Support will be offered to farmers in England for locally-targeted actions which make space for nature, such as creating wildlife habitat, planting trees or restoring peat and wetland areas.

The Local Nature Recovery Scheme is described by Defra as the ‘improved and more ambitious successor’ to the Countryside Stewardship scheme in England. It will pay farmers for locally-targeted actions to make space for nature in the farmed landscape and the wider countryside, alongside food production.

The scheme will support actions at a local level and working together to tackle issues such as water pollution by reducing run-off, mitigating flood risk by installing flood reservoirs, restoring peat or wetland areas, and adding trees and hedgerows to fields.

Over the next year, before Defra starts rolling out the scheme, it will finalise and publish the scheme rules, the list of options and how much it will pay for them, and arrangements to support local collaboration as soon as possible – to allow applicants to plan their participation in the scheme.

Local Nature Recovery will be open to farmers, foresters and other land managers in England who can deliver the land management activities the scheme pays for on their land. As 70% of land in England is farmed, Defra expects agricultural land to make up the majority of Local Nature Recovery agreements.

Defra plans to make an early version of the scheme available to a limited number of people in 2023 as part of its plans for testing and rolling out the scheme. The scheme will then be rolled out across the whole country by the end of 2024.

How To Apply

Defra plans to make an early version of the scheme available to a limited number of people in 2023 as part of its plans for testing and rolling out the scheme. The scheme will then be rolled out across the whole country by the end of 2024.

Details of how to apply will be provided when available. Keep an eye on the Local Nature Recovery Scheme web page for more information.

Addresses and contacts

For further information on how to obtain this grant locally, please contact the following:

1. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
   Nobel House
   17 Smith Square
   London
   SW1P 3JR