What the action involves
This action’s aim is that there’s a wide grass buffer strip around a pond or ditch that:
- has an intact grass sward throughout the year, without tracks and compacted areas
- is left to develop a mix of tussocky grasses, flowering plants and low scrub
- has minimal poaching by livestock
The purpose of this is to:
- protect ponds or ditches from nutrient leaching and sediment runoff
- help improve water quality
- provide a habitat for wildlife
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:
- establish or maintain a 10m to 20m wide grass buffer strip adjacent to the pond or ditch in the first year of your agreement
- allow tussocky grass and low scrub to develop
You must not:
- allow scrub to develop on more than half of the pond or ditch margin – the southern side of the pond or ditch must remain open
- apply fertilisers or manures
- 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
- cut except to control the spread of woody growth – you can only cut between September and February
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
- photographs
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 — BFS2: £681 per hectare (ha) per year – calculate the hectarage by: • measuring the length of the buffer strip in metres (m) • multiplying that length by the relevant width (10m to 20m) to give the area in m2 • dividing that ar, over 3 years
Where you can do it
You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line and adjacent to either:
- a pond
- a ditch that’s under: CWT3: Manage ditches of high environmental value in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier
You cannot do this action:
- around ponds used for industrial purposes, including effluent and balancing ponds or small water supply reservoirs
- on historic or archaeological features
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:
- 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 need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Natural England adviser 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
All historic and archaeological 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.
