Guidance
Annex 2a List of Higher Tier multi-year options
Published 29 June 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-manual-for-agreements-starting-on-1-january-2023/annex-2a-list-of-higher-tier-multi-year-options
List includes the code, name and payment rate for each Higher Tier multi-year option.
| Code | Option Name | Option Payment Rate |
|---|---|---|
| AB1 | Nectar flower mix | £579/ha |
| AB2 | Basic overwinter stubble | £58/ha |
| AB3 | Beetle banks | £636/ha |
| AB4 | Skylark plots | £20/ha (£10 per plot, minimum 2 plots/ha) |
| AB5 | Nesting plots for lapwing and stone curlew | £566/ha |
| AB6 | Enhanced overwinter stubble | £493/ha |
| AB7 | Whole crop cereals | £554/ha |
| AB8 | Flower-rich margins and plots | £628/ha |
| AB9 | Winter bird food | £640/ha |
| AB10 | Unharvested cereal headland | £640/ha |
| AB11 | Cultivated areas for arable plants | £544/ha |
| AB12 | Supplementary winter feeding for farmland birds | £657 per tonne (for every 2 hectares of winter bird food) |
| AB14 | Harvested low input cereal | £236/ha |
| AB15 | Two year sown legume fallow | £569/ha |
| AB16 | Autumn sown bumblebird mix | £608/ha |
| BE1 | Protection of in-field trees on arable land | £475/ha |
| BE2 | Protection of in-field trees on intensive grassland | £260/ha |
| BE3 | Management of hedgerows | £9 per 100 meters for 1 side of a hedge |
| BE4 | Management of traditional orchard | £247/ha |
| BE5 | Creation of traditional orchards | £342/ha |
| BE6 | Veteran tree surgery | £326 per tree |
| BE7 | Supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees | £96 per tree |
| CT1 | Management of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle | £299/ha |
| CT2 | Creation of coastal sand dunes and vegetated shingle on arable land and improved grassland | £420/ha |
| CT3 | Management of coastal saltmarsh | £90/ha |
| CT4 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on arable land | £594/ha |
| CT5 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat by non-intervention | £420/ha |
| CT6 | Coastal vegetation management supplement | £117/ha |
| CT7 | Creation of inter-tidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland | £422/ha |
| ED1 | Educational access | £309 per visit |
| GS1 | Take field corners out of management | £333/ha |
| GS2 | Permanent grassland with very low inputs (outside SDAs) | £132/ha |
| GS3 | Ryegrass seed-set as winter food for birds | £426/ha |
| GS4 | Legume and herb-rich swards | £358/ha |
| GS5 | Permanent grassland with very low inputs in SDAs | £71/ha |
| GS6 | Management of species-rich grassland | £182/ha |
| GS7 | Restoration towards species-rich grassland | £205/ha |
| GS8 | Creation of species-rich grassland | £374/ha |
| GS9 | Management of wet grassland for breeding waders | £323/ha |
| GS10 | Management of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl | £197/ha |
| GS11 | Creation of wet grassland for breeding waders | £480/ha |
| GS12 | Creation of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl | £403/ha |
| GS13 | Management of grassland for target features | £131/ha |
| GS14 | Creation of grassland for target features | £372/ha |
| GS15 | Haymaking supplement | £37/ha |
| GS16 | Rush infestation control supplement | £77/ha |
| GS17 | Lenient grazing supplement | £23/ha |
| HS1 | Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings | £4.03 per square metre |
| HS2 | Take historic and archaeological features out of cultivation | £459/ha |
| HS3 | Reduced-depth, non-inversion cultivation on historic and archaeological features | £88/ha |
| HS4 | Scrub control on historic and archaeological features | £163/ha |
| HS5 | Management of historic and archaeological features on grassland | £39/ha |
| HS6 | Maintenance of designed / engineered water bodies | £480/ha |
| HS7 | Management of historic water meadows through traditional irrigation | £480/ha |
| HS8 | Maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings in remote areas | £6.86/ per square metre |
| HS9 | Restricted depth crop establishment to protect archaeology under an arable rotation | £199/ha |
| LH1 | Management of lowland heathland | £335/ha |
| LH2 | Restoration of forestry and woodland to lowland heathland | £214/ha |
| LH3 | Creation of heathland from arable or improved grassland | £577/ha |
| OP1 | Overwintered stubble | £156/ha |
| OP2 | Wild bird seed mixture | £640/ha |
| OP3 | Supplementary feeding for farmland birds | £756 per tonne (for every 2 hectares of wild bird seed mixture) |
