£22.97 per metre	Not applicable
BN12	Stone wall restoration	£31.91 per metre	Not applicable
BN13	Top wiring - stone wall	£5.54 per metre	Yes, only use with BN12 or BN16
BN14	Stone wall supplement - stone from quarry	£ 164.50 per metre	Yes, only use with BN12 or BN16
BN16	Repair stone walls	£16.17 per metre	Not applicable
FG12	Wooden field gate	£489.90 per gate	Not applicable
FG13	Stone gate post	£651.42 per post	Not applicable
FG14	Badger gate	£61.81 per gate	Not applicable
TE1	Planting standard hedgerow tree	£19.06 per tree	Not applicable
TE3	Planting fruit trees	£28.07 per tree	Not applicable
TE7	Tree guard (large post and rail)	£121.62 per guard	Not applicable
TE8	Tree guard (small post and rail and wide weld mesh)	£74.74 per guard	Not applicable
TE10	Coppicing bankside trees	£53.95 per tree	Not applicable
TE11	Tree surgery	£73.36 per tree (limbs up to and including 20cm diameter), £146.72 per tree (limbs over 20cm diameter)	Not applicable
TE16	Use tree surgery to ‘hinge’ a tree into a watercourse	£95.26 per tree	Not applicable
TE19	Tree guard (narrow weld mesh)	£35.67 per guard	Not applicable
WB1	Small wildlife box	£29.84 per box	Not applicable
WB2	Medium wildlife box	£55.91 per box	Not applicable
WB3	Large wildlife box	£137.93 per box	Not applicable

5.2.4 Improvements item - no funding limit

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
AC2	Countryside educational access visits accreditation	£277.26 once per agreement	Yes, can only be used with VED1: Educational access visits
AC3	Install and maintain signage	£55.65 per sign	Not applicable
VED1	Educational access visits	£363 per visit (to a maximum of £9,075 per year)	Not applicable

5.2.5 Natural flood management items - funding limit £25,000

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
RP31	Equipment to disrupt tramlines in arable areas	£1,500 per machine	Not applicable
RP32	Small leaky woody dams	£461.39 per dam	Not applicable
RP33	Large leaky woody dams	£764.42 per dam	Not applicable
WN12	Create or restore ponds up to 2 hectares	£1879.46 per pond	Not applicable

5.2.6 Water quality items - funding limit £25,000

Code	Items	Payment rate	Supplement
FG1	Fencing	£6.34 per metre	Not applicable
FG2	Sheep netting	£7.47 per metre	Not applicable
FG3	Permanent electric fencing	£5.66 per metre	Not applicable
FG4	Rabbit fencing supplement	£5.65 per metre	Yes (only use with FG1, FG2, FG3)
FG15	Water gates	£532.80 per gate	Not applicable
LV3	Hard bases for livestock drinkers	£179.15 per base	Not applicable
LV4	Hard bases for livestock feeders	£290.63 per base	Not applicable
LV5	Pasture pumps and associated pipework	£295.90 per pump	Not applicable
LV6	Ram pumps and associated pipework	£1,861 per pump	Not applicable
LV7	Livestock troughs	£152.92 per trough	Not applicable
LV8	Pipework associated with livestock troughs	£3.31 per metre	Not applicable
RP1	Resurfacing of gateways	£136.95 per gateway	Not applicable
RP2	Gateway relocation	£369.59 per gateway	Not applicable
RP3	Watercourse crossings	£506.44 per crossing	Not applicable
RP4	Livestock and machinery hardcore tracks	£44.63 per metre	Not applicable
RP5	Cross drains	£750.26 per drain	Not applicable
RP6	Installation of piped culverts in ditches	£376.23 per culvert	Not applicable
RP7	Sediment ponds and traps	£11.88 per metre2	Not applicable
RP9	Earth banks and soil bunds	£195.61 per unit	Not applicable
RP10	Silt filtration dams or seepage barriers	£198.14 per unit	Not applicable
RP11	Swales	£7.52 per metre2	Not applicable
RP12	Check dams	£85.29 per dam	Not applicable
RP13	Yard - underground drainage pipework	£2.02 per metre	Not applicable
RP14	Yard inspection pit	£200 per unit	Not applicable
RP15	Concrete yard renewal	£33.64 per metre2	Not applicable
RP16	Rainwater goods	£11.55 per metre	Not applicable
RP17	Storage tanks underground	£441.98 per metre3	Not applicable
RP18	Above ground tanks	£73.34 per metre3	Not applicable
RP19	First flush rainwater diverters and downpipe filters	£174.59 per unit	Not applicable
RP20	Relocation of sheep dips and pens	£3,544.71 per unit	Not applicable
RP21	Relocation of sheep pens only	£1,772.35 per unit	Not applicable
RP22	Sheep dip drainage aprons and sumps	£19.50 per metre2	Not applicable
RP23	Installation of livestock drinking troughs (in draining pens for freshly dipped sheep)	£152.92 per unit	Not applicable
RP24	Lined biobed plus pesticide loading and washdown area	£119.77 per metre2	Not applicable
RP25	Lined biobed with existing washdown area	£66.24 per metre2	Not applicable
RP26	Biofilters	£2,026.14 per unit	Not applicable
RP27	Sprayer or applicator load and washdown area	£35.86 per metre2	Not applicable
RP28	Roofing (sprayer washdown area, manure storage area, livestock gathering area, slurry stores, silage stores)	£72.50 per metre2	Not applicable
RP29	Self-supporting covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores	£29.50 per metre2	Not applicable
RP30	Floating covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and lagoons	£2.75 per metre2	Not applicable

