Guidance

Water grants 2015: rabbit fencing supplement (FG4)

Eligibility and requirements for rabbit fencing supplement.

From:
Natural England
Published
2 March 2015

This guidance was withdrawn on

Capital items for improving water quality are now available through the Mid Tier of Countryside Stewardship.

Applies to England

Farmers and other land managers can apply for water grants.

Read the accompanying guidance to find out more about Countryside Stewardship water grants 2015.

How much will be paid

£2.50 per metre.

Where the supplement is available

This supplement is only available in Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) target areas.

It can only be used with the following capital items:

How this supplement will benefit the environment

This supplement will protect environmental features from rabbits. It will also help to manage habitats.

Requirements

Applicants must send a dated photograph of the existing site with their application.

On the land

Successful applicants will need to:

  • use galvanised, 18 gauge, 31mm hexagonal wire mesh to construct the rabbit netting;
  • attach the netting to a pair of 2.65mm, high tensile, spring steel straining wires using galvanised netting rings;
  • make sure that one of the straining wires is at the bottom of the fence and one is at the top;
  • bury the bottom edge of the netting to a depth of 150mm, or lap the netting on the surface of the ground towards the rabbit threat;
  • anchor the lapped netting at 1m intervals; and
  • make sure that all the materials being used meet the relevant British Standards

Keeping records

Successful applicants will need to keep:

  • consents or receipted invoices associated with the work, and show them on request;
  • any bank statements associated with the work, and show them on request;
  • dated photographs that show the work has been carried out to specification (submit these with any claim and show them on request).

How to carry out this supplement

The following section gives advice on carrying out this item successfully.

This supplement can be used on a site where there’s evidence of damage caused by rabbits, such as significant burrowing or crop damage.

FG5 - Fencing supplement – difficult sites can be used on the same area as this supplement.

Published 2 March 2015
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