UP3: Management of moorland - GOV.UK
Contents
- How much will be paid
- How long this option lasts
- Where to use this option
- Features that can be included in this option
- How this option will benefit the environment
- Requirements
- Keeping records
- Related options
- Advice and suggestions for how to carry out this option
- Contact organisations early
- Biodiversity
- Further information
How much will be paid
£55 per hectare (ha).
How long this option lasts
This option runs for 10 years, not the standard 5 years for the scheme.
Where to use this option
It is available for Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier on whole or part parcels, but only on parcels:
- above the Moorland Line
- that cross the Moorland Line
- that contribute to a single grazing unit above the Moorland Line
- that contain one or more moorland priority habitats or species
- above the stock-proof boundary of enclosed in-bye land that contain semi-natural moorland habitat vegetation (for example allotments, intakes or newtakes)
Features that can be included in this option
You can include the following features if they are part of the land, even if they are not eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS):
- bracken
- ditches
- dykes
- scrub including gorse bushes and briar
- scree, rock, outcrops or boulders
- streams less than 4m wide and that take up less than 1ha of the parcel
- ponds less than 1 ha of the parcel
- unsurfaced roads, tracks and paths
How this option will benefit the environment
It will:
- maintain and restore moorland priority habitats and ecosystem function
- maintain and restore species
- protect historic features
- strengthen landscape character
If successful there will be:
- improved condition of moorland habitats and associated species
- enhanced soil management
- reduced diffuse pollution
- improvements to water quality and flood risk management
- historic environmental features with no bare soil or poaching (trampling)
- stabilized and permanently re-vegetated areas that were previously eroded
- historic features unaffected by trees, bracken and scrub
- no animal burrows developing on historic features
Requirements
You will probably need to:
- only graze the land in accordance with the stocking calendar
- stick to the minimum and maximum stocking rates for each month and for different types of grazing animal
- manage vegetation by burning or cutting, using agreed practices
- prevent spread of bracken or scrub on historic or archaeological sites
- carry out a wildfire risk assessment
The agreement will set out what you cannot do. It’s likely you’ll not be allowed to:
- plough, harrow or roll
- cultivate or re-seed
- apply any fertilisers, manures or lime
- apply supplementary feed other than as prescribed
- use pesticides other than as prescribed
Keeping records
You must send the following with your application:
- a map of permitted access routes - you can mark these on any map, including your Farm Environment Record (FER)
On your annual claim you must declare that you have not carried out any activities prohibited by the option requirements.
You must keep the following records and supply them on request:
- copies of the Wildfire Risk Assessment and, where required, the Wildfire Response Plan (agreed with fire service) and Wildfire Management Plan - for guidance and example plans see the Uplands Management Group template or Forestry Commission’s guide
- records of all management activity on the option area for each parcel
- receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
- a stocking calendar approved by Natural England
- photographs of the extent of scrub and bracken on any historic and archaeological features on the site before works start
- a monthly record of stock numbers by parcel and stock type
- photographs of the extent of scrub and bracken on historic and archaeological features
The detailed requirements for this supplement will be tailored to the Higher Tier site. You should discuss and agree these requirements with your adviser.
You can locate the following options and supplements on the same area as this option:
Advice and suggestions for how to carry out this option
The following advice is helpful, but they are not requirements for this item.
Contact organisations early
Make sure you contact Natural England or other relevant organisations well in advance of making your application.
Biodiversity
This option has been identified as being beneficial for biodiversity. All Countryside Stewardship habitat creation, restoration and management options are of great significance for biodiversity recovery, as are the wide range of arable options in the scheme. Capital items and supplements can support this habitat work depending on the holding’s situation and potential.
The connectivity of habitats is also very important and habitat options should be linked wherever possible. Better connectivity will allow wildlife to move/colonise freely to access water, food, shelter and breeding habitat, and will allow natural communities of both animals and plants to adapt in response to environmental and climate change.
Further information
Read about the regulations on burning heather and grass.
Read Countryside Stewardship: get funding to protect and improve the land you manage to find out more information about Higher Tier including how to apply.
Published 2 April 2015
Last updated 8 February 2022 + show all updates
- 8 February 2022
New payment rate from 1 January 2022.
- 28 April 2020
The Keeping records section has been updated
- 8 March 2019
Updated keeping records section for evidence required with claim.
- 8 March 2017
Updated for 2017 applications.
- 29 March 2016
Updated information for applications in 2016.
- 2 April 2015
First published.