The Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme, delivered by the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service on behalf of Defra, will enter its final year of delivery in April this year. Developed as part of the Government’s Agricultural Transition Plan 2021-24, it has been hailed as a success and was extended for a further year until March 2025.
Recently, the programme nationally has celebrated funding its 3,000th project across the National Parks and National Landscapes of England. The Lincolnshire Wolds contribution at 32 projects so far may appear modest but it has seen over £579,000 allocated to support these projects.
FiPL was set up to support farmers and landowners with projects that:
- help nature recovery
- mitigate the impacts of climate change
- provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage
- protect or improve the quality and character of the landscape.
With the extension of the programme came additional funding. The Lincolnshire Wolds FiPL Programme has already allocated over £45,000 to projects in the coming financial year, but that still leaves around £500,000 available for applications. These will be welcomed from farmers and landowners in the National Landscape (AONB) who meet some of the outcomes in the national themes of Climate, Nature, People and Place and the relevant ones related to the current Lincolnshire Wolds AONB Management Plan.
The maximum amount that the Local Assessment Panel (LAP) can allocate is £50,000 and that will be at a rate depending on the degree of commercial benefit that the applicant will get from the project. If there is a clear commercial gain, the rate is capped at up to 40% but it can be higher if there are greater public benefits.
As it is the final year of the programme, successful applicants must be able to complete projects, make claims to access their agreed funding and be paid before the end of the financial year in March 2025. Not doing this could result in the work being done but going beyond the time when they can be paid for, so anyone with larger scale projects is encouraged to submit applications as early as possible to ensure completion and payment within the financial year.
Steve Scoffin (Lincolnshire Wolds FiPL Project Officer) is keen to work with farmers and landowners to develop their projects and support them in writing their applications. If you want to find out more about FiPL on the Lincolnshire Wolds or make an application, get in touch with him on 07585 204328 or steve.scoffin@lincolnshire.gov.uk.
