Guidance

Invited applicants: how to fill in a Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 full application

Updated 10 April 2024

Applies to England

The Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 is a 3-stage application process. This guidance refers to the third stage of the process. 

You can only submit a full application if your project has passed the slurry store location and design assessment. If you have passed, you will have received an email letting you know.

For this part, you will need to complete a full application form, full application appendix, and a design declaration form and email them to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) along with any supporting documents.

The form is attached to your invitation email to submit a full application. You’ll need to complete and return the form by 11.59pm on Friday 27 June 2025.

If you have any problems completing the full application, contact our telephone helpline on 03000 200 301 and select the option for the Farming Transformation Fund.

Before you apply

Before you fill in the full application, read the:

• about the Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2, who can apply and what it can pay for guidance

• email inviting you to submit a full application – this tells you what information you need and contains the forms to be completed for both parts of the application

• email confirming the outcome of your slurry store location and design assessment – there may be advice or conditions you need to consider when completing your full application

Check your records on the Rural Payments service

Your application details must match your records on the Rural Payments service. If they do not, follow the guidance to update your records.

These details must be up to date:

• email address

• business name

• business postcode

• full name

• permissions

Planning permission

You must have planning permission in place for your project before you submit a full application form.

If your proposed slurry store is near to a habitats site, your local planning authority (LPA) may need to complete a habitats regulations assessment (HRA). The term ‘habitats site’ is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework to include:

• Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), including proposed sites

• Special Protection Areas (SPAs), including proposed sites

• Ramsar sites

If you are applying for planning permission near to a habitats site, you may wish to include additional evidence alongside your planning application. Read the ‘Planning permission advice’ section of the ‘How to fill in a Slurry Infrastructure grant Round 2 Slurry store location and design assessment form’ for more information about the sort of evidence you could include.  

If your project is in a nutrient neutrality catchment and planning permission is granted through a permitted development right, you must provide written confirmation from Natural England to the LPA that there are no likely significant effects to habitats sites.

It is best to submit as much information upfront to your LPA as you can to avoid delays to your planning decision.

How to complete your full application form

You should review the details of your proposed project provided in your slurry store location and design assessment form before you complete your full application.

Fill in every section of the form unless the instructions say you can either type ‘N/A’ or move to the next question.

Section 1: Applicant details

Provide details of the business or organisation applying for the grant. This should be the same business on the online application that was invited to submit a full application.

If you’re filling in this form on behalf of a business or organisation where you are not the owner, you should be a director or partner.

Question 1.1

Enter the 6-digit project reference number, which you can find at the top of your ‘invitation to submit a full application’ email.

Question 1.2

Enter your SBI number here. You must make sure that the SBI number and business details registered on the Rural Payments service match with the SBI number, applicant business name, applicant name, applicant email address, address and postcode entered on the full application form. If they do not, we will not be able to process your application.

Question 1.3

Enter your first name and surname. The applicant is normally the owner, a director or partner of the applicant business. The applicant must be someone with permission to ‘make legal changes’ or ‘full permissions’ for the business on the Rural Payments service.

Question 1.4

Enter an email address which you check regularly, as we will email you if we have any queries about your application. This should be your email address and not the one for your agent or manager, which you can give at Section 2.

Question 1.5

Enter your phone number in case we need to speak to you about your application.

Question 1.6

Enter the full name of your business or organisation. This is the name used on your annual financial accounts and your business bank account. It should also be the name of the business or organisation registered on the Rural Payments service.

Question 1.7

Enter your business phone number. It’s helpful for us to have 2 different contact numbers should we need them.

Question 1.8

Enter the full address of the applicant business. If the organisation has more than one address, it should be the address that all postal correspondence should be sent to, and the same as the one on the Rural Payments service.

Question 1.9

Review the answers you gave in your online application about the legal status of the business, business activity and business name. These are included in the email you received after submitting your details.

Select ‘No’ from the drop-down options to confirm that the answers you gave in the online application to all these questions have not changed.

If one or more of the answers you gave in the online application to these questions has changed or is incorrect, select ‘Yes’ from the drop-down options.

Question 1.9a

If your answer at 1.9 is ‘Yes’, tell us the changes to the applicant business details since you completed the online application. The comments boxes on the form will expand as you write your answer.

If there have been important changes to any of the applicant business details which have not already been discussed and agreed with the RPA, your application may not be eligible to proceed.