5.3 Submit your application

You can submit your application when you have followed all the steps of the application process in the Rural Payments service, and agreed to the declaration.

5.4 Send us your evidence and supporting documents

You must send us maps and any supporting documents by email or post.

You must include:

• the application map
• a land ownership control form, if applicable
• if your application is for more than £50,000, a letter from an accountant confirming you have the funds available to carry out the works in your application
• a letter of support for items that need Catchment Sensitive Farming support
• any other supporting documents RPA ask for as detailed on the Capital grant finder

You have 10 working days after submitting your application to send RPA your supporting documents.

RPA will only accept supporting documents, such as photos or forms if they are either printed and sent by post or scanned and attached to an email. Emails should not be larger than 32MB. For security reasons, RPA cannot accept discs, USB pen drives or other external storage media. If you are sending supporting documents by post, we recommend you get ‘proof of posting’.

5.5 How RPA checks your application

RPA will check that your application:

• meets the eligibility requirements
• is complete
• includes an annotated map
• includes any other evidence needed to support your application

If your application is successful, RPA will send you an agreement offer.

If you want to accept the agreement offer, you must sign and return the declaration within 20 working days. If you do not accept your offer in time, it will be withdrawn.

You can withdraw an application at any point after submission, prior to an agreement offer being made. Once an agreement offer has been made, you cannot withdraw your application, but you can reject your agreement offer.

You can find more information about entering into an agreement in section 6.1 of the Agreement holder’s guide.

When you receive an agreement, read the Agreement holder’s guide to understand how to manage your agreement.

If your application is unsuccessful, RPA will tell you why. You have the right to follow the complaints and appeal process. Read section 7.10 of the Agreement holder’s guide.

Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

See the Capital grants agreements: Terms and Conditions 2026.

Annex 2: Choose capital items to help improve water and air quality, and reduce flood risk

Choosing the right capital items can help reduce water pollution, ammonia emissions and flood risk on or from your farm.

Find out if you have water or air priorities on your land

1. Use the statement of priorities to find the water and air objectives for your local area.

2. Use the MAGIC map application to find water and air priority information for your land.
   
   In the Map Layers, choose ‘Countryside Stewardship Targeting & Scoring Layers’, then ‘Water’, and then ‘Countryside Stewardship Water Quality Priority Areas (England)’.
   
   You can make this layer transparent by using the slider under ‘Countryside Stewardship Targeting & Scoring Layers’.
   
   Navigate to your land and use the ‘Identify’ tool in the top toolbar to check the information specific to your land parcels.

3. Use the Agricultural Land Environmental Risk and Opportunity Tool (ALERT) to help analyse the landscape and reduce pollution from agriculture.

4. Choose capital items:
   Table 1 lists the capital items that require CSF support. Read section 4.2 ‘Catchment Sensitive Farming’ to find out how to get support.
   
