Landscape Recovery Scheme to support sustainable food production

Second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced a second round of the Landscape Recovery Scheme which was initially launched in 2022. Farmers and land managers can apply for a share of the £15m development fund. The second round of funding aims to increase sustainable food production, create new habitats and benefit protected sites. The funding process will be conducted by Natural England and the Environment Agency who will ultimately decide which projects receive funding. It is believed that up to 25 projects could be supported during the second round of the scheme.

Eligibility

If you are considering applying, it is worth noting that funding will be granted depending on the following criteria:

• Impact on the environment and society
• Value for money
• Scheme suitability
• Projects must be large scale (500-5000 hectares)

Furthermore, the scheme has added food production criteria to ensure projects that aim to create more sustainable food production will be taken into consideration.

Land management schemes

The Landscape Recovery Scheme is just one of three new land management schemes that have recently been introduced, the other two schemes are the Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). These three schemes are designed to replace the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post Brexit. These new land management schemes aim to support farmers through some of the most significant changes in legislation that the agriculture industry has seen in generations.

How to apply?

Defra has announced that details regarding applications and full legislation will be published in due course.

How can we help?

At Hawsons we have a dedicated team of agriculture accountants at our offices in Sheffield, Doncaster and Northampton.

We understand that farming isn’t just a business; it’s a way of life.

The rural and agriculture sector is a specialist sector, with unique practices and conventions. We act for a significant number of arable farms and assist farming families in many matters specific to agriculture and farming. This includes tax, will planning and succession planning.

We have been able to assist our farming clients to add value to their businesses. We have advised on the financial and tax consequences of property development, green technologies and capital allowance planning. In particular, we can assist in the area of capital taxes planning. This is a significant issue for farmers following the increase in land values and the availability of development opportunities.