Question 1.10

Enter the most recent business turnover, balance sheet total (the total of all assets), and the financial year end date. If the business is less than one financial year old and has not filed any financial accounts yet, you can leave this blank.

You will also need to send the last 3 consecutive and most recent years of full audited or unaudited accounts. These should include profit and loss, balance sheet, the cover title and introduction pages. Include the pages which disclose all the notes to the accounts if there are any. We cannot accept ‘abbreviated accounts’.

Email your business accounts as PDF documents, if you can.

Question 1.10a

Use the comments box to tell us if your business accounts do not meet these requirements. For example, some small businesses may not produce full sets of accounts but would still need to send a profit and loss and balance sheet summary.

We cannot accept ‘abridged accounts’ from small or micro companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as they do not contain the turnover information we need to assess eligibility and financial viability. If you produce ‘abridged accounts’, you need to provide a statement with them which shows turnover, cost of sales, direct costs and gross profit for the 3 most recent accounting periods. This must be endorsed by an independent and suitably qualified accountant.

If you’re a new business (you have not yet started trading or have been trading for less than 2 years) or are self-employed, explain how you will have the financial capacity to successfully deliver the project. You will need to include one or more of the following supporting documents as evidence:

• latest tax returns

• an opening statement from a professionally qualified independent accountant that includes planned financing (loans or equity invested into the business), expected income and operating expenses

• draft financial statements or management accounts showing financial performance during the early period of trading

Question 1.11

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if your business has any linked businesses. We need to know this to understand the structure and size of the business applying.

Businesses are considered linked when:

• one business holds a majority of the shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in another business

• one business is entitled to appoint or remove a majority of the administrative, management or supervisory body of another

• a contract between the business, or a provision in the memorandum or articles of association of one of the businesses, enables one to exercise a dominant influence over the other

• one business is able, by agreement, to exercise sole control over a majority of shareholders’ or members’ voting rights in another

Businesses can also be linked through ownership by individuals, such as partners or through shareholding. Where this type of ownership is through one or more individuals who could work together, the enterprises involved are considered as linked if they operate on the same or adjacent markets. Family links are enough to show that individuals are working together.

If you are unsure if there is a link between the applicant business and any others, you should call our helpline on 03000 200 301 and select the option for the Farming Transformation Fund.

Question 1.11a

If your answer at 1.11 is ‘Yes’, tell us the names of any linked businesses.

You do not need to send us the financial accounts for any linked businesses. If we require them as part of our assessment process we will contact you.  

Question 1.12

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if your business or organisation has any related or linked businesses in Northern Ireland. You can only use this grant funding for business operations in England. You must not cross-subsidise any related, linked, parent, subsidiary, partnership, joint venture businesses or operations based in Northern Ireland.

Question 1.12a

If your answer at 1.12 is ‘Yes’, provide the details of the businesses or operations.

Question 1.13

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down boxes to provide information on the business principals (any business owner, partner or director). If you answer ‘No’ to all 4 questions, go to section 2. 

Question 1.13a

If you answer ‘Yes’ to any of the questions at 1.13, provide more details in the boxes provided. This will not automatically exclude you from receiving grant funding.

Section 2: Agent details

Question 2.1

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you have used an agent, consultant or business manager to help complete your application.

If your answer is ‘No’, go to section 3. 

Question 2.1a

If you have not already provided your agent’s details in the online application, select ‘No’ and complete the rest of this section. If you have, select ‘Yes’ and go to Section 3.

Questions 2.2-2.7

Enter your agent’s details in the boxes provided.

Your agent must have permission to ‘Make legal changes’ or ‘Full permissions’ for the applicant business on the Rural Payments service.

Section 3: Business details

Question 3.1

Select from the drop-down options the answer that best represents the legal status of the business or organisation.

Question 3.2

Select the type of livestock that your business mainly farms from the drop-down options. You must be a dairy cattle, beef cattle, or pig farmer, or a combination of these, to be eligible for this grant.

Question 3.3

If you are a pig farmer, select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if your farm has an environmental permit issued by the EA under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. If you are not a pig farmer, select N/A.

The environmental permit is relevant for pig farms with capacity for more than 2,000 production pigs over 30kg, or 750 sows.

If ‘Yes’, enter your permit number in the box provided.

