Applicant's guide: Capital Grants 2026

Applies to England

Read the applicant’s guide to understand the eligibility criteria, the information you need to prepare and how to apply.

When you receive an agreement, read the agreement holder’s guide to understand how to manage your agreement.

1. About Capital Grants 2026

These grants are standalone Capital Grants which can be used on their own, or to support and complement:

• Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements
• Countryside Stewardship (CS) Higher Tier (last agreements issued 1 January 2024)
• CS Mid Tier and Wildlife Offers (last agreements issued 1 January 2024)
• CS Higher Tier (CSHT) agreements starting from 2025
• Environmental Stewardship (ES) Higher Level Stewardship agreements

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will accept one eligible Capital Grants application submitted in a calendar year for each Single Business Identifier (SBI) that you manage. Any further applications submitted under the same SBI will be rejected.

You can also apply for other capital grants at any time of the year.

This round of the Capital Grants offer will close for applications when the available funding is allocated. Once the scheme opens, we’ll share updates on The Farming Blog, you can subscribe for updates when new posts are published. We will aim to give reasonable notice of the Capital Grants offer closure.

At the point of closure, we will not accept any further applications including those started but not yet submitted.

Funding is not guaranteed even if an application has been submitted and is eligible.

2. Check if you and your land are eligible

Capital Grants are open to land managers who are one of the following:

• an owner occupier
• a tenant
• a landlord
• a licensor if they have management control of the land and activities needed to meet the obligations of the grant for the full duration of the agreement

2.1 Land that is eligible

To be eligible for Capital Grants, land parcels must be entirely within England, and you must have management control of the relevant parcels as set out in section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’.

The following land parcels may also be eligible:

• those included in any existing agreement, see section 2.4 ‘Land receiving other funding’
• those subject to an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) agreement (read section 2.4.3 ‘English Woodland Grant Schemes’ for some exceptions)
• those included in agreements for PA1: Implementation plan, PA2: Feasibility study, PA3: Woodland management plan, PA4: Agroforestry plan, PA5 Moorland mapping, PA7: Species management plan, or a Woodland tree health grant (if all other eligibility criteria are met)
• those on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) or scheduled monument, including their boundaries
• non-agricultural land parcels where the eligibility of the capital item allows its use on that area (for example farmyards)

2.2 Land that is not eligible

The following land is not eligible for Capital Grants:

• land parcels containing common land or shared grazing rights
• land that is included in certain other schemes or under obligation (read section 2.4 ‘Land receiving other funding’)
• developed land and hard standing (including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage)

2.3 Management control of land

You must have management control of the land in a Capital Grants agreement for 5 years from the start date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’). Management control of the land for 5 years is to cover the agreement and durability periods.

This includes control over:

• all activities needed to meet the grant payment
• keeping all capital items funded through this scheme in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement for the 5 years. This is known as the durability period
• using capital items only for the approved purpose during this period, for example you cannot use a roofing item to cover an area used to house livestock

If you do not meet these requirements, you must get the written consent of all other parties who have management control.

2.3.1 Tenants

If you occupy land under a tenancy, you must have:

• a tenancy agreement granting you management control for at least 3 years from the start of the Capital Grants agreement or the countersignature of your landlord (however, see the requirements for a rolling tenancy below)
• the agreement of your landlord before you apply
• a countersignature from your landlord if you do not have management control for 5 years (for the durability period) from the start of your agreement
• control of all the activities over the land to meet the scheme requirements for the chosen capital items

It is your responsibility to check when you apply for Capital Grants that you do not breach the terms of your tenancy agreement.

If your tenancy is renewed each year on a rolling basis, you must be certain your tenancy will extend to the length of your Capital Grants agreement, or you must have a countersignature from your landlord. You must check this with your landlord before you apply.

If the landlord takes over a Capital Grants agreement from you once your tenancy has ended, they must be eligible to do so. For example, they must not be an ineligible public body.

2.3.2 Landlords

If you are a landlord and can show that you have enough management control over the land and activities, you can apply for an agreement on land you have let to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the Capital Grants agreement. RPA may ask you to provide evidence to show that you have done this. It is your responsibility to make sure that your tenant does not breach the terms of the agreement.