   Table 2 lists the capital items to help you improve water and air quality and reduce flood risk.

Table 1: Items that require CSF support

For the items listed below, you must have CSF support in place before the offer opens. If you have received CSF support in the last 2 years for these items, you can use this support when you apply.

Item code	Description
AQ1	Automatic slurry scraper
AQ2	Low ammonia emission flooring for livestock buildings
RP4	Livestock and machinery hardcore tracks
RP13	Yard – underground drainage pipework
RP14	Yard inspection pit
RP15	Concrete yard renewal
RP17	Storage tanks underground
RP18	Above ground tanks
RP19	First flush rainwater diverters and downpipe filters
RP20	Relocation of sheep dips and pens
RP21	Relocation of sheep pens only
RP22	Sheep dip drainage aprons and sumps
RP23	Installation of livestock drinking troughs (in draining pens for freshly dipped sheep)
RP24	Lined biobed plus pesticide loading and washdown area
RP25	Lined biobed with existing washdown area
RP27	Sprayer or applicator load and washdown area
RP28	Roofing (sprayer washdown area, manure storage area, livestock gathering area, slurry stores, silage stores)
RP29	Self-supporting covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores
RP30	Floating covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and lagoons
RP31	Equipment to disrupt tramlines in arable areas
RP32	Small leaky woody dams
RP33	Large leaky woody dams
TE4	Supply and plant a tree (when creating tree shelter belts to capture ammonia)
TE5	Supplement for use of individual tree-shelters (when used with TE4 only to create tree shelter belts)

Table 2: Capital items that address pollutant pressures affecting water and air quality and for flood and coastal risk

Code	Water quality, air quality and flood risk issues
AQ1: Automatic slurry scraper	Ammonia – air quality
AQ2: Low ammonia emission flooring for livestock buildings	Ammonia – air quality
BN7: Hedgerow gapping-up	Ammonia – air quality Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
BN11: Planting new hedges	Ammonia – air quality Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG1: Fencing	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG2: Sheep netting	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG3: Permanent electric fencing	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG4: Rabbit fencing supplement	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG12: Wooden field gate	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
FG15: Water gates	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV3: Hard bases for livestock drinkers	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV4: Hard bases for livestock feeders	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV5: Pasture pumps and associated pipework	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV6: Ram pumps and associated pipework	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV7: Livestock troughs	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
LV8: Pipework associated with livestock troughs	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP1: Resurfacing of gateways	Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP2: Gateway relocation	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP3: Watercourse crossings	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP4: Livestock and machinery hardcore tracks	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP5: Cross drains	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP6: Installation of piped culverts in ditches	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP7: Sediment ponds and traps	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP9: Earth banks and soil bunds	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP10: Silt filtration dams or seepage barriers	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP11: Swales	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP12: Check dams and woody debris structures	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP13: Yard – underground drainage pipework	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP14: Yard inspection pit	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP15: Concrete yard renewal	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – ground water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP16: Rainwater goods	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP17: Storage tanks underground	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP18: Above ground tanks	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP19: First flush rainwater diverters and downpipe filters	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP20: Relocation of sheep dips and pens	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP21: Relocation of sheep pens only	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP22: Sheep dip drainage aprons and sumps	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP23: Installation of livestock drinking troughs (in draining pens for freshly dipped sheep)	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP24: Lined biobed plus pesticide loading and washdown area	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP25: Lined biobed with existing washdown area	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP26: Bio filters	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP27: Sprayer or applicator load and washdown area	Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water
RP28: Roofing (sprayer washdown area, manure storage area, livestock gathering area, slurry stores, silage stores)	Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP29: Self-supporting covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP30: Floating covers for slurry and anaerobic digestate stores and lagoons	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP31: Equipment to disrupt tramlines in arable areas	Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
RP32: Small leaky woody dams	Natural flood management
RP33: Large leaky woody dams	Natural flood management
TE1: Planting standard hedgerow tree	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
TE4: Supply and plant a tree	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water
TE5: Supplement for use of individual tree-shelters	Ammonia – air quality Faecal indicator organisms – bathing water Natural flood management Nitrate – ground water Nitrate – surface water Pesticides – ground water Pesticides – surface water Phosphate and sediment – surface water

Annex 3: Supporting maps

You must create and submit a map to support your application.

