CCT3: Manage coastal saltmarsh and its vegetation
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-10)

What you must do to get paid for this CSHT action and advice on how to do it.

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht) before you apply.

Duration

5 years

How much you’ll be paid

£724 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to maintain coastal saltmarsh in good condition and restore saltmarsh in unfavourable condition.

The purpose of this is to:
- provide saltmarsh habitat and benefit locally and nationally important species
- expand the extent of priority habitat coastal saltmarsh
- increase the resilience of the habitat and wider coastal system to the impacts of climate change
- contribute to carbon capture and storage
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible coastal saltmarsh located below the moorland line where vegetation has established and requires management. This includes:
- upper zones of saltmarsh
- older saltmarsh further inland above the mean high-water line
- the transition area between saltmarsh and neighbouring habitats
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 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-use-codes-rural-payments) which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration, but there’s some flexibility due to natural coastal changes.

What to 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:
- leave natural coastal and hydrological processes, such as erosion events or seasonal pooling, to function freely without obstruction
- regularly monitor changes from natural events in the action area
- regularly remove tidal deposits of litter (plastics, other artificial waste) by hand tools
- manage vegetation to maintain a variety of species across the action area
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to control vegetation by grazing, mowing or cutting the area.

You must not:
- 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
- allow any activity which could harm the saltmarsh vegetation
- alter the existing pattern of creek systems by removing, blocking, straightening or widening channels in the marsh
- create any new channels
- change or remove sea defences, unless agreed with the relevant responsible authorities
- allow vehicle access, unless agreed by your Natural England adviser
- apply any fertilisers or organic manures
- plough, cultivate, reseed, roll or chain harrow
- remove organic material, such as seaweed or driftwood, if washed on to the marsh
- cut or remove surface material including turf or plants
- create bare ground on, or disturb, historic or archaeological features
- use supplementary feed for grazing livestock
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.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent (https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/planning/consents/smc/) 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) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-areas-sites-of-special-scientific-interest#get-consent-to-carry-out-operations-on-your-land)
- 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:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wildlife-licences) 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 to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders#capital-grants-plans).

You can also apply for capital items (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders) to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Choosing a site

You can do this action on both designated (for example SSSIs) and undesignated areas of saltmarsh. This includes transitions from saline to brackish and then freshwater habitats where saltmarsh plants are present. For example, areas flooded during high tides or storm surges.

To create new areas of saltmarsh in transitional areas, use the actions:
- CCT4: Create intertidal and saline habitat on arable land (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cct4-create-intertidal-and-saline-habitat-on-arable-land)
- CCT5: Create intertidal and saline habitat by non-intervention (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cct5-create-intertidal-and-saline-habitat-by-non-intervention)
- CCT7: Create intertidal and saline habitat on intensive grassland (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cct7-create-intertidal-and-saline-habitat-on-intensive-grassland)
You can also use this action to maintain saltmarsh habitat or restore habitat on areas of saltmarsh and their transitions that have been degraded. For example, through the construction of coastal defences, development or agricultural land claim.

You can also use this action on grazed saltmarsh sites where this activity is impacting on the quality of the habitat and associated species. For example, a site may currently be over-grazed or grazed at an inappropriate time of year. Alternatively, it may be a site that needs grazing but is difficult to graze and has become dominated by a few coarse grass species.

Where significant changes to grazing levels are required, these can be supported under the manage coastal vegetation supplement (to be used with this option).

Managing your site

Manage saltmarsh habitat so its species and the habitat itself are in good condition.

You can manage the saltmarsh habitat to maintain or improve the condition by:
- allowing natural and dynamic coastal changes (including changes after storms) to shape the habitat
- managing vegetation to create a diverse mosaic of habitat and sward heights (for example, by grazing)
- limiting trampling disturbance and avoiding destruction of saltmarsh vegetation and unvegetated surfaces
- removing tidal deposits of artificial litter (such as plastics and fishing gear)
- retaining natural tidal deposits such as keeping any seaweed or driftwood accumulations and allowing sediment to accumulate or migrate inland following storms and other coastal processes
Veterinary medicines such as ivermectin wormers and livestock insecticides (especially pyrethroids) can have a negative impact on ecosystems. If you’re a livestock farmer, work with your vet to see if you can agree a way to reduce the impact without affecting the animal’s welfare.

Enabling coastal saltmarshes to change over time will create a habitat that’s largely self-managing. It will not usually rely on you having to do something to help it adapt to change.

Working with neighbouring landowners (or in adjacent land parcels) can provide added benefits to the saltmarsh habitat. For example, by stopping livestock from adjoining fields accessing the site and leaving the land to change naturally.