2.3.3 Partnerships

If you are in a business partnership, you can apply for Capital Grants. The person signing the application must have the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service.

2.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a Capital Grants agreement. It is your responsibility to make sure that the licensee does not breach the terms of the agreement.

You must make sure that the licensee is aware of the requirements of the agreement, as relevant to the licence, and include these in the licence agreement.

2.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for Capital Grants as a licence arrangement will not provide sufficient management control of the land to the licensee for the agreement period.

If in practice your licence agreement gives you wider land management responsibilities, this may mean you are a tenant and therefore may be eligible for Capital Grants. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’ for more information.

2.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for Capital Grants provided the work does not form part of their obligations as a public body.

This includes land owned by:

• local authorities
• national park authorities
• public corporations

Parish councils and former college farms are not considered to be public bodies and so are eligible to apply for Capital Grants.

Land is not eligible if it is owned or managed by:

• Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
• non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

See a list of all government departments, agencies and public bodies on GOV.UK.

2.3.7 Tenants of land owned by public bodies

If you are a tenant of a public body, you will need to check if the land is eligible for Capital Grants with your landlord. If it is, you must get the public body to countersign your application if you do not have a tenancy agreement for 5 years to cover the agreement and durability periods.

If you do have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a Capital Grants agreement and durability period, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 2.3.1 ‘Tenants’.

You cannot apply for Capital Grants for any work that is a requirement of your tenancy or any other legally binding obligation.

2.4 Land receiving other funding

You cannot use Capital Grants to pay for any environmental management for which you are already receiving:

• payment from Exchequer funds
• grant aid from any other public body

You cannot use a Capital Grants agreement to fund capital works that you:

• are required to carry out under other legally binding obligations
• are currently receiving funding from other sources
• have received funding for the same item on the same area in the last 5 years (except fencing where the exclusion period is 7 years)

You may be able to apply for a Capital Grants agreement in addition to an existing Environmental Land Management agreement, if you follow the rules set out in section 2.4.1 ‘Environmental Land Management schemes’ and, 2.4.2 ‘Other Capital Grants agreements’.

RPA will carry out checks to make sure that capital works are not funded twice from public money.

You must make sure that any work proposed for this grant does not breach the conditions of any other agreement.

2.4.1 Environmental Land Management schemes

Land parcels in a Higher Level Stewardship, SFI, Landscape Recovery or Wildlife Offer agreement may be eligible for a Capital Grants agreement providing:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants agreement are compatible
• there is sufficient space in the parcel

Land in a Countryside Stewardship agreement, including CS Mid Tier, Higher Tier, and CSHT agreements may be eligible if:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants agreement are compatible
• you have completed and been paid for all capital works in any land parcel included in your Capital Grants application
• there is sufficient space in the parcel

These conditions also apply to land in another capital grant agreement if that agreement is from one of these offers:

• Higher Tier Capital Grants
• Protection and Infrastructure grant
• Woodland Tree Health
• Capital grants plans
• PA3: Woodland management plan

2.4.2 Other Capital Grants agreements

You can include the same land parcels in a new Capital Grants agreement as an existing Capital Grants agreement if:

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new Capital Grants application are compatible
• any capital works on the same land parcel are complete, and you have received your final payment
• you are not submitting more than one application in a calendar year for each SBI that you manage

You can apply for a Capital Grants agreement on land parcels that are not in your existing agreement if the new capital works do not conflict with that agreement.

2.4.3 English Woodland Grant Schemes

You can apply for a Capital Grants agreement on land parcels covered by an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) capital grant if both of the following apply:

• this does not result in you being paid twice for the same items or activities
• the Capital Grants do not conflict with any ongoing capital EWGS requirements

You cannot apply for Capital Grants on land parcels covered by a multi-annual EWGS agreement, England Woodland Creation Offer, EWGS Farm Woodland Payment, Farm Woodland Premium Scheme or Farm Woodland Scheme.

2.4.4 Inheritance Tax or Capital Gains Tax exemption

Land that’s conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax (or the object of a maintenance fund) may not be eligible for capital items if they:

• are not compatible with the exemption
• duplicate an activity within the exemption

Read ‘Eligible funding on land conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax’ for more information and to see which capital items are eligible or not.