| OP4 | Multi species ley | £115/ha |
| OP5 | Undersown cereal | £233/ha |
| OR1 | Organic conversion – improved permanent grassland | £150/ha |
| OR2 | Organic conversion – unimproved permanent grassland | £76/ha |
| OR3 | Organic conversion – rotational land | £256/ha |
| OR4 | Organic conversion – horticulture | £602/ha |
| OR5 | Organic conversion – top fruit | £960/ha |
| OT1 | Organic land management – improved permanent grassland | £20/ha |
| OT2 | Organic land management – unimproved permanent grassland | £31/ha |
| OT3 | Organic land management – rotational land | £109/ha |
| OT4 | Organic land management – horticulture | £380/ha |
| OT5 | Organic land management – top fruit | £960/ha |
| OT6 | Organic land management – enclosed rough grazing | £48/ha |
| SP1 | Difficult sites supplement | £71/ha |
| SP2 | Raised water level supplement | £127/ha |
| SP3 | Bracken control supplement | £175/ha |
| SP4 | Control of invasive plant species supplement | £340/ha |
| SP5 | Shepherding supplement | £8/ha |
| SP6 | Cattle grazing supplement | £39/ha |
| SP7 | Introduction of cattle grazing on the Scilly Isles | £279/ha |
| SP8 | Native breeds at risk supplement | £142/ha |
| SP9 | Threatened species supplement | £154/ha |
| SP10 | Administration of group managed agreements supplement | £6/ha |
| SW1 | 4-6m buffer strip on cultivated land | £419/ha |
| SW2 | 4-6m buffer strip on intensive grassland | £213/ha |
| SW3 | In-field grass strips | £624/ha |
| SW4 | 12-24m next to terrestrial sites which are sensitive to nitrogen | £578/ha |
| SW5 | Enhanced management of maize crops | £159/ha |
| SW6 | Winter cover crops | £124/ha |
| SW7 | Arable reversion to grassland with low fertiliser input | £321/ha |
| SW8 | Management of intensive grassland adjacent to a watercourse | £202/ha |
| SW9 | Seasonal livestock removal on intensive grassland | £106/ha |
| SW10 | Seasonal livestock removal on grassland in SDAs next to streams, rivers and lakes | £63/ha |
| SW11 | Riparian management strip | £480/ha |
| SW12 | Making space for water | £640/ha |
| SW13 | Very low nitrogen inputs to groundwaters | £348/ha |
| SW14 | Nil fertiliser supplement | £148/ha |
| SW15 | Flood mitigation on arable land | £488/ha |
| SW16 | Flood mitigation on permanent grassland | £272/ha |
| SW17 | Raised water level on cropped or arable land on peat soils | £449/ha |
| SW18 | Raised water levels on grassland on peat soils | £417/ha |
| UP1 | Enclosed rough grazing | £43/ha |
| UP2 | Management of rough grazing for birds | £110/ha |
| UP3 | Management of moorland | £51/ha |
| UP4 | Management of moorland vegetation supplement | £10/ha |
| UP5 | Moorland re-wetting supplement | £23/ha |
| UP6 | Upland livestock exclusion supplement | £18/ha |
| WD1 | Woodland creation – maintenance payments | £300/ha |
| WD2 | Woodland improvement | Minimum £1000 per year for 10ha or less £100 ha per year for over 10ha |
| WD3 | Woodland edges on arable land | £376/ha |
| WD4 | Management of wood pasture and parkland | Lowland payment rate (outside the SDA) £148/ha |
| WD5 | Restoration of wood pasture and parkland | Lowland payment rate (outside the SDA) £329/ha |
| WD6 | Creation of wood pasture | Lowland payment rate (outside the SDA) £499/ha |
| WD7 | Management of successional areas and scrub | £83/ha |
| WD8 | Creation of successional areas and scrub | £128/ha |
| WD9 | Livestock exclusion supplement – scrub and successional areas | £74/ha |
| WD10 | Management of wood pasture and parkland | Upland payment rate (inside the SDA) £212/ha |
| WD11 | Restoration of wood pasture and parkland | Upland payment rate (inside the SDA) £316/ha |
| WD12 | Creation of wood pasture | Upland payment rate (inside the SDA) £333/ha |
| WT1 | Buffering in-field ponds and ditches in improved grassland | £275/ha |
| WT2 | Buffering in-field ponds and ditches on arable land | £563/ha |
| WT3 | Management of ditches of high environmental value | £42 per 100 metres (for the management of both sides of the ditch) |
| WT4 | Management of ponds of high wildlife value (100 sq m or less) | £114 per pond |
| WT5 | Management of ponds of high wildlife value (more than 100 sq m) | £202 per pond |
| WT6 | Management of reed bed | £80/ha |
| WT7 | Creation of reed bed | £323/ha |
| WT8 | Management of fen | £35/ha |
| WT9 | Creation of fen | £507/ha |
| WT10 | Management of lowland raised bog | £178 per hectare |
| WT11 | Wetland cutting supplement | £480/ha |
| WT12 | Wetland grazing supplement | £407/ha |