4 How to apply for Mid Tier
This section helps with all application routes, but the step by step guides shown in Sections 4.1 and 4.2 do not apply to Wildlife Offers. To apply for a Wildlife Offer, follow the step by step process in Section 5.
Before you apply, you need to decide which type of Mid Tier agreement to apply for. Read Section 2.2 for more information.
We encourage you to apply for Mid Tier through the Online application route, if you’re able to.
Step 1 – Before you apply
- read the guidance in this section and section 4.3
- consider applying for the Wildlife Offers – read Section 5
- find out about the options and capital items you can include in your application. Grants are available as management options or capital items – read Section 4.4
- register in the Rural Payments service if you have not already done so. Make sure that all land parcels you want to include in your application are registered in the Rural Payments service, linked to your SBI, and have the correct boundaries and land cover – read Section 4.5 and the Countryside Stewardship mapping guidance for applicants for further information
- if you prefer to use an agent, you will need to authorise them to act for you - read Section 4.6
- make sure you have the correct permission levels you need in the Rural Payments service to complete the application, or for others to act for you, for example an agent - read Section 4.6
- if you’re in a Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund Group, you can contact your facilitator for advice - read Section 4.8.3
- if you want to use management options for priority habitats and species, you may have to supply Natural England with evidence to request changes to the Priority Habitats inventory by 28 February - read section 4.8.2
Step 2 – Make your application in the Rural Payments service
- Sign into the Rural Payments service.
- Create your Countryside Stewardship application by following the How to apply online for Mid Tier guidance.
- If you have Scheduled Monuments or other historic features on your land, you will need a Historic Environment Farm Environmental Record (HEFER) that is less than 3 years old and covers all the land in your application. Follow the instructions in the HEFER guidance letter, available in the Rural Payments service, to do this.
- For the Wildlife Offers, read Section 5.
Step 3 – Request advice, approvals, endorsements, consents and permissions (if relevant) – read Section 4.8
- Make sure you have the relevant consents, approvals and endorsements you need to support your application.
- If your holding is a priority for Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) support, please contact CSF for advice at least 10 weeks before you submit your application. Please note that there will be no guarantee of CSF support.
- If you want to use Mid Tier options listed in Section 4.8.2 (except for option UP2 - Management of rough grazing for birds) you will need to request endorsement by 27 May 2022.
Step 4 – Start to complete your online application
- Complete your online application by following the How to apply online for Mid Tier guidance.
- Complete the Farm Environment Record (FER) – read section 4.10.1. (As part of this you must identify fields with run-off and soil erosion risk.)
- Check the HEFER response (if applicable) – read section 4.10.2.
Step 5 - Choose which options and capital items to apply for – read Section 4.4
You should have now gathered information about the environmental priorities on your holding.
- Use the information you have gathered and read Section 4.4 to help you decide which grants to apply for.
- Use the How to apply online for Mid Tier guidance. and the on-screen Help in Rural Payments to help you select your Mid Tier options.
Step 6 – Complete, review and submit your application
When you have completed your application by following the How to apply online for Mid Tier guidance, select ‘Yes’ in the Declarations section. You will then be able to submit your application.
Step 7 - Include all required supporting information with your application – read Section 4.11
You must submit your application and any required supporting documents by 29 July.
Before you submit your application, check that you have all the relevant documents you need:
- forms
- supporting documents
If you have requested consents or permissions at Step 3, you must have these in place now.
Sending documents by email
You can scan and email your supporting documents to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk.
You must put your SBI and Application ID number in the email and on all documents and use ‘Application – CS –Mid Tier’ as the email subject heading.
The maximum size of emails we can accept is 32MB.
Do not include links to cloud storage, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, as we cannot accept documents or evidence this way.
For security reasons, we cannot accept discs, USB pen drives or other external storage media.
You can send digital photos by email, but do not scan printed photos as the quality is not good enough. Read section 6.4.5 for more information.
Sending documents by post
If you are unable to email your documents to us, you can post them using the address in the ‘More information and Contact details’ section.
Remember to add your SBI to all documents you send to us. We recommend you get proof of posting.
Step 1 - Before you apply
- read the guidance in this section
- consider applying for the Wildlife Offers – read Section 5
- find out about the options and capital items you can include in your application. Grants are available as management options or capital items – read Section 4.4
- register in the Rural Payments service if you have not already done so. Make sure that all land parcels you want to include in your application are registered in the Rural Payments service, linked to your SBI, and have the correct boundaries and land cover – read Section 4.5 and the Countryside Stewardship mapping guidance for applicants for further information
- if you prefer to use an agent, you will need to authorise them to act for you - read Section 4.6
- make sure you have the correct permission levels you need in the Rural Payments service to fill in the application, or for others to act for you, for example an agent - read Section 4.6
- if you’re in a Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund Group, you can contact your facilitator for advice - read Section 4.8.3
- if you want to use management options for priority habitats and species, you may have to supply Natural England with evidence to request changes to the Priority Habitats inventory by 28 February - read section 4.8.2
Step 2 - Request a Mid Tier application pack by 27 May 2022
- Request your Mid Tier application pack online in the Rural Payments service – read Section 4.7 for details.