3. Capital items you can apply for

There are 80 capital items available, you can find more information in section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’. The Capital grant finder gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

3.1 Capital Grant groups and funding limits

Items in the offer are divided between 6 groups:

• air quality items, for example slurry scrapers
• assessments items, for example a wildfire checklist
• boundaries, trees and orchards items, for example repairing stone walls
• improvements items, for example educational access visits
• natural flood management items, for example leaky woody dams
• water quality items, for example biofilters

There is a funding limit for 4 of the item groups.

Group	Funding limit
Air quality	£25,000 maximum
Boundaries, trees and orchards	£35,000 maximum
Natural flood management	£25,000 maximum
Water quality	£25,000 maximum

There is no funding limit for items in the assessment or improvement groups.

Supplementary items

You can apply for supplementary items for some capital items. Read section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’ to see if there is a supplementary item available with the capital item that you can apply for.

3.2 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use a Capital Grant to pay for:

• any capital works done (or materials purchased) before your agreement starts
• planning application fees or other transactional fees
• agent fees or other advisory fees
• meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions, environmental regulations and tenancy agreements
• any works on land parcels containing common land or shared grazing rights
• any works undertaken as part of another grant or obligation (read section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’)
• in-kind contributions (this means the value of donated work or services) or gifted materials where you have not incurred a cost for them

3.2.1 Other schemes or grants

Capital Grants cannot fund works that form part of:

• England’s Community Forests
• England Woodland Creation Offer
• Farming in Protected Landscapes
• Farming Investment Fund
• HS2 Woodland Fund
• Woodland Carbon Fund
• any other grant funded scheme

This is not an exhaustive list.

4. Evidence and supporting documents

You should prepare the evidence and supporting documentation required before applying.

You must send us all the evidence needed to support your application within 10 working days of submitting it.

You can check if capital items in your application need any additional evidence other than that below using the Capital grant finder.

The evidence you will need depends on your application but can include:

• a letter from an accountant confirming you have the financial resources to carry out the work under your agreement. See section 4.1 ‘Business viability’ for the details of when you need to do this and what you need to do
• Catchment Sensitive Farming support for any items in your application that need it. See section 4.2 ‘Catchment Sensitive Farming’ and Table 1 in Annex 2 for more information
• a map or maps showing where the capital works are to be carried out, see section 4.3 ‘Maps’
• a land ownership control form countersigned by your landlord if you are a tenant and you do not have a tenancy which lasts at least 5 years from when you apply, see section 2.3 ‘Management control of land’

In addition, some items may need further supporting evidence with your application. You can check each item using the Capital grant finder.

4.1 Business viability

RPA will check your business or SBI on the bankruptcy and insolvency register. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the capital expenditure required. If your application is not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.

4.1.1 Check you have sufficient funds

If you are offered an agreement, you’ll need to pay for capital items or works before you can claim back costs. Use the payment rate information in section 5.2 ‘Choosing capital items’ or the Capital grant finder to calculate the value of your application to make sure you have sufficient funds.

If the value of your capital application is estimated to be more than £50,000 in total, you must submit a statement from an accountant with your application’s supporting documents. This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to carry out the work in the proposed agreement.

The accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms:

• they are chartered or certified, or registered with a professional body such as ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) or CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants)
• they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
• 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 or loan)
• their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application

4.2 Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) support

Some capital items are only available with support from CSF following an advisory consultation to discuss your local environmental priorities. You’ll need support from CSF to apply for capital items listed in Table 1 of Annex 2.

CSF area teams are not currently able to prioritise any new requests for advisory visits but will be able to offer advisory visits later this year. Use the ‘CSF advice request form’ to ask for an advisory consultation. They will get in touch when they have capacity to help. In the meantime, you can register for one of their free events.

If you have received CSF support in the last 2 years for the relevant items, you can use this support when you apply.

RPA will remove from your application any relevant capital items which do not have CSF support.

Read Annex 2 to find out:

• which capital items require support
• which capital items help to improve water quality, air quality and natural flood management
• how to identify air or water priorities on your land

4.3 Maps

You must create and submit a map or maps to support your application. You can create your base map by printing your land parcel digital maps in the Rural Payments service.