If your farm has a permit, you may need to apply for a variation to change an environmental permit. This is likely if you are applying for a new store and may be needed if you are applying for a replacement or expanded store. You can use the EA’s pre-application advice service to find out more, or discuss this with your EA site officer. If you have applied for a variation, select the status from the drop-down options.

Question 3.4

Select your answer from the drop-down options. Select ‘Yes’ if the applicant business has been trading for less than 2 years, or if it is not trading yet.

Question 3.5

Enter the Companies House, VAT registration and Registered Charity numbers if the applicant business has them. If not, write ‘N/A’ in the relevant boxes.

Section 4: Project overview

Question 4.1

Select your proposed start date and expected completion date of the project from the drop-down boxes.

The start date is when you intend to begin work on your project and incur eligible costs. This should be at least 3 months after you submit your full application, so that we have time to assess it, make a decision and contact you.

The project completion date is when you’ll have finished your project, incurred all costs and submitted your final grant claim.

To work out your possible completion date, use information from your suppliers or builders to help you work out how long it will take for you to complete the procurement or purchase, project works, construction and installation. Once you know when the project is likely to be finished, build in some additional time to pay all the invoices and prepare and submit your grant claim. This last part of the process typically takes 1 to 3 months. 

You should be realistic about how long the project will take and be cautious with your timescales. 

Question 4.2

If the project is at a different location to the address you gave at Question 1.8, give the full address details in the boxes provided. If you do not know the exact postcode for your project, enter the postcode for the nearest address and explain this in the comments box. If your project has more than one location and address, provide the details of all the locations of the slurry stores. You may find it helpful to identify the store locations on a map and submit this with your application.

Questions 4.3 and 4.3a

Review the project details that were confirmed in your slurry store location and design assessment. Select ‘No’ from the drop-down options to confirm that there have been no changes to the project details since your slurry store location and design assessment was confirmed.

If there have been changes, select ‘Yes’ from the drop-down options. Use the space provided at 4.3a to explain what the changes are and why they have occurred, including details of any correspondence with us.

You will need to discuss any changes with our Grants Service team before submitting your full application to make sure you can proceed. Significant changes to the project not confirmed in your slurry store location and design assessment, or agreed with us, could affect your application and eligibility for grant funding.

Section 5: Covers and separators

Tell us about covers and separators

Question 5.1

Select the drop-down option to tell us if you are currently using acidification.

If you will be using acidification before the slurry enters the store and you are not requesting an impermeable cover, you will need to provide evidence of the acidification system that you are using. This should include details of the process, the equipment you use and photographic evidence.

If you carry out acidification post storage you do not need to provide evidence.  However, any new or expanded slurry store must be fitted with an impermeable cover.

Question 5.2

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you are applying to fit an impermeable cover to an existing fit for purpose store.

If ‘Yes’, provide the make and type of cover, and the name of the stores to be covered.

Question 5.3

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you are applying to fit an impermeable cover to a new or expanded store.

If ‘Yes’, provide the make and type of cover, and the name of the stores to be covered.

Question 5.4

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you are retaining an existing impermeable cover.

If ‘Yes’, provide the make and type of cover, and the name of the stores to be covered.

Question 5.5

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you are requesting a separator for your proposed slurry storage system.

If ‘Yes’, provide the make and type of separator.

Section 6: Store design confirmation

If you are applying for an impermeable cover for an existing store only, you do not need to complete this section.

Question 6

Confirm that a civil or structural engineer has confirmed that the design of your store will meet BS5502 part 50 and the Slurry, Silage and Fuel Oil Regulations (England) 2010 (SSAFO).

You and the civil or structural engineer that you commissioned to design the slurry store must complete the ‘Design declaration for slurry storage’ form. You can read more about this in the Supporting documents checklist section below.

Section 7: Permissions and consents

Question 7.1

Select an answer from the drop-down options to confirm whether the project will take place on land or in premises that are rented, leased, or tenanted, or whether the applicant business owns the land or premises.

If the applicant business does not own the land or premises, you will need a rental or tenancy agreement with the owner. You do not need to send us a copy of your rental or tenancy agreement, but we may ask for it in the future.

Question 7.1a

If we approve your application and you have a fixed term arrangement with less than 6 years to run, you’ll need to secure a new agreement at the point that your current agreement expires. Alternatively, you can ask your landlord to underwrite any potential grant funding agreement, which means that if your tenancy ends your landlord agrees to take over the project, for example by completing the conditions themselves or passing the agreement on to a new tenant.

