Applicant's guide: Higher Tier Capital Grants 2024

Q: Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

See the CS Terms and Conditions 2024 .

Question 1

1. Important  dates

Accepted Answer

The Higher Tier Capital Grants is open for applications all year from 3 January 2024.
You can also apply for other capital grants at any time of the year.

1.1 About this guide

We have removed the name Countryside Stewardship (CS) from all capital grant offers because we want to make it clearer that these grants are available to a wide range of farmers and land managers, particularly those who have (or are considering applying for) a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement.

These grants are still being offered under the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

Question 2

2. About  Higher Tier Capital Grants

Accepted Answer

These grants are standalone capital grants that can also be used to support and complement CS Mid Tier, Higher Tier and Wildlife Offers, Environmental Stewardship (ES) Higher Level Stewardship and SFI.

Higher Tier Capital Grants offer 3-year agreements for capital items. They provide additional environmental benefits without the need for a Higher Tier agreement.

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement any time after applications open on 3 January 2024.

For applications other than woodland-only, email Natural England at enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk to discuss your Higher Tier Capital Grants application before submitting it. Natural England’s advisors will help you to apply for the capital items best suited to your needs.

The Forestry Commission will assess your initial woodland-only Higher Tier Capital Grants application and if you pass the administration checks, your Woodland Officer will work with you to complete a final version.

If you accept an offer for an agreement, you will enter into an agreement with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

Applications will remain open until the funding is allocated. You can submit an application for each Single Business Identifier (SBI) that you manage in any calendar year.

New agreements cannot contain parcels that already have capital works that are incomplete or have not received their final payment.

2.1 Grants that are available

This scheme offers a selection of specialist Higher Tier capital items to help support our most environmentally significant sites and woodlands.

If your application is successful, we will make you an agreement offer. If you accept the offer, you will enter into an agreement with the RPA.

2.2 Capital items available

There are 25 capital items – 8 actual cost items and 17 fixed cost items. You can find more information in section 5.1 and 5.2. The Grant finder gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

2.3 How we assess your application if a grant is oversubscribed

We will publish a 6-week notice on GOV.UK if a grant is likely to be oversubscribed. We will deal with applications on a first-come-first-served basis. At the point of the 6-week notice, further applications will be assessed in order of priority for those providing higher environmental benefits.

2.4 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use the grant to pay for:

any capital works started (or materials purchased) before the agreement start date
planning application fees or other transactional fees
agent fees or other advisory fees
meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions and tenancy agreements
woodland creation for short rotation coppice or short rotation forestry

Question 3

3. Who  can apply and what land is eligible

Accepted Answer

Higher Tier Capital Grants are open to land managers who are:

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

3.1 Land that is eligible

To be eligible for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement, land parcels must be entirely within England and you must have management control of the relevant parcels as set out in section 3.3.

The following land parcels may also be eligible:

those included in a Forestry Commission approved Woodland Management Plan or Woodland Creation Plan
those in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) or Scheduled Monument, including the boundaries of these sites, but only if it has an existing CS or ES agreement
those already included in another CS agreement or in an ES Higher Level Stewardship agreement, as long as the same action is not being funded twice, there is sufficient space in the parcel, and the options and items are compatible with each other
common land and shared grazing governed by an existing common land, shared grazing and commons association, for more information read section 3.12 in the Applicant’s guide: Higher Tier grants 2023

3.2 Land that is not eligible

Higher Tier Capital Grants cannot be used on:

developed land and hard standing, including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage
land that is already included in certain other schemes or under obligation (read section 3.3.6)

3.3 Management control of land

Having management control means you’re the person actively farming the land and you’re either:

the owner occupier
a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy or equivalent
in a group that farms on common land (including areas of shared grazing)

You must have management control of the land in an agreement for 5 years from the starting date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 3.3.1).

This includes:

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

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

3.3.1 Tenants

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

a tenancy agreement for at least 3 years from the start of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement (however, see the requirements in relation to 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 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 Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement, or you must have a countersignature from your landlord. You must check this with your landlord before you apply.

If your landlord takes over a Higher Tier 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.

3.3.2 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 that has been let to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement. We 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.

3.3.3 Partnerships

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

3.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on the land in a licence arrangement. 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.

3.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 3.3.1 for more information about Higher Tier Capital Grants for tenants.

3.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

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.

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants.

3.3.7 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 Higher Tier 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 the full term of a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement.

If you do have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a Higher Tier Capital Grant agreement, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 3.3.1.

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

3.4 Land receiving other funding

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

payment from Exchequer funds
grant aid from any other public body

You cannot use a Higher Tier 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 previously received funding

You may be able to apply for a Capital Grants agreement in addition to an existing CS or ES agreement, if you follow the rules set out in section 3.4.1 (Environmental Stewardship) or 3.4.2 (Countryside Stewardship).

