Applicant's guide: Higher Tier Capital Grants 2026

Applies to England

1. Important dates

Higher Tier Capital Grants is open for applications all year from 5 January 2026.

2. About Higher Tier Capital Grants

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

Higher Tier Capital Grants offer 3-year agreements for capital items to a wide range of farmers and land managers. They provide additional environmental benefits without the need for a Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier agreement.

You can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement any time after applications open on 5 January 2026. You can also apply for other capital grants.

You need to discuss your application with a Natural England adviser before you submit it. They will help you to apply for the capital items best suited to your needs. Please email enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk and include ‘Standalone Higher Tier Capital Grants Query for Natural England’ in the email subject heading. A Natural England adviser will then call or email you.

If you are applying for woodland-only capital items, the Forestry Commission will assess your initial application. You should contact your local area office before you start your application. If your application passes the administrative checks, a Forestry Commission officer will then work with you to complete a final version.

Historic England advisers may contact you to provide advice if you are applying for item HE1: Historic and archaeological feature protection.

If your application is successful, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will offer you an agreement. If you accept the offer, you will enter into an agreement with the RPA.

Applications will stay open until the funding is allocated.

New agreements cannot contain parcels that already have capital works that are incomplete or have not received their final payment.

2.1 Grants that are available

This scheme offers specialist Higher Tier capital items to help support our most environmentally significant sites and woodlands.

2.2 Capital items available

There are 65 capital items – 18 actual cost items and 47 fixed cost items. You can find more information in section 5.1 and 5.2. The Capital grant finder gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

2.3 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use the grant to pay for:

• any capital works started (or materials purchased) before the agreement start date
• planning application fees or other transactional fees
• agent fees or other advisory fees
• meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions and tenancy agreements
• woodland creation for short rotation coppice or short rotation forestry
• 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. Who can apply and what land is eligible

Higher Tier Capital Grants are open to land managers who are:

• 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

3.1 Land that is eligible

To be eligible for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement, land parcels must be entirely within England, and you must have management control of the relevant parcels as set out in section 3.3.

The following land parcels may also be eligible:

• those included in a Forestry Commission approved woodland management plan or woodland creation plan
• those in a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) or with a scheduled monument, including the boundaries of these sites
• those already included in another CS agreement or in an ES Higher Level Stewardship agreement, if the same item is not being funded twice, there is sufficient space in the parcel, and the options or actions and items are compatible with each other
• common land and shared grazing governed by an existing common land, shared grazing and commons association, for more information read annex C of the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) applicant’s guide
• non-agricultural land parcels where the eligibility of the capital item allows its use on that area (for example farmyards)

3.2 Land that is not eligible

You cannot use Higher Tier Capital Grants on:

• developed land and hard standing, including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage
• land that is already included in certain other schemes or under obligation (read section 3.3.6 and 3.4)

3.3 Management control of land

Having management control means you’re the person actively farming the land and you’re either:

• the owner occupier
• a tenant
• in a group that farms on common land (including areas of shared grazing)

You must have management control of the land in an agreement for 5 years from the starting date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 3.3.1).

This includes:

• 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.

3.3.1 Tenants

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

• a tenancy agreement for at least 3 years from the start of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement (however, see the requirements in relation to 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 (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 Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement, or you must have a countersignature from your landlord. You must check this with your landlord before you apply.

If your landlord takes over a Higher Tier 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.

3.3.2 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 that has been let to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement. We 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.

3.3.3 Partnerships

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

3.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement on the land in a licence arrangement. 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.

3.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 3.3.1 for more information about Higher Tier Capital Grants for tenants.

3.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

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 (NDPB)

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

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier Capital Grants.

3.3.7 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 Higher Tier 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 the full term of a Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement.

If you do have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a Higher Tier Capital Grant agreement, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 3.3.1.

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

3.4 Land receiving other funding

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

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

You cannot use a Higher Tier 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 Higher Tier capital grants agreement in addition to an existing CS or ES agreement, if you follow the rules set out in section 3.4.1 (Environmental Land Management schemes).

We 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.

3.4.1 Environmental Land Management schemes

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

• the same capital works are not being funded twice
• the actions required in your existing agreement and your new 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 agreement are compatible
• there is sufficient space in the parcel
• any capital works on the same land parcel are complete, and you have received your final payment

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

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

3.4.2 English Woodland Schemes

You can apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants on land parcels covered by an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) Woodland Planning Grant and certain capital grants (for example, WD2: Woodland improvement grant), if both of the following apply:

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

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

3.4.3 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.

3.4.4 Other schemes or grants

Higher Tier 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. How to apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants

Find out how to apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants and the evidence and consents you’ll need.

4.1 Check you and your land are registered

To apply for Higher Tier Capital Grants you need to register or be registered on the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details at Rural Payments service to help you.

All land parcels listed on your application must 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.

If your land parcels are not registered, you must submit a rural land change request to register the land.

4.1.1 Authorise an agent

You can authorise an agent to fill in 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 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 permissions assigned on the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

4.2 Ways to apply

Submit your application to RPA by email or by post using the Higher Tier Capital Grants application form. Use the how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grant application by email or post to help you.

