Guidance

How to apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2

Updated 10 April 2024

Applies to England

The Slurry Infrastructure grant is competitive, and you will not automatically get a grant.

The application is a 3-stage process.

Stage 1: check you’re eligible

The online checker closed at 11.59pm on 17 January 2024. No new applications can be accepted for this grant.

The online checker was used to make an initial online application.

This service allowed you to check if you could apply for a grant for your project. 

RPA will assess the applications received and email applicants with a decision. All applicants will be told whether or not their project has been shortlisted for Round 2. RPA will either invite you to submit a full application or inform you that you have not been successful on this occasion.

There will be a further round later in 2024.

Stage 2: submit your location and design assessment form

If your project is shortlisted, you will be asked to complete  a slurry store location and design assessment form.

RPA will share this with the Environment Agency, who will check that that your project will meet:

• storing slurry rules, farming rules for water (FRfW) and regulations protecting groundwater including those defined by The Water Resources (Control of Pollution) (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (SSAFO)
• the grant storage requirements

You will also need to provide:

• size, location and type of new stores
• size, location, type and condition of existing stores if you are keeping them as part of your storage capacity (including photographs)
• a copy of your storage capacity calculation, using the slurry wizard
• scaled drawings and design specifications of the proposed structures
• location maps of the proposed structures including any springs, wells or boreholes within your farm holding
• maps of farmyard areas, including drainage
• information on soil suitability if constructing or expanding an earth bank lagoon or large volume supported slurry bag
• written confirmation from the original manufacturer or a suitably qualified engineer that an existing store is suitable for expansion and covering, if using this option
• details of the secondary containment you will use if you intend to use a large volume supported slurry bag

RPA or the Environment Agency may discuss changes with you to make sure your final project protects the environment and meets regulations. It must also meet the grant storage requirements. This will prevent time or money being wasted later.

Submit your slurry store location and design assessment form as soon as possible to avoid delays.

You must submit this no later than 30 September 2024.

Stage 3: complete your full application

Once RPA has confirmed your project has passed the location and design check, you can complete and submit your full application.

You must have planning permission in place before you submit your full application to RPA. Your planning permission must match the location and design approved by the Environment Agency.

If you substantially change your project once you have passed the location and design check, your application may be rejected.

The deadline for submitting full applications is 11:59pm on Friday 27 June 2025. You must email your application and all supporting documents by this date. You can submit your full application as soon as you have everything ready.

You will need to provide:

• information about you, your business and project
• a breakdown of your requested items
• project milestones
• evidence of how the project will be funded, such as bank loans
• a declaration that you will comply with monitoring requirements
• a copy of the planning permission approval for your project
• evidence of financial viability (for example, last 3 years’ accounts)
• confirmation from a suitably qualified engineer that any new store will meet the specifications, including current regulations and build standards, when complete
• evidence of acidification, if using this option
• evidence of approved permit variation for pig farmers, where applicable
• a letter of assurance from your landlord, if using this option

How RPA will check your full application

RPA will check your full application to make sure it still meets the requirements of the scheme. Any changes to the project which mean that it will no longer meet the scheme requirements will lead to your project being rejected.

Your project will also be assessed to make sure that it is viable. RPA will assess:

• the current financial viability of your business
• how you will fund the project until you claim the grant
• how the project will be delivered within budget and on time
• that risks to project delivery have been identified and how they will be mitigated

Getting advice from Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)

CSF works with farmers and partners in catchments across England to improve the quality of air, water and natural flood management. They can advise farmers on how to produce food in a way which protects water, air and soil, minimising losses and maximising efficiencies.

If you apply for a Slurry Infrastructure grant, CSF will offer you advice about tackling pollution from slurry. This advice is optional, and not a condition for securing the grant.

Your CSF adviser is locally based with an understanding of the challenges that farmers face. They offer locally informed on-farm slurry management advice to help you improve nutrient use, reduce environmental impacts and make more confident decisions about slurry management on your farm

CSF is led by Natural England in partnership with Defra, Forestry Commission and the Environment Agency.

Withdrawing an application

You can withdraw your application at any time. If you want to do this, email RPA at FTF@rpa.gov.uk.

If you are offered a grant

RPA aims to give you a decision about your application as soon as possible after receiving a complete full application (within 60 working days).

If you are offered a grant, RPA will send you a grant funding agreement for you to sign and return. This will set out the legal terms and conditions of the grant, including the maximum amount of the grant you could claim and the outputs agreed for your project.

Before the project start date in the funding agreement, you must not:

• commit to any eligible costs as set out in the specifications (including paying deposits)
• place an order
• start construction work

Any costs incurred before that date may make your whole project ineligible.

If you need to change anything in the grant funding agreement over the course of the project, you must get written agreement from RPA first. If you do not, RPA could end your agreement and reclaim any grant already paid.

You’ll get more information and help with this if you are offered a grant.

Your grant funding agreement lasts for 5 years from the payment of the final claim. During this time, you must:

• not fall below the grant storage requirements
• keep your grant funded slurry store covers in place (except during periods of maintenance)
• produce and use a nutrient management plan based on up-to-date soil sampling
• follow guidance for using a mechanical separator, if your project includes one

You may have to repay your grant if you do not meet these conditions.

If your application is unsuccessful

If your application is unsuccessful at any stage, we will write to you to tell you why. If you’re unhappy with the decision, please refer to the RPA complaints procedure.

How to claim your grant

You can make a maximum of 3 claims over the duration of the project. RPA will discuss the staging and timing of claims with you.

Grants will be paid in arrears. Your final claim must be at least 25% of the total claim amount.

You can only make a claim for work which has been completed and paid for.

You should submit your claims as soon as possible after you have paid for, taken delivery and installed the item or works. You will need to provide invoices that show the quantity and cost of each eligible item you wish to make a claim for.

The amount of grant paid will be 50% of the invoice cost or the reference cost for that item, whichever is lower.

When you make your final claim, you will need to submit the Construction assurance declaration form. This is to confirm that the new or expanded store was built to the specifications, including current regulations and build standards. This also needs to be completed if you are fitting a cover to an existing store that is not being expanded.

The form must be completed and submitted by the civil or structural engineer who supervised the construction of the slurry store. The civil or structural engineer must be a member of a chartered institute.

If you buy an item for the project using lease purchase or hire purchase, you need to own this outright before you can claim any grant money towards it. This means that, before you claim the grant, you need to pay all of the instalments and provide evidence that the title has passed to you.

You will not be able to include these costs in your claim if you do not do this.

If you purchase any second-hand slurry store accessories, you need to provide confirmation from the supplier that it has a 5-year life and has not received previous grant funding.

Publicising successful grants

You need to follow any guidance from RPA about acknowledgement and publicity of the grant. This includes using templates or materials if provided.

Monitoring and evaluation

RPA wants to monitor how well the grant delivers against the scheme’s objectives. For the duration of your grant funding agreement, RPA will ask you about:

• how you use your nutrient management plan
• changes in fertiliser usage
• changes in farm productivity, such as income and profitability
• changes in spreading practice