We 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.

3.4.1 Environmental Stewardship

Land parcels in Higher Level Stewardship are eligible for Higher Tier Capital Grants.

If you intend to apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on land parcels in an existing ES agreement, you must make sure:

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

3.4.2 Countryside Stewardship

CS Higher Tier and Mid Tier

You can enter land parcels that are in an existing CS Mid Tier or Higher Tier agreement into a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement only if all capital works on that parcel in your CS Mid Tier or Higher Tier agreement have been fully completed and paid for.

If you have finished and been paid for your CS Mid Tier or Higher Tier capital works and want to apply for an additional Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on those land parcels, you must make sure that:

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

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on land parcels which are not in your existing CS Mid Tier or Higher Tier agreement, if the new capital works do not conflict with your existing agreement.

Wildlife Offers and other capital grants

You may have a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement alongside any of the following agreements:

Capital Grants
Higher Tier Capital Grants
Protection and Infrastructure (all items)
Woodland Tree Health
Woodland Management Plan
Wildlife Offer

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on the same land parcels as your existing capital grants or Wildlife Offer agreement if:

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

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on land parcels which are not in your existing capital grants or Wildlife Offer agreement if the new capital works do not conflict with your existing agreement.

You can only apply for one Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement per SBI in any calendar year.

3.4.3 Environmental Land Management schemes

Sustainable Farming Incentive

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants offer on land parcels in an SFI pilot standards agreement or in an SFI 2023 agreement. The actions in your SFI pilot standards agreement or your SFI 2023 agreement must be compatible with the works in your new Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement. You can also apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on land parcels which are not in your existing SFI agreement.

Landscape Recovery

Customers with a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement can also apply for a Landscape Recovery agreement, as long as the same section isn’t being funded twice, there is sufficient space in the parcel, and the items are compatible with each other.

3.4.4 English Woodland Schemes

You can apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants on land parcels covered by an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) Woodland Planning Grant and certain capital grants (for example, Woodland Improvement Grant), if both of the following apply:

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

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

3.4.5 Farming Recovery Fund

Land parcels covered by the Farming Recovery Fund are not eligible.

3.4.6 Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax exemption

Capital items may be available on land designated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax or as the object of a Maintenance Fund, depending on the specific undertakings and proposed options or capital items. Read Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax exemption: Countryside Stewardship to find out whether capital items available under the Higher Tier Capital Grants are always eligible, never eligible, or need checking.

3.4.7 Other schemes or grants

Higher Tier Capital Grants cannot fund works that form part of:

Countryside Productivity
Growth Programme
LEADER
Water Environment Grant
Farming in Protected Landscapes
Woodland Carbon Fund
HS2 Woodland Fund
Farming Investment Fund
England Woodland Creation Offer

This is not an exhaustive list.

Question 4

4. How  to apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants

Accepted Answer

Find out how to apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants and the evidence and consents you’ll need.

4.1 Check you and you land are registered

To apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants you need to register or be registered on the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details at Rural Payments service to help you.

All land parcels listed on your application must 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.

If your land parcels are not registered, you must submit a rural land change request to register the land.

4.1.1 Authorise an agent

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. This also applies to payment claim forms for Agreement Holders.

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.

Read ‘Give someone else permission to act on your behalf ’ for more information on the different levels of permission. You should also read the information in the Permission levels screen in the Rural Payments service. This lists what is permitted at each level. You are responsible for ensuring that permissions assigned on the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

4.2 Ways to apply

Submit your application to RPA by email or by post using the Higher Tier Capital Grants application form. Use the how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grant application by email or post guidance to help you.

You must email Natural England enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk to discuss your Higher Tier Capital Grants application before you submit it. Natural England’s advisors will help you to apply for the capital items best suited to your needs.

This excludes woodland-only applications. These will be assessed by Forestry Commission. If you pass the administration checks, your Woodland Officer will work with you to complete a final version.

4.3 Prepare a map to support your application

You must submit a map or maps in support of your application.

Use the how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grants application by email or post to help prepare your map.

4.4 Business viability test

We will check all applications against an insolvency register. If your application as not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.

For applications including capital expenditure of over £50,000 in total, you must submit a statement from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered accountant or certified accountant). 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 schedule.

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

they are a registered chartered accountant
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

If your application includes more than £500,000 of capital items, we will also review 3 years of your relevant business accounts or other evidence. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the agreement requirements.

You must check each capital item you are applying for to see if any consents are needed.

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

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, 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.

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

You do not need to provide evidence of whether planning permission or consent is needed with your application. However, if required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work, and you will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.

