What the action involves
This action’s aim is to manage existing lowland heathland so there’s a diverse mosaic of vegetation, including:
- undisturbed bare ground
- varied vegetation and scattered native trees of different ages
The purpose is to deliver benefits for biodiversity, including rarer invertebrates, birds, reptiles and plants.
What you must do
Your Natural 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:
- graze or cut the vegetation to create a wide age range and varied structure
- manage trees, scrub and bracken to provide areas for birds to nest or shelter and encourage a diverse habitat
- provide some bare ground cover to benefit the range of species using the heath
- carry out hydrological restoration where necessary, such as reversing drainage, damming ditches or blocking drains
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to manage gorse. This is to maintain a range of ages and classes of western or European gorse.
You must not:
- plough, cultivate or re-seed, unless agreed
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless it’s during periods of extreme weather
- apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
- create bare ground on historic or archaeological features
When to do it
You must do this action each year of its duration. You should avoid the bird nesting season when controlling scrub.
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.
Where you can do it
You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study agreed with Natural England.
You can do this action on eligible land that’s both:
- heathland priority habitat, including areas of acid grassland mixed with heathland
- located below the moorland line
You can only use this action above the moorland line when other CSHT moorland actions or supplements cannot achieve the intended environmental outcomes.
You must have approval from a Natural England adviser to do this. Read the advice to help you do this action for more details.
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:
- to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)
You may also need:
- to get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
- to get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- consent from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority or Internal Drainage Board (where necessary) before starting any hydrological work
All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).
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.