- If you have Scheduled Monuments or other historic features on your land, you will need a Historic Environment Farm Environmental Record (HEFER) that is less than 3 years old and covers all the land in your application. Read the HEFER guidance letter included in your application pack to find out how to register and request the HEFER through the HEFER portal.
- For the Wildlife Offers, read Section 5.
Step 3 – Request advice, approvals, endorsements, consents and permissions (if relevant) – read Section 4.9
- Make sure you have the correct permission levels you need in the Rural Payments service to fill in the application, or for others to act for you, for example an agent - read Section 4.6.
- Make sure you have the relevant consents, approvals and endorsements you need to support your application.
- If your holding is a high or medium priority for Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) support, please contact Catchment Sensitive Farming at least 10 weeks before you submit your application. Please note that there will be no guarantee of CSF support.
- Request endorsement to use Mid Tier options listed in Section 4.8.2 (except for option UP2 - Management of rough grazing for birds) by 27 May 2022.
Step 4 – When you receive the application pack
- check all details are correct for each land parcel
- check that all land parcels you want included are in your application pack. For parcels to be included they must be registered in the Rural Payments service. (If you need new land parcel numbers, fill in an RLE1 form and send it to us with sketch maps.) Read Section 4.5 for more information.
Step 5 – Start to fill in your application
- Complete the first sections of your application form.
- Complete the Farm Environment Record (FER) – read section 4.10.1. (As part of this you must identify fields with run-off and soil erosion risk.)
- Check the HEFER response (if applicable) – read section 4.10.2.
Step 6 - Choose which options and capital items to apply for – read Section 4.4
You should have now gathered information about the environmental priorities on your holding.
- Use the information you have gathered and read Section 4.3 to help you decide which grants to apply for.
- Use the guidance in your application pack to help you fill in your choice of grants on your Mid Tier Application Form Annexes.
Step 7 – Include all required supporting information with your application – read Section 4.11
You must submit your application and any required supporting documents by 29 July.
Before you submit your application, check that you have all the relevant documents you need:
- forms
- supporting documents
If you have requested consent or permission at Step 3, you must have this in place now.
Step 8 – Complete and submit your application
- Fill in the remaining sections of your application form using the guidance to help you.
- Submit your completed application form, annexes, options map(s), FER map(s) and other supporting documents.
To email your application to us
- Make sure that you have the correct permission levels in the Rural Payments service.
- Make sure that the email address you use to send the application is registered for the business in the Rural Payments service.
- Reply to the email we sent you when you requested your application form. Attach your application to your reply email with any required documents – you no longer have to print and sign your application. (By replying to our email rather than sending a new email, your application will automatically be forwarded to the correct team, rather than waiting in a queue to be sorted manually.)
If you cannot reply to the original email
- put ‘Application – CS – Mid Tier’ in the subject heading of your email to us
- include your SBI and Application ID number in your email
- send your email to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
If you cannot email your application
- Return a paper application form if you need to. Sign it and post it to us, with any supporting documents, using our contact details in Annex 8. (You must submit the original form that was sent to you, as we cannot accept a copy.)
- You must put your SBI and Application ID number on everything you send to us.
- We recommend that you get proof of postage for any documents you send to us by post. You should keep a copy of your completed application form and your FER and Options maps.
- We must receive your complete application by 29 July.
You can read all Countryside Stewardship guidance on GOV.UK.
For general Mid Tier enquiries, contact us by:
- email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
- telephone: 03000 200 301
- post:
Rural Payments Agency (CS),
PO Box 324,
Worksop
S95 1DF
To find out if any Mid Tier advice events are available in your area or via online webinar, visit GOV.UK or contact us using the details at Annex 8.
If you have land in a National Park, you can contact the National Park Authority to find out if you can get advice on making a strong application. You can find the contact details for your National Park Authority by searching for them on GOV.UK.
You should consider the types of options and capital items to include in your application at an early stage. This will give you time to request any advice, approvals, consents or permissions.
You can choose from a wide range of options and capital items in the Mid Tier scheme. It is important that you choose options that address your local environmental priorities. This will also improve your application’s score.
Make sure the options and capital items you choose are suitable for your land and that you will be able to meet the management requirements for the length of the agreement.
Air quality items are limited to £120,000 and Boundary items are limited to £50,000. Water capital items in a 5 year Mid Tier agreement are limited to £120,000 and subject to a value for money calculation.
Once you receive your Agreement Document, changes can only be made in very limited circumstances and will need to be agreed in writing by us in advance - read Section 7.