Select your answer from the drop-down options to confirm what you will be doing.

If you wish to ask your landlord to underwrite an agreement you will need to request a copy of the ‘Landlord – Farming Transformation Fund (FTF) grant underwriting form’ from FTF@rpa.gov.uk. You must arrange for this to be completed by your landlord and submit it along with your full application form.

Question 7.2

If planning permission is required for your project, this must be approved by the time you submit your full application.

Enter the full name of the LPA and the planning reference approval number, as we may need to check the planning documents on the LPA website.

We cannot assess applications or commit funds to projects that are waiting on planning permission to proceed.

With your full application, you will need to send a copy of:

• the planning permission approval

• the plans and drawings that were approved as part of your planning permission, so that we can check the details match those in your application and any specific requirements are met

If you do not have planning permission for your project, your application will be withdrawn from the scheme.

Section 8: Project costs, funding, and financial health

You should fill in the ‘Slurry details’ tab of the appendix spreadsheet before answering these questions. Use these figures to fill in this section.

The figures must be the same on the full application (Word) form and the appendix (Excel) spreadsheet.

Question 8.1

Enter the total project expenditure in £ to 2 decimal places, for example, £200,000.00. This is the estimated total expenditure (costs) for your project. This figure should match the ‘3j - Total all items’ figure in the ‘Total expenditure’ column in ‘Table 3 – Project items’ in the Slurry details tab of your appendix spreadsheet.

Question 8.2

Enter the total maximum eligible grant you are applying for in £ to 2 decimal places, for example, £65,000.00. This figure should match the ‘3l - Total eligible expenditure’ figure in the ‘Total Grant’ column in ‘Table 3 – Project items’ in the Slurry details tab of your appendix spreadsheet.

The minimum grant you can apply for is £25,000, and the maximum grant is £250,000 per applicant business.

Question 8.3

Enter the total amount of private match funding required for the project in £.

This figure should be the difference between the figures provided at Question 8.1 and 8.2. You need to fund these project costs with private money, such as business savings, a bank loan or overdraft.

You cannot use public money, such as other grant funding from government or local authorities, as your match funding.

Question 8.4

Tell us the sources of your private match funding. This might be from your own business funds, a bank loan, an overdraft, a personal loan from family or friends, a director’s loan, your own savings, or a combination.

Enter the amount of private match funding in £ in the relevant box for all project funding sources you’ve secured or have conditional agreement for, such as being subject to the grant being awarded for the project. If you select ‘Other’, please tell us about the funding source in the box provided.

You need to provide evidence of the match funding with your application. This could be an email, letter or copy of a commercial loan agreement, which needs to show:

• a named person or organisation where the funding is coming from

• how much the funding is for and that the amount is enough to fund the project

• who the funding is being offered to

• the date of the offer

If you are funding the project from other sources, such as own savings, personal loans from family or friends, director’s loans, or cash reserves within the business, you also need to show how much and where it is coming from. This could include a bank or building society statement that shows the funds are available to the business. If the funding for the project is part of a larger mortgage or loan, explain how you will be able to use this and show that there are enough funds available for the project.

If you buy an item for the project using lease or hire purchase, you must fully own the item before you can claim any money towards it. This means that before you claim any grant, you need to have paid all the instalments and can show that you own it outright.

Question 8.5

Grant funding is paid in arrears at agreed stages. You can make a maximum of 3 claims over the course of the project.

Explain how you will make sure there is enough funding in place to pay the project costs in full before each grant claim is submitted, allowing time for claims to be processed and paid. This could include if there is enough within your overdraft or normal business cash flow. We need to understand the financial capacity within your business to manage the delivery of the project.

Question 8.6

Explain any relevant financial issues relating to the applicant business and the business accounts you have submitted. We may not be able to support projects that we consider present a significant financial risk to the business.

Section 9: Other funding

Question 9.1. and 9.1a

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to tell us if you or your business has received, or applied for, any other public sector funding for this project, or for other slurry storage or slurry equipment. If ‘Yes’, give details in the table at 9.1a.

This includes funding from public sector organisations like your local authority (including Farming in Protected Landscapes), Big Lottery Fund, levy board funds or other government grants, including from Defra, Natural England, Forestry Commission and RPA.

It also includes EU funding, such as:

• Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE)

• Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)

• LEADER

You should include details of any other grant applications you have made and not yet heard the outcome.

