Farming In Protected Landscapes

Funding Programme extended to March 2029

Protected Landscapes – our National Landscapes and national parks – 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.

The Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme is part of Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan and was developed by Defra with the support of a group of National Landscape and National Park staff from across the country. It was launched in June 2021 and has been running ever since. It has been well received by the farming community and government alike for its value for money, friendly approach, and local knowledge.

Through the programme, farmers and land managers can be supported to carry out projects that address 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.

APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN.

If you have any questions please email jemima.western@devon.gov.uk

For more information on farming within the National Landscape visit our Farming and Land Management page

If you would like to apply please fill out the Register Your Interest form and we will get back in touch with full application details. Full guidance to applicants can be downloaded here as well as detail about our local priorites.

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, National Landscape or the Norfolk Broads – or where activity on the ground can bring benefit to one or more of those areas.

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 North Devon Coast National Landscape and most of the funding will be provided to projects within the National Landscape boundary. It can also support activity on other land where projects can demonstrate benefit to the North Devon, or the National Landscape Partnership’s objectives or partnership initiatives. To see a map of the North Devon Coast National Landscape please visit our ‘Home’ page.

The North Devon Coast National Landscape is a designated AONB. You can see the boundary by visiting the MAGIC mapping website or the Devon Environment Viewer. Click on ‘designations’, ‘land-based designations’ and then ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty England.’

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.

Nature outcomes

There is a greater area of wildlife rich habitat
There is greater connectivity between habitats
Existing habitat is better managed for biodiversity
There is an increase in biodiversity

Climate outcomes

More carbon is stored and/or sequestered
Flood risk is reduced
Farmers, land managers and the public better understand what different habitats and land uses can store carbon and reduce carbon emissions
The landscape is more resilient to climate change

People outcomes

There are more opportunities for people to explore, enjoy and understand the landscape
There are more opportunities for more diverse audiences to explore, enjoy and understand the landscape

There is greater public engagement in land management, such as through volunteering
Farmers and land managers feel increasingly comfortable with providing public goods

Place outcomes

The quality and character of the landscape is reinforced or enhanced
Historic structures and features are conserved, enhanced or interpreted more effectively
There is an increase in the resilience of nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses, which in turn contributes to a more thriving local economy

Your project must also help to deliver at least one of the Ojectives identified in the AONB Management Plan.

The kinds of projects the programme might support include:

Promoting connectivity between habitats
Creation of wildlife-rich habitat
Increasing canopy cover through hedge rows, parkland trees, copses, woodland pasture and afforestation
Improving water quality
Creating scrapes, ponds or other wetland to support a variety of wildlife
Grassland restoration
Re-wilding an area of land and promoting natural processes
Gathering data and evidence to help inform conservation and farming practice
Providing new or easier access opportunities, links to the rights of way network or interpretation of farming and of the natural and historic features
Working with new audiences to enable them to experience the Protected Landscape
Parking improvements at a key site to provide safe access to popular walking routes and reduce congestion for visitors and for local residents
Restoring Devon hedge rows
Conserving historic features on a farm, such as lime kilns or hillforts
Action to reduce carbon emissions, or the use of plastics, on a farm
Planning for nature conservation, energy efficiency and business resilience, including in farmer clusters

Payment rates

Where there is no commercial gain – up to 100% of the costs.

Where an applicant would benefit commercially from a project – 40% to 80% depending on how much commercial benefit is derived.

If an activity is equivalent to one under Countryside Stewardship (CS), the Programme payment rate will be the same as the CS rate. If not, funding offers will be based on the projected costs of an activity.