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Guidance

Higher Tier manual for 1 January 2021 agreements: Countryside Stewardship

Scheme rules for holders of agreements that started on 1 January 2021

Updates to this page

From:
Rural Payments Agency, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Forestry Commission and Natural England
Published:
14 March 2016
Last updated:
5 March 2021
Show all updates

  1. Options added for 2020

  2. Higher Tier scheme rules for agreements starting on 1 January 2021 moved to the Agreement Holders' page.

  3. Removed How to apply guide as application window for 2020 is closed

  4. 'Higher Tier manual: Countryside Stewardship' page updated to reflect the scheme deadline.

  5. V3 of Higher Tier manual added with change to wording on Pg 142, Annex 5, Section d) from • improving water quality in acid sensitive water catchments to improve resilience to climate change through continuous cover forestry

  6. Higher Tier overview leaflet added to the page.

  7. Publication of the Higher Tier manual for agreements starting on 1 January 2021, and How to request a Higher Tier application pack online.

  8. Information updated following application deadline.

  9. Update text to advise that the closing date for requesting an application pack was 31 March 2019.

  10. Higher Tier application form published

  11. Higher Tier applications for 2020 agreements opened on 18 February

  12. Options, supplements and capital items PDF updated to show option SW12 cannot be used on land already receiving funding for Ecological Focus Areas declared for Basic Payment Scheme.

  13. Section on 'Overlap of certain CS options with Ecological Focus Areas in 2019' added.

  14. Scheme now closed for applications.

  15. Higher Tier manual amended. The 6 changes are listed in revisions table on page 2.

  16. Deadline to request an application pack has passed. Removed form for requesting a pack.

  17. Application pack request form added.

  18. Higher Tier manual 2018 published with links to Offers for Wildlife.

  19. Quick guide to application process added.

  20. New versions of manual, options document and conversion guidance for 2017 application round.

  21. Added manual addendum about 'dual use' with the Basic Payment Scheme.

  22. Replaced Higher Tier options, supplements and items document. Minor change to text.

  23. Replaced the initial version of the Higher Tier options, supplements and capital items PDF with revised version.

  24. Added document for Higher Tier options, supplements and capital items.

  25. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Countryside Stewardship: Higher Tier manual for agreements starting on 1 January 2021

PDF, 15.6 MB, 183 pages

Higher Tier conversion guidance

HTML

Options, supplements and capital items 2020

PDF, 3.4 MB, 860 pages

Details

Use the manual to understand the rules and conditions that apply to Higher Tier agreements that started on 1 January 2021.

Use the options, supplements and capital items documents:

  • to understand the rules for each option, supplement and capital item
  • for advice on carrying out options, supplements and capital items

Use the Countryside Stewardship (CS) forms.

The manual has been designed with portrait and landscape pages. To make sure these print correctly, select ‘auto rotate’ in your printer settings before you print.

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