Annex 4 – Upland offer options

Use this section to help you complete your Upland offer options

Your land must be registered in the Rural Payments service to the SBI you’re submitting the application for.

You will need to check that your registered land use and options are compatible for example: ‘Management of rough grazing for birds (UP2)’ the parcel is mapped as Upland breeding areas for Countryside Stewardship.

Land use for the year of application must be recorded as permanent grassland.

All land in the application must be within the Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) (applicants who wish to include land outside the SDA will need to apply for a Mid-Tier agreement).

There are 6 options and 4 supplements to choose from. As a minimum, you can pick one base option and two supplements or two base options and one supplement or three base options.

Upland offer – Apply for base options and supplements

For the ‘Upland Offer’ you must apply for one of the following:

  • at least 1 base option and 2 supplements

  • at least 2 base options and 1 supplement

  • at least 3 base options.

You can apply for more of these ‘Upland Offer’ options or supplements if you wish.

If you have a scheduled monument on a land parcel, you must choose the most appropriate option to manage that feature. For more information about managing scheduled monuments read the guidance on the Selected Heritage Inventory for Natural England (SHINE) website, click guidance, then useful links.

Diagram 52

This screen shows the code and name of each option. For more information read Countryside Stewardship grants.

It also shows the options measured in hectares (to 4 decimal places) or metres (in whole numbers) where the land use is eligible for the option. As well as the area or length you’re applying for under each option.

The text at the top of the screen shows how many base options and supplements you must apply for as explained above.

Click ‘Open’ for each option you want to apply for. All the land parcels with a land use eligible for the option are listed. You may need to scroll down the screen to see them all.

Add the length of hedge or amount of land you want to apply for under the relevant options.

The information on the screen is explained below:

  • Sheet Number – the Ordnance Survey sheet reference.

  • Parcel Number – the specific land parcel reference number.

  • Parcel name – the name you have previously allocated to the land parcel.

  • Crop type description – the land use code and land use description for the land parcel. If the land parcel has more than one eligible land use, they will be listed on separate lines.

For option BE3 the screen will include:

  • Applied for (metres) – the length of hedge in metres you’re applying for under each land parcel. The length should be a whole number. If you enter a number with a decimal place, this will round automatically.

For all other options or supplements the screen will include:

  • Eligible (ha) – the total area of land that is eligible for the option (based on the land use code).

  • Applied for (ha) – the area of the land parcel you are applying for under the option (in hectares to 4 decimal places). (For HS1 and HS8, to convert hectares to metres squared, divide the ‘Applied for (ha)’ area by 10,000.)

For all options:

When the length or area for each land parcel is correct, click ‘Save’, before you click ‘Back’ which will take you back to the list of options.

Click ‘Close’ after you have added all the land you want to apply for under these options, to take you back to the ‘Edit your application’ list.