Create your maps

You can create your base map by printing your land parcel digital maps in the Rural Payments service. On the ‘Business overview’ screen select ‘View land’ then select the relevant land parcel. The option to print is below the map. Make sure your printed map is clear, readable and meets the standards set out below.

If you cannot print the map, you can call us or you can use MAGIC maps on GOV.UK. If you choose MAGIC, use the ‘export map tool’ as this adds the required licence information. Wherever you get your base map from, make sure it has the copyright licence for this use.

Maps must meet the following requirements:

• A3 or A4 in size (either is acceptable)
• 1:2,500 or 1:10,000 scale, unless using the Rural Payments Land View screen in the Rural Payments service to produce a map as it will automatically scale the map to fit A4 which is acceptable
• it must show the whole land parcel on which the boundaries to be included are located and the boundaries of the land parcel must be clear

What to include in the maps

Mark your maps to show the location of your capital items on your land parcels. It may help to complete the application and your maps alongside each other.

If your application is successful and you are offered an agreement, your Capital Grants maps will become your ‘Agreement Maps’.

Maps must include the following:

• map number, include a unique map number and total number of maps for example, 1 of 3
• scale of the map
• SBI consisting of 9 digits; application year; and agreement title (as entered in the application), write these on the top right of the map
• name of business - this should be the name that is registered with us for the SBI, write this on the right-hand side of the map
• if there are no numbered Ordnance Survey (OS) grid lines, you must write a 6 figure OS grid reference for the centre of the map on the bottom left of the map (format AB 123 456)
• land parcel reference number, for example, SK 1234 5678, for the land parcels where the capital items will be located
• circle the land parcel reference number for all parcels that you include in your application
• add the capital item code to the land parcel in the location where the capital works will be located
• mark the boundaries you include in your application with a thick black line. You only need to include the land parcels adjacent to one side of each boundary, you do not need to include the land parcels on both sides of a boundary
• use black ink for all annotations on your map. If you make a mistake do not use correcting fluid, strike through the mistake instead

If you send a map that does not meet these requirements, we’ll return it to you to amend or ask you to send us a new one. You’ll need to complete this map to the minimum standard and return it to us.

Example map

The example map shows what you need to mark on your map.

In this example map, the land parcel number is in the centre of the land parcel. A thick line is drawn along 2 sides of the land parcel to show a new or changed boundary. The agreement name, parcel ID, SBI, and total area are included on the left. The map scale is shown top right, and the OS grid reference is shown at the bottom of the map.

Supplementary information map

The following items require extra information, which must be provided on a supplementary map.

Item code	Name of item	Evidence required at application stage
BN3	Earth bank creation	Historic maps or other records to evidence that the proposed location of the bank creation is on an original footprint, or is a feature of a specific location or landscape – this can be marked on any map
BN5	Hedgerow laying	A map showing the location of existing hedgerow trees in each length of hedge
BN6	Hedgerow coppicing	A map showing the location of existing hedgerow trees in each length of hedge
BN11	Planting new hedges	Historic maps or other records to show that the proposed location of the hedge planting is on an original footprint or extends existing hedges or contributes to the reduction of soil erosion and run-off – this can be marked on any map
BN12	Stone wall restoration	A map showing the location of any wall-side trees, saplings and stone features
TE1	Planting standard hedgerow tree	A record of where hedgerow trees are to be planted

Annex 4: Contact details

Contact Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

If you have a question about Capital Grants, contact RPA by:

• completing a query form in the Rural Payments service – sign in to your Rural Payments account and go to ‘Create or view a query’ (this is the quickest way to receive a response)

• email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk – include ‘Capital Grants’ and your SBI in the subject line
• post: Rural Payments Agency, PO Box 324, Worksop, S95 1DF

Contact Natural England

You can contact Natural England by:

• email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
• telephone: 0300 060 3900
  March to September: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, except bank holidays
  October to February: Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, except bank holidays
• post: Natural England, County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester, WR5 2NP
• Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)

Contact other organisations

You may also need to contact:

• Forestry Commission
• Historic England
• Environment Agency