Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme

Transparency of Funding.

Protected Landscapes - our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - are special and unique places. They are living, working landscapes that also support a huge range of habitats and species, and they are enjoyed by millions of people every year. By supporting the farmers, land managers and people who live and work in these areas, we can help protect these exceptional places and support local communities.

To help do this, Defra has introduced the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, which will run from July 2021 to March 2025. Through the programme, farmers and land managers can be supported to carry out projects that support nature recovery, mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and cultural heritage, or support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses. This is a programme of funding for one-off projects covering these areas of work, not an agri-environment scheme.
The programme is part of Defra's Agricultural Transition Plan. It has been developed by Defra with the support of a group of AONB and National Park staff from across the country.

What the Programme will pay for
The Farming in Protected Landscapes is a programme of funding for one-off projects, not an agri-environment scheme. The Programme will pay for projects that, in the opinion of the Local Assessment Panel provide value for money and meet at least one of the outcomes listed below, under four themes.

• support nature recovery
• mitigate the impacts of climate change
• provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage
• support nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses

For example, the programme might support:
• promoting connectivity between habitats
• replacing stiles with gates on public footpaths, to promote easier access
• conserving historic features on a farm, such as deserted medieval settlements, roman farmsteads or Neolithic burial mounds
• supporting a locally branded food initiative that promotes the links between the product and the landscape in which it is produced
• action to reduce carbon emissions on a farm
• gathering data and evidence to help inform conservation and farming practice

Your project must also help to deliver at least one of the policies of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB Management Plan 2018-2023.

In the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB, the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service will have at least £300,000 to award for project applications up to March 2024 and at least a further £461,000 in the following year to March 2025.

Eligibility
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is open to all farmers and land managers (including from the private, public and charity sector) in a National Park, AONB or the Norfolk Broads – or where activity on the ground can bring benefit to one or more of those areas.
You must manage all the land included in the application, and have control of all the activities you'd like to undertake, or you must have written consent from all parties who have this management and control.
Other organisations and individuals can apply, as long as they do this in collaboration with a farmer or land manager, or in support of a farmer or group of farmers.

The programme supports activity on any land within the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB.  It can also support activity on other land where projects can demonstrate benefit to the Lincolnshire Wolds or the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service's objectives or partnership initiatives.

You can see the boundary by visiting the MAGIC mapping website. Click on ‘designations', ‘land-based designations' and then 'Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty '.

Steve Scoffin is the Farming in Protected Landscape Programme Officer. Please see the documents below for further information and guidance or contact Steve with queries. If you would like to receive updates directly, contact steve.scoffin@lincolnshire.gov.uk 

Your project must also help to deliver at least one of the policies of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB Management Plan 2018-2023. See here for a list of Lincolnshire Wolds Priorities, with indicative projects. 

Adviser Pack Farming in Protected Landscapes

Guidance for Applicants - Annex F 2025 update

Application Form Annex B: Not Registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) Form

Application Form

Checklist

Project Costs Table

Year One NAAONB Report

Year Two NAAONB Report

Farming in Protected Landscapes Webinars

Brief Introduction Video: Watch here,

Webinar 1: An online introduction for farmers and land managers

7 September 2021: Watch the webinar here

Webinar 2: Making an application

14 December 2021: Watch the webinar here. 

After each webinar, collated answers to the questions that didn't have time to be answered live are here