What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there’s a well-managed, intact grass sward growing over the historic or archaeological feature throughout the year. You should aim for minimal scrub cover and bare ground.
The purpose of this is to:
- protect historic or archaeological features
- reduce the risk of root damage to historic or archaeological features
- reduce diffuse pollution and soil erosion, depending on the site’s location
- help maintain and conserve landscape character
What you must do
Your Natural England adviser, Forestry Commission woodland officer or Historic England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.
To get paid for this action, you must:
- prevent scrub encroachment on historic or archaeological features
- reduce scrub on historic or archaeological features by 75% over the first 3 years of your agreement – remove 25% of scrub each year between the start of January and the end of February or the start of October and the end of December
- remove cuttings and brash and control any re-growth
- position vehicle or stock access routes at least 6m away from the historic or archaeological feature
- maintain a continuous grass sward or vegetation cover over historic or archaeological features with minimal bare batches and erosion (as agreed with your Natural England adviser)
- make sure that any mature trees felled will fall away from the feature
- plan work so that extraction routes, bonfire sites, timber processing and storage sites are away from the feature
You must not:
- plough, cultivate or re-seed
- harrow or roll
- supplementary feed within 6m of the historic or archaeological feature
- grub out stumps and roots
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.
You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a land parcel level
- associated invoices
- other documentation
The same action appears in the other schemes under a different code. The work is broadly the same; the rate and the length of the commitment are not.
- SFI 2024 — HEF5: £215 per hectare (ha) per year, over 5 years
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land that contains more than 5% scrub cover within each land parcel and is either:
- identified as containing a historic or archaeological feature on your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER)
- contains an historic or archaeological feature identified by you, and agreed with a Natural England adviser
Eligible land
You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area
Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.
Rotational or static
This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
- consent from the Environment Agency or other responsible bodies for works on hydrological structures
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- get advice from your Historic England, Natural England adviser or local authority if you have other historic or archaeological features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
- apply for a felling licence from the Forestry Commission to carry out some activities in this action
All historic and archaeological features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
You can manage any historic and archaeological features you identify that are not listed on your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER) under this action (if agreed with your Natural England adviser or Forestry Commission woodland officer).
If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.
Capital grants that support it
If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding.
You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.
