On 3rd July, Defra re-opened the Stewardship capital grant scheme for field boundaries and orchards, items that improve air or water quality, Natural Flood Management and items linked to delivery of certain SFI options. There is also funding for Woodland Management Plans and Tree Health grants along with grants to develop more complex Higher Tier agreements. More information and the guidance notes are on the following link: Capital Grants now open for applications – Farming.
In an update posted this Wednesday, Defra stated that: This round of the scheme will close to applications when the available funding is committed. We will aim to give reasonable notice of scheme closure, but this may not be possible. Funding is not guaranteed even if an application has been submitted and is eligible. At the point of closure, we will not accept any further applications including those started but not yet submitted. Following closure of this round of the scheme, we will make further improvements to the scheme and expect to open a new round during 2026.
This morning, we heard rumours that the scheme was going to close imminently but, this afternoon the RPA have messaged stakeholders with reassurance that this is not the case and they will be issuing “formal communications shortly!” Our advice would be to submit any capital grant applications as soon as possible as Defra has “previous” in closing schemes with no notice…….