4.5.2 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)

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

4.5.3 Scheduled Monuments

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

In these situations, you must speak to Historic England to see whether consent is needed, or 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.

4.5.4 Other consents

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

protected species (as defined by the Wildlife & 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.

It’s important you arrange the consents well in advance.

If the work affects priority habitats (which may not be 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.

4.5.5 Work on trees and hedges

You may need permission for work on trees that are under a Tree Preservation Order. 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 5m³ 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 Tree Preservation Order (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.

4.5.6 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.

4.6 Submit your application and supporting documents

Submit your application by email or post. A complete application is made up of:

an application form
an application map
a land ownership and control form, if applicable
any other supporting documents we ask for

Use the guidance on how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grant application by email or post to help you submit your application.

4.7 How we check your application

We will check that your application:

meets the eligibility requirements
is complete
includes necessary evidence, annotated maps, photographs and any consents that need to be sent with the application as detailed on the Grant finder

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

If you want to accept the agreement offer you must sign and return the declaration by post 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 at section 6.1 of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement holder’s guide.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know why we rejected it. You will have the right to appeal, as set out in section 7.10 of the agreement holder’s guide.

Question 5

5. Choosing capital  items

Accepted Answer

This scheme offers a selection of specialist Higher Tier capital items to help support our most environmentally significant sites and woodlands.

There are 25 capital items – 8 actual cost items and 17 fixed cost items.

Use the Grant finder to read a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

For an actual cost item, you will need to ask suppliers for quotes. We will then pay you either the full amount or a proportion of that. For fixed cost items, we pay a specific rate to help support the cost of each item. More details are provided in sections 5.1 to 5.3.

5.1 Actual cost capital items

You need a minimum of 3 quotes in writing for actual cost capital items. You must submit these quotes with your application.

In exceptional circumstances where the work is specialised, RPA may accept fewer than 3 quotations. This must be agreed in writing before you apply for an agreement.

A Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission Woodland Officer (for woodland-only applications) will discuss the contribution towards the costs of the work with you and will confirm this in writing. They will tailor each capital item to the requirements of the feature. The specifications are likely to include:

technical design drawings to illustrate the extent of the work or schedule of works to provide an itemised list of the component parts and process for implementation
the standard of work you must meet in each

5.2 Actual cost items

Code	Capital item name	Capital item percentage of cost
AC1	Access capital items	Up to 100% of actual costs
FM1	Management of geodiversity features	Up to 100% of actual costs
FM2	Major preparatory works for priority habitats (creation and restoration) and priority species	Up to 100% of actual costs
HE1	Historic and archaeological feature protection	Up to 100% of actual costs
LV2	Livestock handling facilities	Up to 80% of costs
RP8	Constructed wetlands for the treatment of pollution	50% of costs
SB2	Scrub control difficult sites	Up to 80% of costs
WN7	Restoration of large water bodies	Up to 100% of actual costs

5.3 Fixed cost items

Code	Capital item name	Capital item payment rate
FG5	Fencing supplement – difficult sites (this item can only be applied for with FG7, FG8 and FG9)	£3.98 per metre
FG7	Anti-predator combination fencing	£13.76 per metre
FG8	Anti-predator temporary electric fencing	£2.84 per metre
FG9	Deer fencing	£10.27 per metre
FG10	Temporary deer fencing	£8.09 per metre
FG11	Deer exclosure plot	£212.56 per unit
FY1	Deer high seat	£265 per unit
LV1	Cattle grid	£2,878.80 per item
SB1	Scrub control and felling diseased trees	Between £375 and £2,424 per hectare depending on method of removal, stem diameter and % ground cover. See item guide for more information
SB3	Tree removal	£155.17 per tree
SB5	Mechanical bracken control	£190.90 per hectare
SB6	Rhododendron control	£3,500 per hectare to £5,500 per hectare depending on slope of site and height of plant
TE13	Creation of dead wood habitat on trees	£285.58 per tree
WN1	Grip blocking drainage channels	£19.06 per block
WN2	Creation of scrapes and gutters	£2.23 per square metre
WN3	Ditch, dyke and rhine restoration	£5.72 per metre
WN4	Ditch, dyke and rhine creation	£13.63 per metre

Question 6

Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

Accepted Answer

See the CS Terms and Conditions 2024.

Question 7

Annex 2: Contact details

Accepted Answer

Contact Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

You can contact RPA by email, phone or post.

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

For Higher Tier only: To request pre-populated applications forms:

Please quote your single business identifier (SBI) and agreement number in all enquiries.

Contact Natural England

You can contact Natural England by email, phone or post.

Natural England
County Hall
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

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
Find out about call charges

Contact other organisations

You may also need to:

contact the Forestry Commission
contact Historic England
contact Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)

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1. Important dates