To help you decide which grants to apply for, read the relevant guidance:
- optimising your application’s score – Section 4.4.1
- addressing environmental priorities in your local area – Section 4.4.2
- understanding the option and capital item management requirements - Section 4.4.3
- addressing any specific priorities relating to:
- water and air quality - Section 4.4.5
- priority habitats - Section 4.4.6
- organic land - Section 4.4.7
- if relevant, advice received from a:
- CSFO – Section 4.8.1
- Countryside Stewardship Funded Facilitator – Section 4.8.3
- if relevant, Natural England’s advice on SSSI land – Section 4.9.1
- addressing any issues or management opportunities identified in your:
- FER - Section 4.10.1
- HEFER – Section 4.10.2
You can find out about the environmental priorities in your area and the range of options available in the following sections.
4.4.1 The effect on your application’s score
Your choice of options and capital items affects your application’s score:
- options and capital items that address your local environmental priorities increase the score
- options and capital items that do not address local priorities may reduce the score because value for money is considered in the score
- using the WPFWP, advice from a CSFO, including the educational access option, or being part of a coordinated Facilitation Fund group will increase your score.
Read more details on scoring in Annex 3.
4.4.2 Identify local priorities
You should choose options and capital items that focus on the environmental priorities in your local area.
You can use the Countryside Stewardship Statements of Priorities and Priority Maps to identify the priority features and issues targeted in your area. This will help you choose which options and capital items to include in your application.
You can also find details of features on your land and local priorities by using the MAGIC website.
4.4.3 Find details of options and capital items
For a list of options and capital items available in Mid Tier, including payment rates, read Annex 2 of this manual.
Countryside Stewardship grants
Countryside Stewardship grants on GOV.UK lists all the grants available and any eligibility requirements. You can filter the list of grants by type, land use, tier and funding, or search for key words.
Rural Payments service online Options Tool
You can use an online Options Tool by signing into the Rural Payments service. On the Business Overview screen click the Countryside Stewardship link. You can find the highest priority options for your holding by answering a few simple questions.
Choosing the highest priority options can increase your application’s score.
4.4.4 Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package (WPFWP)
Applying for the WPFWP will help you provide a good combination of resources for wildlife on your holding. To include the WPFWP you need to choose management options that meet the requirements of the package. These must be at least 3% of the arable, temporary grass or permanent grass area in your application. Read Annex 4 for more information.
If your application meets the requirements of the WPFWP and your holding is in a priority area for WPFWP, your application score will be increased.
4.4.5 Addressing water and air quality issues, including run-off and soil erosion risk
Some grants can be used to help improve the quality of water and air on your farm, and in your local area.
These grants are particularly important if your land is in a Countryside Stewardship High or Medium Priority Area for Water or Air Quality. If it is, you may be able to get advice from Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) or apply for grants that are only available with CSF approval. You must contact CSF at least 10 weeks before you intend to submit your initial application. There is no guarantee that your request will be considered.
Read Section 4.8.1 for further information on CSF advice and approval.
You can apply for these grants in a 5 year agreement.
Air quality items are limited to £120,000 and Boundary items are limited to £50,000. Water capital items in a 5 year Mid Tier agreement are limited to £120,000 and subject to a value for money calculation.
If there is run-off and soil erosion risk identified on your Farm Environment Record (FER), consider whether any grants would resolve the problem and include them in your application.
Read Annex 5 for information on choosing water and air quality grants.
4.4.6 Priority habitats and species
Mid Tier includes some management options to support priority habitats and species. These options have specific eligibility criteria and must be endorsed by us. For more information, including a list of these management options, read Section 4.8.2. Other grants for priority habitats and species are available in the Higher Tier.
4.4.7 Organic conversion and management
Mid Tier provides 16 options that are only available to organic farmers and land managers. These include options for conversion to organic status (OR1 – OR5) and to continue to manage existing organic land (OT1 – OT6 and OP1 - OP5). Other scheme options and items can be included in the agreement if they are compatible with organic status.
To apply for the Organic Management options you must be registered with an Organic Control Body (OCB) for the period of the agreement. If the organic registration is not in place for the full agreement period, all organic payments will be recovered.
If you choose to apply for the Organic Conversion options, you must maintain your organic registration from the start of your organic conversion period through to the end of the agreement.
Conversion payments will normally be paid for up to 2 years, except for permanent crops such as fruit trees where a 3 year conversion period applies. It is possible to phase conversion, but all the land must be converted before the end of the Countryside Stewardship agreement.
To be eligible for the Organic Conversion options you must either:
- have completed a Conversion Plan, which must be approved and signed off by your OCB; or
- have completed a Viability Plan, for land which does not have a signed-off Conversion Plan at the time you apply. If you use a Viability Plan you must get an approved and signed-off Conversion Plan from your OCB before claiming any conversion option payments.