You do not need to include Single Payment Scheme (SPS) or Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments.

Section 10: Project delivery

Tell us how you will deliver your project within design, budget, and schedule, and how you will deal with any issues that may occur.

Question 10.1

Risks are events that could impact the successful delivery of your project.

Complete all columns in the table, using drop-down options or some free text.

In column:

• a - select the chance of each risk occurring

• b - select the likely impact if a risk does occur

• c - explain what you would do if the risk did occur and the steps you would take to continue the project

Explain what you would do to reduce the chance of the risk occurring.

Add any additional risks you identify in the empty boxes at the end of the table.

Question 10.2

Tell us how and who will manage your project delivery, including:

• the people in the project team responsible for delivering the project to schedule and cost, raising the grant claims, and managing the post-project business activity

• their current roles in your business and their project delivery skills and experience, or whether you are bringing in outside expertise

We may not be able to support projects that we consider have significant delivery risks and a lack of planned mitigation actions.

Section 11. Information and evaluation

Question 11

Select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ from the drop-down options to let us know if you are willing to be contacted in the future. This will help us improve the services and schemes we provide.

Declaration

When you have completed the rest of the application form and appendix, read this section and make sure that you agree with and can meet the requirements set out in it.

The declaration must be completed and submitted by someone holding ‘full’ or ‘make legal changes’ permission on the Rural Payments service. If this is an agent, make sure you have completed the agent authorisation section.

By submitting and agreeing to the submission of the full application form, you’ll be agreeing to the declaration.

The person making the declaration and submitting the form must provide their Customer Reference Number (CRN) and the email address so that they can be verified on the Rural Payments service.

Monitoring and evaluation

If your project is approved, you will be expected to participate in monitoring and evaluation activities. These will help improve service delivery, monitor the extent to which the aims have been achieved and review the success of the fund. We will include more details with your grant funding agreement.

Supporting documents checklist

All supporting documents that you need to support your application are listed at the end of the full application form. Review this list and tick the relevant boxes to confirm which documents you have submitted with your application. There is a comments box for you to provide additional information if necessary.

If we do not receive all the supporting documents needed for your project, or they do not meet our requirements, we will not be able to assess it. This may affect your project timescales, or your application may be rejected.

Application appendix spreadsheet

Make sure you have fully completed all tabs and saved the spreadsheet in the correct format.

Applicant business accounts

Refer to the guidance at Question 1.10 for applicant business accounts evidence requirements.

New businesses or self-employed applicants

Refer to the guidance at Question 1.10 for evidence requirements.

Appropriate consents and permissions

Provide the approved planning permission and the plans submitted as part of your planning application.

If you are a tenant, you must provide written consent from your landlord to confirm they have given their permission for the project to be undertaken.

If you are a tenant with fixed term arrangement with less than 6 years to run, you can ask your landlord to agree to underwrite any potential grant funding agreement. You will need to provide a completed ‘Landlord – FTF grant underwriting form’ and the covering email from your landlord. Refer to Question 7.1a above for details on how to request this form.

If you have obtained any other consents, licences or permissions for your project, forward copies to us.

Evidence of project funding

Refer to the guidance at Question 8.4 for funding evidence requirements.

Evidence of slurry acidification

Refer to the guidance at Question 5.1 for evidence requirements.

Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) permit variation document

If you are a pig farmer and have an EPR permit, you must provide a copy of the permit variation document. If you have not received the permit variation document when you submit your full application, you must send it to us as soon as you receive it.

Design declaration for slurry storage

You need to make sure that you and the civil or structural engineer complete the ‘Design declaration for slurry storage’ form. You must also include the design drawings, and the covering email from the engineer with the form.

If you are applying for an impermeable cover for an existing store only, you do not need to complete this form.

How to complete the application appendix spreadsheet

You must complete the application appendix spreadsheet and send it to us with your full application. The tabs you need to fill in are the:

• Slurry details

• Project milestones

Some of the information you enter in the Slurry details tab will automatically populate the third tab, Outputs. The Outputs tab shows the results that your project will be expected to deliver when it is completed. If your application is successful, this information will be included in your grant funding agreement.

You can use free Open Office software to complete the application appendix, as long as you save it in the Microsoft Excel (.xls) format. To do this:

• select ‘Save as’ when saving the appendix spreadsheet – the ‘Save as’ box will open

• select the format for the document in the ‘Save as type’ box – select the format type Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP/2003 (.xls)

• click ‘Save’

A dialog box may open asking you to ‘Confirm file format’ – if that happens, select ‘Confirm’.

