The ‘Farming in Protected Landscapes’ (FiPL) Programme for the Lincolnshire Wolds is now delivering support to farmers and land managers in the AONB, who can access funding for projects under the programme’s four themes of Climate, Nature, People and Place. The funding supports work for nature recovery, mitigating the impacts of climate change, providing opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and cultural heritage, or supporting nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses.
As a competitive grant programme, applications must meet the national priorities of the four themes together with the local priorities delivering the objectives of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB Management Plan 2018-2023. Importantly, applications need to show that they provide value for money and demonstrate how the application will make a difference to the AONB, so the critical part is not buying a piece of equipment or a service but showing how it will be used and taken to a wider audience.
Projects already funded collectively meet all of those national priorities and most of the ones for the AONB. At Well Vale Country Ride (Well Vale Country Ride – Off road riding in the East Lincolnshire countryside) additional parking, a new water crossing and alternative routes, along with new interpretive signs adds to the enjoyment of riders and carriage drivers using the ride, and is increasing the number of users experiencing the ride which runs alongside the designated Well Vale Hall Park and Garden and ancient woodlands with magnificent displays of bluebells and wild garlic.
The Country Trust are providing inspiring, hands-on day visits to Claxby Grange, bringing together the already successful series of educational farmer-led farm walks of Andrew’s Farm Trips (www.andrewsfarmtrips.com) with opportunities for children from schools in disadvantaged areas including North East Lincolnshire and the Lincolnshire Wolds During a farm walk the children explore the crops Farmer Andrew grows and how they become the food we eat, including the wheat that makes our bread, oilseed rape, sugarbeet and carrots, or how crops such as miscanthus can help to produce energy);
Building on the successes of the Lincolnshire Wolds Facilitation Fund Group, the Lincolnshire Wolds Farmer Cluster Group is offering more targeted advice to farmer members, through a combination of one-to-one and one-to-many opportunities for advice to the farmer members that will keep them abreast of environmental policy developments throughout the Agricultural Transition Plan (ATP) period to the new Environmental Land Management schemes and give them clear advice on how to make their businesses more robust in an environmental context.
As FiPL is a short-term programme which requires that all work funded is completed by the end of the programme in March 2024, applications are being encouraged for this year (ie before the end of March 2023). If you have a project which you think would be suitable for applying for FiPL funding, further information is on the LWCS website (www.lincswolds.org.uk/our-work/farming-in-protected-landscape-grant) or contact Steve Scoffin (Lincolnshire Wolds FiPL Project Officer) on 07585 204328 or steve.scoffin@lincolnshire.gov.uk) to discuss this further.