You must keep all evidence of organic certification and schedules as we may ask to see them.
Organic Conversion payments are not available on land where your business has previously been entered for, or received, any Organic Conversion payments under a previous scheme, such as Organic Entry Level Stewardship (OELS).
You must register in the Rural Payments service before you can request a Countryside Stewardship application pack or apply online, if you have not already done so. When you register you will receive a Customer Registration Number (CRN) and a Single Business Identifier (SBI). Agents applying for you must also register on the Rural Payments service – read Section 4.6.
4.5.1 Registering land parcels
You need to register all the agricultural land parcels on your holding which are 0.0100 hectares or larger, so they appear on your digital maps. You also need to register all the non-agricultural land parcels you intend to include in your Countryside Stewardship application with management options or capital items. This includes any buildings and farmyards on which you want to apply for options or capital items.
The total field size of every land parcel needs to be accounted for, including how different areas of the parcel are being used for different things, using the appropriate land use codes. Your land codes (use and cover) must be up to date to allow you to add your options correctly if you wish to apply for Mid Tier online.
Read the Countryside Stewardship mapping guidance for applicants to find out what to check on maps and how to update them for CS.
For example:
- options HS1 or HS8 for maintenance of weatherproof traditional farm buildings
- any capital works in the farm yard, such as those for water and air quality improvements.
You can check all the land parcels registered to your holding on your digital maps in the Rural Payments service.
- Go to: www.ruralpayments.service.gov.uk
- From the ‘Business overview’ screen, click ‘Land’ then ‘View land’.
- To view individual land parcel details select the land parcel you need. The ‘Parcel details’ screen shows you a digital map and details of the land parcel.
If you believe the map or any of the details are incorrect, you need to request a change to your digital map.
To request changes to your land information, you must complete an RLE1 and send it to us by email or post. You must send your completed form straight away. This will prevent significant delays in sending an agreement offer or the application being rejected.
Read more information about updating your land parcel records and how to check your digital maps on GOV.UK.
Find the Rural Payments service land use codes for BPS 2022 on GOV.UK.
You can authorise an agent to complete and submit your application for you. This also applies to payment claim forms for Agreement Holders.
For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.
Read ‘Give someone else permission to act on your behalf’ on GOV.UK for more information on the different levels of permission. You should also read the information in the Permission levels screen in the Rural Payments service. This lists what is permitted at each level.
You are responsible for ensuring that you assign permissions on Rural Payments correctly and that contact details are all correct.
If you are applying for Mid Tier Online:
- Sign into the Rural Payments service.
If you are requesting an application pack:
- Sign into the Rural Payments service.
- Check that your personal details include the email address you are currently using; we will send the application pack to your email address.
- If necessary, select the SBI you want an application pack for.
- From the Business Overview screen for the SBI, select ‘Countryside Stewardship’ and then ‘Applications’.
- Select the appropriate button to request your Mid Tier application pack (this may generate overnight in periods of high demand).
- You can download your application as soon as it has generated. We’ll also email a copy to the email address included in your personal details in the Rural Payments service.
If your parcel details change and you need to refresh the details in your pack or you wish to download your application pack directly, you can do this by opening the pack and selecting ‘generate’ or ‘download’.
If you do not have access to the internet, call us on 03000 200 301 to request a paper application pack.
If you have Scheduled Monuments or other historic features on your land, you will need a Historic Environment Farm Environmental Record (HEFER) that is less than 3 years old and covers all the land in your application. Read the HEFER guidance letter included in your application pack to find out how to register and request the HEFER through the HEFER portal. It will take 20 working days to arrive from the date it is requested - read Section 4.10.2. (This does not apply to the Wildlife Offers - read Section 5.)
4.8.1 Advice and approval for water and air quality grants
If you are a farmer or land manager applying for the multi-year management options and water and air capital items listed in Annex 5, you must get the support and approval of Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF). For information about how to find contact details, read Annex 8.
These multi-year management options and water and air capital items are only available if they address particular pollutants that affect the catchment, for example, sediment or pesticides.
If you would like support, you must email the completed form to request support and approval from CSF at least 10 weeks before you intend to submit your application. If you don’t allow at least 10 weeks for CSF to review your request, your request will not be considered. Please note that CSF will only assess a Countryside Stewardship application if it addresses recommendations previously made by, or on behalf of, CSF.
To receive support and approval from CSF, the options and capital items applied for must address the priority water or air pollutants identified as affecting that particular catchment or area. You will need to demonstrate clearly how the pollutants are currently impacting on the catchment. In the case of air, you will need to clearly identify the source of the ammonia emissions. You must also demonstrate clearly how the work you will undertake will address the pollution.
CSF support and approval will be prioritised on those farms where the greatest improvements in water and/or air quality and flood risk mitigation are most likely to be achieved.
