What the action involves
This action’s aim is to:
- restore and create new and dynamic areas of river and wet floodplain habitats – these areas will move over time due to the river itself moving
- let water seasonally flood from and drain back into the river
- reduce the risk of soil erosion and downstream flooding
This will include:
- new areas of river and wetland habitats appearing, such as new channels, temporary ponds in old channels and wet grassland
- gradual erosion and movement of the riverbed and riverbanks
- deposits of gravel, sand and silt in the river channel and on the floodplain after a flood
The purpose is to allow rivers to flow naturally across the floodplain to deliver benefits for biodiversity, flood and drought management and climate adaptation.
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:
- prepare the land to receive additional floodwater from the watercourse next to it and allow the river and water to move freely in the floodplain
- remove or disable any artificial land drainage, such as drains and pipes – you must agree all drainage works (including modification to existing drainage) in writing with Natural England before carrying out any activities
- establish permanent vegetation cover (as set out in the river restoration plan)
- only plough, cultivate or re-seed as part of an agreed sward enhancement programme
- remove non-biodegradable flood debris
- control invasive non-native species
- only allow vehicle access on agreed routes
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- keep an open sward by light grazing or cutting in parts of the agreement area
- retain trees and scrub, or allow them to establish, in parts of the agreement area
- retain standing or fallen deadwood, unless it’s a flood risk to people and property
- remove cut non-woody material
- remove soil compaction
- keep a monthly record of stock numbers
You must not:
- fill in hollows or wet features
- use supplementary feed for grazing livestock
- remove or control sediments in rivers or floodplains, unless agreed
- carry out any earthworks on riverbeds or banks, flood defences, bank protection or drainage works, unless agreed
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- 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
When to do it
You must carry out the management activities for the duration of your agreement. You must complete enabling capital works by the end of the third year of your agreement.
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 parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs relevant to the action
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible:
- land that fast-flowing rivers are likely to move into, or can be restored to move into during the agreement – river movement can be the result of bank erosion or channel switching
- land restored to create multiple branching river channels occupying most or all of the floodplain, and with permanently high groundwater levels (also known as ‘Stage Zero’ river restoration)
You can only do this action if you have a river restoration plan agreed with Natural England.
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 at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
Consents and permissions
To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- an agreed river restoration plan 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)
- to obtain any necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work
You may also need to get:
- advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
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.
