CCT4: Create intertidal and saline habitat on arable land

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

20 years

How much you’ll be paid

£812 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to create intertidal and saline habitats and small-scale saline lagoons on arable land. This includes the transition area between saltmarsh and neighbouring habitats.

The purpose of this is to:

• let saline water enter the area by creating any necessary breaches to the sea wall, blocking drainage, or allowing inundation during high spring tides
• benefit plants and animals that occur in brackish and saline conditions
• contribute to more sustainable flood management
• allow intertidal and saline habitats to naturally adapt to the impacts of climate change
• enhance the coastal landscape

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land that:

• is next to saltmarsh or other intertidal habitats
• lies behind or near to a coastal defence
• is mostly at or below spring tide high water level
• is located below the moorland line

You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study agreed with Natural England.

You cannot do this action if the planned creation of intertidal and saline habitat is subject to:

• a compensation or planning consent condition
• another Habitat Regulations requirement

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

• an eligible land type
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration, but there’s some flexibility due to natural coastal changes.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:

• allow coastal and natural hydrological processes to function freely without obstruction
• monitor changes from natural events, such as after storms or high spring tides
• regularly remove tidal deposits of litter, such as plastics or other artificial waste
• only carry out excavation or construction work (as agreed with Natural England)
• only carry out works to sea defences or water inlet and outlet systems (as agreed with Natural England)
• only allow vehicular access on routes agreed with Natural England
• protect and minimise disturbance to archaeological or historic features

You must not:

• apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
• apply any fertilisers or manures
• carry out drainage works or modify existing drainage, including creeks, without written permission from your Natural England adviser
• use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless it’s during periods of extreme weather
• create bare ground on, or disturb, historic or archaeological features
• introduce grazing on intertidal, saline or transitional areas, unless agreed
• locate access routes, feeders or troughs on or within 6m of historic and archaeological features

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration, particularly after storm events, high tides and the spring or autumn equinox.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

• CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
• SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
• SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
• CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:

• to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
• Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
• consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
• to get necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work

You may also need to:

• get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
• apply for a felling licence from the Forestry Commission to carry out some activities in this action
• get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Choosing a site

You can do this action on land parcels where intertidal and saline habitats (such as saltmarsh) will form following manual removal or breaching of defences such as flood embankments fronting arable land.

To make sure transitional areas are included in the planned intervention agreement area, the boundary of the agreement would normally extend to Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) plus 1 metre. This will allow for the transitional zone to develop, including rare transitions from saline to brackish and then freshwater habitats. You need to identify areas where this will likely occur in the initial planning stages before completing your agreement.

Managing your site

How you manage your site will depend on the habitats you expect to develop and your feasibility study. You may need to change the way you manage your site during your agreement.

You may not need to manage vegetation while the habitat is establishing. Once established, some grazing or cutting may be needed to maintain diversity of the sward. [CSHT]: Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier  [ha]: hectare  [RPA]: Rural Payments Agency  [SFI]: Sustainable Farming Incentive  [CS]: Countryside Stewardship  [ES]: Environmental Stewardship  [SSSI]: Site of Special Scientific Interest  [LLFA]: Lead Local Flood Authority  [IDB]: Internal Drainage Board  [HEFER]: Historic Environment Farm Environment Record