The CSF approval is a requirement for the inclusion of a number of high risk options and capital items. This approval does not guarantee the particular option or capital item will be included in any Agreement offer. Evidence of approval from CSF must be submitted with your application.
4.8.2 Approval for management options for priority habitats and species
Mid Tier provides some management options to support priority habitats and species. These are listed below. Other grants for priority habitats and species are available in the Higher Tier.
Phone us on 03000 200 301 to request approval (except for UP2 and SP9). The deadline to do this is 27 May 2022.
| Code | Option title |
|---|---|
| BE4 | Management of traditional orchards |
| BE7 | Supplement for restorative pruning of fruit trees |
| GS6 | Management of species-rich grassland |
| GS9 | Management of wet grassland for breeding waders |
| GS10 | Management of wet grassland for wintering waders and wildfowl |
| SP9 | Threatened species supplement (only for corn bunting, brown hairstreak butterfly, stone curlew and turtle dove) |
| SW17 | Raised water levels on cropped or arable on peat soils |
| SW18 | Raised water levels on grassland on peat soils |
| UP2 | Management of rough grazing for birds |
| WD4 | Management of lowland wood pasture and parkland |
| WD10 | Management of upland wood pasture and parkland |
| WT3 | Management of ditches of high environmental value |
You can only include these management options in your Mid Tier application:
- if they meet the criteria in the table below; and
- you have written approval.
First, check that your land meets the eligibility criteria of the management option using the table below. You can do this using the data layers on the MAGIC website.
Natural England (NE) manages the Priority Habitats Inventory (PHI). If you have parcels that you think should be on the PHI as certain priority habitat types which are not shown as such on MAGIC, contact NE by emailing habitatinventories@naturalengland.org.uk. NE can provide details of the evidence required to support requested changes to the PHI along with a licence for the applicant to sign to permit NE to use the evidence supplied. Requests will be reviewed, and changes made if the evidence validates the request. You must send requests and supporting evidence by 28 February so that the request can be reviewed and the data layer changed (if appropriate) in time for Mid Tier applications.
This table shows the Initial Eligibility Requirements of Mid Tier options that need endorsement.
| Option | Data Layer on Magic Priority Habitat Inventory | Eligibility Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| BE4 and BE7 | Priority Habitat Inventory: - Traditional orchards |
Parcel to be mapped as priority habitat BE7 can only be included with BE4 |
| GS6 | Priority Habitat Inventory: - Lowland Calcareous Grassland - Lowland Dry Acid Grassland - Lowland Meadows; - Upland Hay Meadow - Purple Moor-grass & Rush Pasture |
Parcel to be mapped as one of the 5 priority habitats |
| GS9, GS10 and WT3 | Priority Habitat Inventory - Coastal floodplain and grazing marsh - Lowland Meadows - Purple Moor & Grass Rush Pasture and for GS9: Priority Species for CS Targeting: - curlew - lapwing - redshank - snipe |
Parcel to be mapped as priority habitat and (for GS9) one of the 4 species must also be present WT3 can only be included with GS9 or GS10 |
| SP9 | Priority Species for CS Targeting: - Corn bunting - Brown hairstreak - Stone curlew - Turtle dove |
Application area to have corn bunting or stone curlew or turtle dove or brown hair streak (as relevant) present Can only be used with BE3 (brown hairstreak), AB10 (corn bunting), AB5 (stone curlew) or AB12 or OP3 (turtle dove) |
| UP2 | Upland breeding bird areas for CS | An eligibility checklist (UP2 checklist) must be filled in, kept and submitted on request. |
| WD4 | Priority Habitat Inventory: - Wood pasture and parkland BAP - Priority habitat |
Parcel to be mapped as priority habitat |
| WD10 | Priority Habitat Inventory: - Wood pasture and parkland BAP - Priority habitat |
Parcel to be mapped as priority habitat and inside less favoured areas (inside SDA) |
When you have checked this, contact us to arrange approval to use the management option(s). For all management options, except UP2 and SP9 for turtle dove or stone curlew, you must get this approval before you submit your application. For UP2, and SP9 for turtle dove or stone curlew, you do not need to request pre-application approval as this will happen when your application is processed. Read the option details on ‘Countryside Stewardship grants’ (known as the ‘grant finder’) on GOV.UK for further information.
Eligible parcels may need a site visit for final approval. If you have a site visit, you will receive a form from us, which you should keep as evidence of approval to be provided on request. Without approval you cannot include these options in your application. This approval does not guarantee that the option will be in the Agreement offer and it does not guarantee an Agreement offer.
The eligibility criteria for peatland options SW17 and SW18 do not appear on MAGIC. If you wish to apply for these options, contact Natural England using the contact details in Annex 8.
4.8.3 Advice from a Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund Coordinated Group
Applications confirmed as being part of a coordinated Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund Group will receive additional points at scoring. Contact your facilitator early to make sure that your application fits with the overall objectives of the group. You must keep evidence of endorsement from the Countryside Stewardship Facilitation Fund coordinator.