Slurry details

Enter your business name, project name and 6-digit project reference number in the application details section.

Table 1 – Storage volumes

Follow the steps below to complete the table.

1a Existing storage capacity

Enter the total number of months’ storage that you currently have. Include any storage capacity that is not fit for purpose and will be taken out of service, as well as any usable capacity that you will retain.

1b Which livestock do you farm mainly

Select the type of livestock that your business mainly farms from the drop-down list.

1c Storage capacity required

The grant storage requirement will be calculated automatically based on the livestock you enter in the previous question.

Enter the storage capacity in m3 you need to meet your expected total slurry production for the grant storage requirement. This figure must be the same as that which was approved by the EA in the SSLDA.

1d Future storage capacity

Enter the number of months of total usable storage capacity you will have after your project is complete, even if this is more than the grant storage requirement funded by the grant. This figure must be the same as that which was approved by the EA in the SSLDA. Do not include any storage capacity being taken out of service.

The details for existing storage capacity in m3 and future storage capacity in m3 will be calculated automatically, based on the volumes you enter in the store details table below.

Table 2 – Store details

Complete this table for each store type you currently have or expect to have.

Follow the steps below to complete the ‘Future Slurry Storage Capacity’ heading for each store.

2a (i) Existing – taken out of service

Enter the volume of existing storage you will take out of service once the project is complete, in m3.

2a (ii) Existing storage retained

Enter the volume of existing storage you will retain in m3 for the relevant store type.

2a (iii) New

Enter the volume of new storage capacity you will create in m3.

2b. Number of stores

Enter the number of stores you will take out of service, retain or create.

2c. Number of fixed flexible covers

Enter the number of fixed flexible covers you will retain, and the number of new fixed flexible covers you will purchase.

2d. Number of floating flexible covers

Enter the number of floating flexible covers you will retain, and the number of new floating flexible covers you will purchase.

The Future Storage Requirement columns on the right of the table will show the existing storage retained, the volume required to reach grant storage requirements and the volume over the requirement. These figures will populate the ‘Store’ section (3a) of the Project items table.

Table 3 – Project items

This table lists all the stores, covers, separators, reception pits, and slurry store accessories available for grant funding.

3a.

When the store volume figures are populated from the Store details table, the Project items table will automatically remove any storage capacity over the grant storage requirement. The Project Costs columns then detail the total eligible units in m3, the total eligible expenditure, and the total grant available.

3b.

Enter the size of cover type you require (in m2) in the ‘Units’ column.

3c to 3i.

Enter the total number or size of each additional item that you need in the ‘Units’ column. The eligible expenditure and total grant amount for each item will be calculated automatically.

3j.

The total expenditure for all items selected will be detailed at ‘Total all items’ at the bottom of the table.

3k.

If the total grant for all items requested is above the £250,000 grant maximum, the table will automatically cap this. The ineligible expenditure and total ineligible grant amount will be shown in the ‘Ineligible expenditure’ box.

3l.

The total eligible expenditure and total grant amount is then shown at the ‘Total eligible expenditure’ box at the bottom of the table.

Table 4 – Claims schedule

This table sets out when you will make your claims, how many claims you want to make and the value of each claim.

Complete the ‘% of total expenditure in claim’ column and the ‘Date to be claimed by’ column for each claim you wish to make. The table will highlight in yellow the cells you need to fill in.

Space multiple claims at least 3 months apart, to allow time for any project slippage and our processing and payment requirements. We may have to change claim dates that are too close together. If you expect to complete your project quickly, you may wish to make only one claim.

For most costs, it is likely that you’ll receive one invoice so will then claim for the full cost after the item has been received, installed and paid for in full.

You can make up to 3 claims in total. When setting your claim dates, think about when your costs will occur and when the invoices will be paid in full. Some item costs may be spread out, so you may receive interim invoices as the work is completed. In these cases, you may wish to submit 2 or 3 claims against one item.

If you intend to make more than one claim, you must make sure that the final claim is at least 25% of the total grant amount being requested.

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

If you are making more than one claim, your final claim will be the difference between the total grant awarded and any amounts already paid.

There may be some instances where a deposit must be paid at the point of ordering. In these cases, you can claim on a deposit for up to 40% of the value of the item but your claim will only be paid at your grant rate, and this should have been noted in your application.