You need to mark your maps to show the location of your capital items on your land parcels. It may help to complete the application and your maps alongside each other.

Read Annex 3 for more information on creating your supporting maps.

4.4 Check if you need consent to carry out capital works

You must check each capital item you are applying for on the Capital grant finder to see if any consents, permissions or permits are needed.

You will not be paid for any capital works without the necessary consents, permits and permissions being in place before you begin any work.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permits, permissions, exemptions, and written advice needed for your application.

In some cases, you will not be offered an agreement if these are not in place.

4.4.1 Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI)

You must get consent from Natural England if your application includes land on a SSSI.

4.4.2 Scheduled monuments

Your local Historic England officer can provide advice on any management or changes needed to maintain or bring the scheduled monument into favourable condition. You will also need Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for some of the chosen work (such as fencing and gateways).

In these situations, you must contact Historic England to see whether consent is needed, or for advice on how to go about works to avoid or reduce negative effects on the scheduled monument.

Historic England can advise if proposals affecting registered parks and gardens, or registered battlefields are likely to be accepted.

4.4.3 Planning consent

Your local planning authority can give you informal advice on whether a proposal needs planning consent. Read the guidance on planning permission for farms.

You must have any required permission or consent in place before you start any capital works. You will need to provide evidence when you make a claim. You do not need to provide this with your application.

4.4.4 Other consents

You may need to apply for other consents or licences if work affects:

• protected species (as defined by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)
• a watercourse or highway

If you have protected species on your land, you must meet the requirements for their protection before carrying out any activities. For more information, read Managing wildlife on your land. If you have consent for work that affects protected species, you may need to plan around seasonal activity. You should have consent in place before you start any activity.

If the work affects priority habitats (other than SSSIs), you should consider the effect on these even if you do not need consent. To find out more about how to avoid harming protected area and species read Construction near protected areas and wildlife.

4.4.5 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.

Find out when you may need a Forestry Commission tree felling licence.

You can fell up to 5 cubic metres (m³) 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.

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.

4.4.6 Applying for items that do not require capital works

Some items do not require capital works. They are:

• AC2: Countryside educational access visits accreditation – you can only apply for this item in the same application as VED1: Educational access visits.
• WF1: Create a wildfire checklist – this will cover all your holding. In your application apply for one unit against one land parcel. You do not need to add the details of all the land parcels in the checklist.
• VED1: Educational access visits – when you apply, the number of visits defaults to 75 (for a 3-year agreement). You do not need to carry out 75 visits during the agreement period. You need to include one land parcel in your application, but it does not need to be in an existing agreement to be eligible.

4.4.7 Waste permits

You may need an exemption or Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) waste permit from the Environment Agency to carry out certain activities. This applies to activities that produce, treat, dispose of, or use waste. This can include biobeds, biofilters, or sheep dips. You may need to contact your local Environment Agency office for advice.

4.4.8 Other considerations

When you carry out work under the agreement, you must not:

• break byelaws
• obstruct public rights of way
• block or restrict access to ‘open access’ land
• affect oil or gas pipelines

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.

5. How to apply

You should apply online for Capital Grants in the Rural Payments service.

You need to register or be registered in the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details to help you.

5.1 Check your land is registered

All land parcels listed in your application must also be registered in the Rural Payments service and have a parcel reference number (in the format AA1234 5678). Check the Rural Payments service to find out if your land parcels are registered and up to date.

5.1.1 Release a land parcel in an existing agreement

Make sure you claim for any completed works under an existing CS Mid Tier, Higher Tier or Capital Grant agreement.

If you have finished claiming for a capital item, confirm it is a final claim in the Rural Payments service. This will release the associated land parcel so you can include it in your application.

5.1.2 Authorise an agent if required

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you, and manage your agreement if you are offered one, including making claims for payment.

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.

You are responsible for ensuring that permissions assigned in the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

5.1.3 Apply online

To apply, sign into the Rural Payments service and select ‘View business’. From the ‘Business overview’ screen, select ‘Countryside Stewardship applications’.

Use the Countryside Stewardship application screens to apply online for Capital Grants.

The ‘Help’ link in the Rural Payments service tells you what to do on each screen.