4.8.4 Approval for management of lowland peat soils
Mid Tier now includes management options for lowland peat soils, as listed below.
- SW17: Raised water level on cropped or arable land on peat soils
- SW18: Raised water level on grassland on peat soils
You can only include these management options in your Mid Tier application on land designated as lowland peat soils. If you believe your land meets these criteria, you must seek written approval from the Natural England Peatland team. Without approval you can’t include these options in your application. This approval does not guarantee that the option will be in the Agreement offer and it does not guarantee an Agreement offer.
To request approval contact Natural England using the details in Annex 8.
You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permissions, exemptions and written advice needed for your application. You will not be paid for any work undertaken without all the necessary consents and permissions being in place before you begin any work.
In some cases, you will not be offered an agreement if these are not in place.
You can find guidance in this section and in the evidence requirements section of each grant description (in the Options & Capital Items Manual). You can also use ‘Countryside Stewardship grants’ (known as the ‘grant finder’) on GOV.UK.
To make sure you submit a valid application:
- identify the consents and permissions you need as soon as you start your application. This will depend on any designations attached to your land and on the options and capital items that you choose to include in your application
- contact the relevant organisations shown in the guidance for advice and consents, where required
- provide us with the evidence needed to support your application.
You may be unaware of some of the consents and permissions you need until after you have received advice. You should contact the relevant organisations for advice and gain consent or permission.
4.9.1 Consents
Examples of the kinds of permissions and consents you may need are explained below.
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
If your Mid Tier application includes SSSI land, you will need to request any necessary SSSI consents from Natural England. Your agreement cannot start without SSSI consent. You can request SSSI consent when you receive your agreement offer. You must send a copy of the agreement offer, along with a Notice form, to Natural England. You can download the form ‘Notice of proposal to cause, carry out or permit an operation requiring Natural England’s consent on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)’ from GOV.UK.
You can email the copy of the offer and the completed Notice form to Natural England at: ProtectedSites@naturalengland.org.uk. If you are unable to email them then you can post them to:
Natural England,
County Hall,
Spetchley Road,
Worcester
WR5 2NP.
Natural England can also advise on managing the SSSI land through Countryside Stewardship. Contact Natural England as early as possible to discuss this.
Holdings which include SSSI land are not eligible for the 4 Wildlife Offers – read Section 5. Holdings which include one or more Scheduled Monuments are eligible for the 4 Wildlife Offers.
Scheduled Monuments (SMs)
If you have an SM on your holding, the HEFER will give you management recommendations from Historic England. This will include advice on how to maintain or bring the SM into favourable condition and protect the feature of historic interest. You will not receive a HEFER for the Wildlife Offers but you still need to manage the SM on your holding.
Some work may need SM consent from the government (advised by Historic England). For example, soil sampling, fencing, gateways and water supplies.
If you have an SM you must:
- contact Historic England for further information and to find out whether you need Scheduled Monument consent (SMC)
- include an appropriate option in your application.
If the SM has been classed as ‘essential’ by Historic England, you must include options to achieve the specified outcome. You must not choose options that are damaging to HEFER features.
You can get advice on whether you can do the work so that it avoids a negative impact on the SM. Historic England can also advise whether proposed works are acceptable in relation to:
- listed buildings
- registered parks and gardens
- registered battlefields.
SBIs including one or more Scheduled Monuments are eligible for the Wildlife Offers.
Protected Species
You may need a wildlife licence, which you should keep for evidence, if any activities in your application may affect protected species. You can read more information at Managing wildlife on your land on GOV.UK and Section 3.1.7.
Work affecting water
You may need consent from the Environment Agency (EA), Internal Drainage Board or Local Authority for management that will affect any watercourses.
This includes work:
- to a watercourse
- within 8m of a watercourse
- within the flood or coastal plain (for example, excavation work for a pond). (You do not need consent to establish arable margins.)
You do not need to provide evidence of consent or evidence that such consent is not needed with your application. If required, you will need to have consent in place before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this evidence with your payment claim.
If you need any of the following consents, you will need to arrange this well in advance of the application deadline because it can take up to 2 months:
- land drainage consent
- discharge consent
- an abstraction licence.
You will need consent from EA for any works associated with the following:
- pesticide treatment
- water extraction
- storage of slurry, silage or fuel oil.
Roofing over cattle handling areas or loafing areas does not require EA consent.
You can find contact details for your local Environment Agency office on GOV.UK.
If your land has significant erosion problems, or is causing pollution, you need to resolve this before you can be considered for an agreement. This is particularly important in sensitive river catchments.