You will need to provide photographs showing progress of construction and the items on site when you submit a claim unless your claim is purely against a deposit at point of order.

Project milestones

Project milestones should show the key steps and stages of your planned project delivery: what you’ll need to do and when.

Fill in this tab with the expected project start and completion dates (in the format dd/mm/yy), plus dates for achieving interim stages such as:

• commissioning of equipment or building works

• completing building works

• installing equipment

• testing equipment and getting it fully functional

• any other significant stages

Outputs

The Outputs table lists the project outputs we expect your project to meet.

These will be automatically populated from the details you enter in the Slurry details tab. You should check that the outputs are correct and in line with your proposed project. If they are not, you will need to check the details entered in the Slurry details tab and change them as necessary.

For the Slurry Infrastructure grant, the outputs are:

• number of non-serviceable stores taken out of service

• type of slurry store constructed

• volume of storage created by the grant (m3)

• increase in storage capacity (months)

• total number of months storage capacity

• type of cover installed

• number of slurry store covers added

• area of slurry stores covered (m2)

The minimum storage capacity should be retained for a period of 5 years from the final grant payment.

If your application is successful, we will send you data monitoring and reporting guidance with your grant funding agreement.

How to complete the Design declaration for slurry storage form

If you are applying to fit an impermeable cover to an existing store only, you do not need to complete the design declaration for slurry storage form.

For all other projects, you must complete the form and submit it as part of your full application.

This form is required as confirmation that your proposed slurry store is designed in accordance and compliance with the:

• Slurry store location and design assessment (SSLDA) approved by the Environment Agency (EA) in conjunction with the drawings provided

• Local Planning Authority planning approval

• Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (England) Regulations 2010 (SSAFO)

• BS5502 part 50

The form will need to be completed for expanded stores as well as new stores.

The form should be filled in by both you and your engineer. The engineer must be a qualified civil or structural engineer and a member of a chartered institute. It is the engineer’s responsibility to make sure the store is designed to meet all the requirements of the above regulations.

The drawings you include with your supporting evidence should show the location with scaled plan, elevations and annotated cross section showing wall and floor construction. The drawings should be numbered and listed on the form.

Section 1: Applicant and project details

You should complete this section.

Enter:

• your full name

• the full address of the slurry store location, including postcode

• your 6-digit project reference number

Section 2: Design confirmation

The engineer should complete this section.

For each slurry store and, if applicable, reception pits, enter in the boxes provided:

• the names provided in the SSLDA form and accompanying site plans approved by the EA

• the associated design drawing numbers which were submitted as part of the SSLDA form on which the design has been based

• the 10 digit Ordnance Survey grid reference for the location of the centre of the store and, if applicable, reception pit - this is to ensure that the location of the store has not changed from that confirmed by the EA

Section 3. Engineer declaration

The engineer should complete this section.

Enter:

• your full name

• name of store manufacturer (where appropriate), if completing on behalf of

• your email address

• your telephone number

• the date

Tick the appropriate box to confirm the professional organisation you belong to and enter your membership number in the corresponding box. You must be either a ‘Fellow’ or ‘Member’ of the professional organisation. If you are a member of a professional organisation which is not listed in the table, tick ‘other’ and provide details of the professional organisation.

We need this information so we can contact you if we have any queries about the design of the store or reception pit, or about your membership of your professional organisation.

You should email the completed form to the applicant, who must send the email, including the completed form, with their supporting evidence. We can’t accept scanned copies or PDF versions of this form.

Submit your full application

Save your application form as a Microsoft Word document and your appendix spreadsheet as a workbook in a Microsoft Excel .xls format.

Attach all documents to the email and send it from the email address you gave us in Section 1 of the application form. Do not send documents by post or save them in online storage systems and provide links to access them.

Emails should be a maximum of 32MB. You may need to send several separate emails. If you do, number each email, for example ‘Project reference number: application 1 of 3’.

Email the completed application form, appendix spreadsheet, Design declaration for slurry storage form (if applicable) and any other supporting documents to FTF@rpa.gov.uk.

If an agent or consultant sends the form for you, they must copy you into the email using the email address you give us in Section 1 of the application form.

The email addresses used to submit the application must match exactly with the details in the Rural Payments service, and the applicant must have permission to make legal changes or full permissions for the applicant business.