You must email Natural England enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk to discuss your Higher Tier Capital Grants application before you submit it. Natural England’s advisors will help you to apply for the capital items best suited to your needs.

Historic England advisers may contact applicants to provide advice on some Higher Tier Capital Grants applications for the Historic and archaeological feature protection (HE1) item. Where an application is made for HE1 and other items available through the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer, applicants may be contacted by advisers from Historic England as well as Natural England and/or the Forestry Commission.

The Forestry Commission assess woodland-only applications. If you pass the administration checks, your woodland officer will work with you to complete a final version.

4.3 Prepare a map to support your application

You must submit a map or maps in support of your application.

Use the how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grants application by email or post to help prepare your map.

4.4 Business viability test

RPA will check all applications against an insolvency register. If your application is not financially viable, they may not offer you an agreement.

If the value of your application is more than £50,000 in total, you must send a letter to the RPA from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered accountant or certified accountant). This is to confirm that the business or single business identifier (SBI) has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to carry out the work in the proposed agreement schedule.

The accountant must provide the letter on headed paper to confirm:

• they are chartered or certified, or registered with a professional body (such as ACCA, ICAEW, CIPFA or CIMA)
• they act as the accountant for you, the applicant, or have been contracted to act on your behalf
• you, the applicant, have sufficient funds to finance the plan or feasibility study identified in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings or loan)
• they understand the total value of the plan or study in the application

If the value of your application is more than £500,000, 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.

4.5 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 and permissions being in place before you begin any work.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, 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.

4.5.1 Planning consent

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

You do not need to provide evidence of whether planning permission or consent is needed with your application. However, if required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work, and you will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.

4.5.2 SSSIs

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

4.5.3 Scheduled monuments

Your local Historic England officer can provide advice on any management or changes needed to maintain or bring the 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 to get 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.

4.5.4 Other consents

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

• protected species (as defined by the Wildlife & 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.

It’s important you arrange the consents well in advance.

If the work affects priority habitats (which may not be SSSI), 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.

4.5.5 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 2 m³ 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.

4.5.6 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.

4.6 Submit your application and supporting documents

Submit your application by email or post. A complete application is made up of:

• an application form
• an application map
• a land ownership and control form, if applicable
• any other supporting documents we ask for such as an accountant’s letter (see section 4.4)

Use the guidance on how to complete your Higher Tier Capital Grant application by email or post to help you submit your application.

4.7 How we check your application

We will check that your application:

• meets the eligibility requirements
• is complete
• includes necessary evidence, annotated maps, photographs and any consents that need to be sent with the application as detailed on the Capital Grant finder

If your application is successful, we will send you an agreement offer letter.

If you want to accept the agreement offer you must sign and return the declaration by post within 30 calendar days. If you do not accept your offer in time, it will be withdrawn.

You can withdraw an application at any point after submission, prior to an agreement offer being made. Once an agreement offer has been made, you cannot withdraw your application, but you can reject your agreement offer.

You can find more information about entering into an agreement at section 6.1 of the Higher Tier Capital Grants agreement holder’s guide.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will let you know why we rejected it. You will have the right to appeal, as set out in section 7.10 of the agreement holder’s guide.

5. Choosing capital items

This scheme offers a selection of specialist Higher Tier capital items to help support our most environmentally significant sites and woodlands.

There are 65 capital items – 18 actual cost items and 47 fixed cost items.

Use the Capital grant finder to read a description and requirements for each capital item. This includes eligibility and evidence requirements.

For an actual cost item, you will need to ask suppliers for quotations. We will then pay you either the full amount or a proportion of that. For fixed cost items, we pay a specific rate to help support the cost of each item. More details are provided in sections 5.1 to 5.3.

5.1 Actual cost capital items

You need a minimum of 3 quotations in writing for actual cost capital items. You must submit these quotations with your application.

In exceptional circumstances where the work is specialised, RPA may accept fewer than 3 quotations. This must be agreed in writing before you apply for an agreement.

A Natural England adviser, Historic England adviser or Forestry Commission officer (depending on the type of application) will discuss the contribution towards the costs of the work with you and will confirm this in writing. They will tailor each capital item to the requirements of the feature. For woodland only applications the Forestry Commission will discuss the specifications which may include:

• technical design drawings to illustrate the extent of the work or schedule of works to provide an itemised list of the component parts and process for implementation
• the standard of work you must meet in each

5.2 Actual cost items

Code	Capital item name	Capital item percentage of cost
AC1	Access capital items	Up to 100% of actual costs
FM1	Management of geodiversity features	Up to 100% of actual costs
FM2	Carry out customised capital works to manage specific sites or species	Up to 100% of actual costs
FY4	Create 2-zone rides in woodland	Up to 40% of actual costs
FY5	Create 3-zone rides in woodland	Up to 40% of actual costs
FY6	Restore coppicing in woodland	Up to 80% of actual costs
HE1	Historic and archaeological feature protection	Up to 100% of actual costs
LV2	Livestock handling facilities	Up to 80% of costs
RP8	Constructed wetlands for the treatment of pollution	50% of costs
SB2	Scrub control difficult sites	Up to 80% of costs

(Note: The table may continue beyond the rows shown; only the rows present in the source are included.)

5.3 Fixed cost items

*Details of fixed cost items are provided in the original source but are not included in the extracted snippet.