Tree planting
Tree planting for air quality must be planned to ensure there is no harmful effect on priority habitats and species, or historic environment or geodiversity features (read section 4.9.3 and 4.10) and will need approval of CSF. Any applications including tree planting must follow the Environmental Impact Assessments Regulations for Forestry and you must consult the UK Forestry Standard for good practice for creating woodlands. Any match-funding with other sources of tree planting/woodland creation grant funding should follow the rules for Exchequer funding.
Work on trees and hedges
You may need permission for work on trees that are under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). If this applies to you, contact your Local Authority or National Park Authority. Read more information on Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas on GOV.UK.
You may need a Forestry Commission Felling Licence to remove trees or manage hedges. This applies whether they are in woodland or not.
You can fell up to 5m3 and sell up to 2m3 of timber without a felling licence each calendar quarter. If you plan to fell or sell more, you must get a felling licence before your agreement offer can be issued. Read more information about tree felling licences on GOV.UK.
You do not need to provide evidence of any TPO permission or a felling licence with your application. If required, you will need to have the consent before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this when you make a claim for this work.
Listed buildings
If you are proposing work to any listed building(s), you must discuss this with your Local Authority or National Park Authority. They will advise whether you need Listed Building consent.
Conservation Areas
If any part of your holding is in a conservation area, you must contact the Local Planning Authority or National Park Authority. This is particularly important if you intend to work on trees, buildings, boundaries or other structures.
Work affecting Public Rights of Way
If you intend to erect a new fence or other boundary that crosses a public right of way, you need to get authorisation from the local Highways Authority.
4.9.2 Permissions
Planning permission or General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) consent
It is your responsibility to find out whether planning permission for certain work is required. Your local Planning Authority or National Park Authority can give you informal advice on whether a proposal needs planning permission or GPDO consent.
Most routine agricultural operations do not need planning permission because:
- they are not regarded as ‘development’ under planning legislation, or
- they are ‘permitted development’ that is ‘reasonably necessary’ for agriculture.
Other operations may need GPDO consent. For example, creation of ponds, tracks or roofing capital items.
For general guidance on planning (not farm-specific) read Planning practice guidance and/or plain English guide to the planning system on GOV.UK.
You do not need to provide evidence of planning permission or GPDO consent, or evidence that such permission is not needed, with your application. If required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.
4.9.3 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations
Agriculture
These regulations protect environmentally significant areas, which are mainly uncultivated land and semi-natural areas, from damage by activities which increase the land’s agricultural productivity.
For more information, read Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) regulations: apply to make changes to rural land on GOV.UK.
A semi-natural area will need a screening decision before activity starts, whether the land is uncultivated or not.
If activities or works which increase the productivity of uncultivated or semi-natural land form part of a proposed Countryside Stewardship application, you must contact Natural England for further advice. Contact the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) helpline on 0800 028 2140.
Particular consideration should be taken where land has been in schemes for over 15 years that has created habitat. This may now be considered as semi-natural under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) Regulations on GOV.UK and will need a screening decision before starting any work that may improve the land’s agricultural productivity.
Also, if land has been reverted to grassland for a period of time and holds historic environment features, it will need a screening decision where those features are regionally significant or more, and you wish to convert those grasslands to arable.
Forestry
For any tree planting greater than 0.5ha, you need to check if an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required. These formal processes are written into the EIA regulations - read the overview guidance for general information on EIAs. If your forestry project is for afforestation, small scale in nature and/or located within a low risk area you may simply be able to notify the Forestry Commission of your proposal, using the EIA enquiry form, in order to get their decision. Check the afforestation thresholds table to see if you’re eligible for this process, and which notification procedure would apply.
You must complete a Farm Environment Record (FER) map for all Mid Tier applications.
If you are applying for Mid Tier Online, you will be able to download the FER when completing your application. If you are applying for Mid Tier with an application pack, the FER will be included in your pack.
4.10.1 Farm Environment Record (FER)
The FER does not need to cover the whole holding but must include:
- any parcels on which you apply for (rotational or non-rotational) options or capital items
- any SSSI or Scheduled Monuments even if options or capital items are not proposed on them.
Features mapped in the FER must be kept and protected from damage or removal for the duration of your agreement.
If you are applying for Mid Tier online, you will be able to download the FER when completing your application.
If you are applying for Mid Tier with an application pack, read the guidance in your application pack about how to complete the FER.
4.10.2 Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER)
If you have any Scheduled Monuments (SMs) or other historic features on your land, you will need to request a Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
If you apply for Mid Tier online, you will be able to download a HEFER guidance letter which will guide you through the process of requesting and downloading the HEFER. If you request a Mid Tier application pack, the HEFER guidance letter will be included in the pack.
The HEFER will be available 20 working days from the date it is requested. If you do not receive the HEFER, you can search on the HEFER portal for it.
You should receive an email to tell you that the HEFER response is available. You must follow the link in the email to download the HEFER response. The HEFER portal includes information about the Selected Heritage Inventory for Natural England (SHINE). If you do not have an email address you can ask us to send your HEFER by post.
