CWD20: Create wood pasture
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

10 years

How much you’ll be paid

£544 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to create new wood pasture with a mosaic of scrub, trees and open semi-natural habitats.

The purpose is to provide:
- habitats that offer sources of food and shelter for wildlife, including invertebrates, fungi and birds
- open habitats including grassland and heathland within the wood pasture for grazing livestock
- enhanced landscape character by establishing trees and shrubs and retaining all existing mature and veteran trees
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible and where it extends, links, buffers or creates stepping stones between existing:
- scrub
- woodland
- wood-pasture
- hedgerows
- other tree-outside-woodland habitats
- other nature-rich habitats
You can also do this action in areas already inhabited by priority species (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/habitats-and-species-of-principal-importance-in-england) such as dormouse or high brown fritillary butterfly, or other target species identified by your Natural England adviser.

It may be possible to do this action on other types of woodland – you would need to agree this with the Forestry Commission and Natural England.

To use this action, you must avoid negative impacts on existing historic, archaeological, environmental or landscape features.

You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study 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 (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 at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land and 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 saplings and young trees through natural regeneration or planting
- establish a suitable number of trees at each life stage (sapling, young tree, medium size tree, mature tree) of the same species and form as any existing veteran trees
- keep and manage any open-grown or pollarded trees to extend their longevity
- protect the trees (including any veteran and ancient trees and their rootstocks) from avoidable harm, including from machinery and grazing livestock and pests, such as deer and rabbits
- protect newly planted trees and replace any planted trees that fail to establish
- leave any standing, attached and fallen deadwood in place (any exceptions will be agreed with your Natural England adviser)
- establish and manage an agreed area of native scrub with a variety of different heights, widths, shapes and species
- avoid compaction and poaching around trees
To create and manage the sward, you must:
- ensure it is intact throughout the year, without compacted areas or poaching
- minimise bare ground so the soil is covered by vegetation and is not directly exposed to the elements
- follow a stocking calendar as agreed with your Natural England adviser
- maintain areas of shorter and longer vegetation, either by cutting or grazing with appropriate species, such as traditional cattle breeds
- allow wildflowers, sedges and grasses to flower and set seed in the spring and summer
- allow flower, sedge and grass seed heads to be left undisturbed through the autumn and winter
- maintain a continuous grass cover over historic and archaeological features so bare patches are kept to a minimum
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- look after veteran trees, for example by removing young trees which have grown too close to them, or applying wood mulch to the root protection area
- manage existing wet areas, ponds and water features
- maintain the current water regime of any existing water features
- carry out additional management activities to provide benefits to target features, habitats or species as identified in your feasibility study or implementation plan
- restore, protect and maintain any designed landscape or parkland features as agreed with your Natural England adviser
You must not:
- apply any 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
- pull or burn uncut scrub
- remove stumps of cut trees and shrubs
- burn cut scrub and trees
- plough, harrow, cultivate, reseed, roll or lime, unless agreed with your Natural England adviser
- supplementary feed, except for the use of mineral blocks or other forms of feed for livestock handling or habitat management purposes as agreed by your Natural England adviser
- supplementary feed on historic and archaeological sites
- use feeders, or supplementary feed under or within 5m of tree canopies
- alter the depth, shape or profile and design of existing built water bodies and associated engineering
- plant trees or allow natural regeneration on or near sensitive habitats or features
- carry out any drainage works or modification to existing drainage, unless agreed with your Natural England adviser
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.

You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- photographs
- associated invoices
- field operations at the parcel level
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:
- to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- to share your implementation plan or feasibility study with your local Forestry Commission woodland officer so they can advise if a forestry environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required
- advice from Historic England for grade 1 or grade 2* historic parks if the creation of wood pasture is within an existing park
- 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)
You may need to:
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- a forestry EIA from the Forestry Commission – read the guidance on forestry EIAs (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/environmental-impact-assessments-for-woodland) for more information
- a screening decision under the agricultural EIA (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changing-uncultivated-semi-natural-and-rural-land-when-you-need-permission/check-if-you-need-a-screening-decision) Regulations from Natural England
- apply for a felling licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-felling-licence-when-you-need-to-apply) from the Forestry Commission to carry out some activities in this action
- 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 funding through 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

Wood pasture habitat is best created in blocks. It can connect or create stepping stones between existing wooded or open habitats such as wood pasture, scrub, woodland, heathland or grassland. Large blocks are of the greatest value. You can incorporate existing trees, areas of scrub and open habitats into the wood pasture creation area where they’ll be enhanced. Make sure the creation of new habitat does not impact existing environmental or historic interest.

