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Stewardship grants open for applications

Posted at February 1, 2016 | By : | Categories : News | Comments Off on Stewardship grants open for applications

England’s countryside is set to benefit from further protection as the application round opens for hedgerows and boundaries capital grants. The scheme offers up to £5,000 for farmers who want to restore boundary features, such as hedges and stone walls, to protect their local wildlife or landscape.

The Forestry Commission’s woodland creation grant is also opening this month (16th February to 31st March 2016 for initial applications) and offers farmers and other land managers up to £6,800 per hectare to plant, weed, and protect young trees.

Farming Minister George Eustice welcomed the latest rounds, saying: “This Countryside Stewardship scheme has a crucial role to play in helping to restore habitats so we can see a recovery in wildlife populations like farmland birds and pollinators, while creating larger woodlands will also help reduce flood risk.

Through our 25-year Environment Plan we will be looking at delivering benefits across wider landscapes and whole water catchment areas by bringing together Countryside Stewardship, flood protection and other environmental spending.”

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