If you have any Scheduled Monuments (SMs) read Section 4.9.1.
The HEFER will give you free information about the historic environment on your land. You should use this information to help you choose appropriate options and capital items. You must add the information to your FER.
If you have a HEFER produced within 3 years of the date on which your agreement would start, you can use this for your application. The HEFER must cover all land parcels in your application. If the existing HEFER does not cover all of your land we will request an additional HEFER to cover the missing land parcels. If you are aware of any historic features not shown in your HEFER(s) please contact us.
You must keep evidence to show that you, the business, land and grants are eligible, and have it available on request as we may ask to see it.
4.11.1 Identify the evidence and supporting documents you need
You must retain any other evidence (such as photographs) set out under the management options and capital items. Read more information at ‘Countryside Stewardship grants’ (known as the ‘grant finder’) on GOV.UK and have it available on request as we may ask to see it in support of your application.
You must check what supporting documents are required for each option and capital item. Your application form and the guidance received with it should also help you to identify any supporting information you need to submit.
4.11.2 Business viability test
We will check all applicants against an insolvency register. If we assess your application as not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.
For applications including capital expenditure of over £50,000 in total, you must submit a statement from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered accountant or certified accountant). This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to undertake the work in the proposed agreement schedule.
Where confirmation from an accountant is needed, the accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms at least the following:
- they are a registered accountant
- they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
- they can confirm that you as the applicant have sufficient finances to complete the capital works in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings, loan etc)
- their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application.
If your application includes more than £500,000 of capital items, we will also review 3 years of your relevant business accounts or other evidence. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the agreement requirements.
If you are applying for Mid Tier online, read the How to apply online for Mid Tier guidance to find out how to submit your application and return any supporting documents.
If you are applying for Mid Tier with an application pack, read the guidance included with your application pack. This will tell you how to submit your application form and any supporting documents.
You must request, complete and submit your application within the published deadlines. You must allow enough time to arrange any consents or permissions needed.
If you are applying for Mid Tier Online, you can withdraw your application at any point during the online process. This will allow you to open a new online application if you wish, as long as the application window remains open.
If you are applying for Mid Tier using an application pack, you can withdraw a submitted application in writing at any time before you are offered an agreement or your application is rejected. If there is time, you can resubmit another application to replace it.
Once an agreement offer has been made, you can’t withdraw your application, but you can reject the agreement offer if you wish to.
After the closing date, you can ask to remove options or items from your application, but you cannot add or amend them.
Step 1. If you haven’t applied through Mid Tier Online, we upload your application into the Rural Payments service
Step 2. Applications assessed and successful applicants offered an agreement
- We will check each application for eligibility.
- We will score each application as in Annex 3, except for applications that only include organic conversion and management options.
- We will tell you if your application has been successful or not.
- If your application is rejected, we will give you the reason.
Step 3. Receiving and accepting an agreement offer
- If your application is successful we will make you an agreement offer.
- A declaration will be enclosed. You must sign and return this by post by the date requested, to accept the offer. If you do not meet the deadline, the offer will be withdrawn.
- If there is SSSI land in your agreement offer, you must email a copy of the offer, along with a Notice form, to ProtectedSites@naturalengland.org.uk to request SSSI consent. You can download the ‘Notice of proposal to cause, carry out or permit an operation requiring Natural England’s consent on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)’ form from GOV.UK. Your offer will be withdrawn if you do not secure consent from Natural England.
If you cannot send the documents by email, post them to:
Natural England,
County Hall,
Spetchley Road,
Worcester
WR5 2NP.
Step 4. Agreement starts
We will let you know when we receive your declaration and confirm that your agreement will start on 1 January 2023.
All Mid Tier applications we receive by 29 July will be checked, scored and ranked against the available budget. Applications are scored as described in Annex 3, except for applications that only include organic conversion and management options. Applications for Wildlife Offers will not be scored and ranked because they are not competitive.
You cannot add options and capital items to a submitted application. You can request that grants are removed before the application deadline, but the application will be scored again.
If you are successful, we will make you an agreement offer which cannot be amended. If you want to accept the agreement offer you must return the signed acceptance declaration by the date requested. If you do not accept your offer in time, it will be withdrawn. Accepted Mid Tier agreements, including Wildlife Offers, start on 1 January 2023.
For capital items, you should not undertake work or incur costs for capital items before you have accepted your agreement offer, even if these form part of your agreement.
If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know why it was rejected. You will then have the right to appeal to us, as set out in Section 7.12.
An application may be rejected at any stage if it:
- does not meet eligibility criteria
- does not score highly enough to meet the minimum threshold (excludes the Wildlife Offers)
- does not score highly enough to be prioritised against the available budget (excludes the Wildlife Offers)
- is likely to cause harm to the environment
- is incomplete; for example, you have not provided all the required supporting evidence.