Managing the sward

Graze or cut to create a sward that flowers and sets seed in the spring and summer. Leave plenty of tussocky vegetation in the winter. This will make sure there are flowers and tall vegetation that:
- provides pollen and nectar for insects
- allows spiders to spin their webs
- provides seed for birds during the winter
- ensures the grazing is not too hard to prevent the next generation of trees and shrubs from establishing naturally
You can do this by doing any of the following:
- lightly stocking all year around so there are plenty of areas flowering in the spring and summer, and there’s enough forage for the animals in the winter whilst leaving some areas are ungrazed
- varying the stocking during the year so there’s a lenient period during spring and summer to allow flowering and all livestock are removed in autumn, leaving some areas ungrazed
- only grazing in the autumn after the flowering period, removing your livestock while there are still plenty of flowers, sedges and grasses or heather seed heads left
- managing as a wood meadow by cutting in the autumn once plants have flowered and set seed
A hardy or traditional cattle breed is often most suited, but you can also use hardy ponies. Grazing lightly will help prevent poaching especially around the bases of trees.

You can combine areas of livestock exclusion with areas of cutting to manage trees, shrubs and maintain a varied sward.

In a parkland, ideally use a traditional breed that’s suited to the setting of the parkland. Grazing sheep or goats may eat tree seedlings and wildflowers preventing them setting seed. If you’re using them, you’ll need to limit their grazing to small areas of the parkland.

If there’s a historic link with the parkland, it’s best to retain any deer herds but they’ll need controlling or limiting to certain areas. Mowing in combination with grazing can also help create a varied sward or maintain parkland views.

Maintaining the site

Try to restore natural processes (such as hydrology) at the beginning of a wood pasture creation project. This will help maximise the level of nature recovery. The feasibility study or management plan will set out these works and there are capital payments available to pay for the work.

Take care if altering hydrology around veteran trees. It may result in tree decline and death. Do not change the hydrology in historic parklands if it’ll impact historic parkland features or the designed landscape.

Consider creating open habitats on the wood pasture (such as heathland and grassland) and species reintroductions. This will increase the level of nature recovery.

Looking after trees

Avoid grazing with livestock that have recently received veterinary treatments such as ivermectin (6 weeks for a pour-on or 6 months for bolus). They can harm insects and fungi that are unique to wood pasture and essential for tree health.

Try not to allow trees or shrubs to grow up within (or close to) tree canopies. They’ll shade the bark of the tree and change the conditions for lichens or compete with the existing tree for light. This could cause die back of the crown and potentially lead to its death.

Do not use machinery around trees. This will help avoid compaction of the soil that damages tree roots and the fungi that help tree roots find water and nutrients. You may need to fence off the most valuable trees or use wood chip compost to protect and condition the soil. This will also help prevent livestock poaching and compaction – your Natural England adviser will advise you.

Only consider cutting trees if there’s an imminent risk of catastrophic tree failure or collapse, or if there’s a health and safety risk. If there’s a health and safety risk, move animals or people away rather than cut the tree if possible.

Leave deadwood in place, on and around trees. It’ll rot down and provide the trees with a wood mulch that includes beneficial bacteria, fungi, and vital habitat for insects. Leave dead trees in place as they also provide important habitat.

Establishing new trees

Try to create conditions for natural establishment of trees in some areas by:
- grazing cattle at low densities
- controlling deer
- preventing grazing by horses, ponies, sheep and goats
You may find a short period of more intensive grazing, limited use of pigs or mechanical ground disturbance helpful in creating bare ground where tree seeds can fall and germinate. Avoid creating bare ground on sensitive environmental assets such as historic and archaeological sites.

When planting, use a range of native species of both trees and shrubs, ideally from the same genetic stock as nearby mature trees (sowing their seeds or by natural regeneration). Planting a range of species will also provide pollen and nectar throughout the year and berries for birds in autumn and winter.

Space newly planted trees apart so they’re far enough from their neighbours to grow an open crown. Some trees and shrubs can be close together to create areas of denser scrub. When planting close to existing trees, do not plant within a distance equivalent to 3 times the canopy radius of the existing tree.

Tree guards will protect trees from livestock and deer. Some browsing of trees (light grazing) is beneficial and will create a varied scrub structure.

Responding to climate change

Read Natural England’s publication: ‘Adaptation for habitats in Environmental Land Management Schemes’ (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/5673659512127488) to help you consider your general response to climate change. You must continue to follow the mandatory activities for this CSHT action.