CCT2: Make space for new coastal habitat
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

20 years

How much you’ll be paid

£773 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to restore natural coastal processes to create and maintain long-term coastal habitat on land next to existing priority coastal habitat. This includes sand dunes, vegetated shingle and maritime cliffs and slopes.

The purpose of this is to:
- help coastal habitats to naturally adapt to the impacts of climate change
- support local and specialised species
- provide a transition area between coastal and other habitats
- allow intertidal and saline habitats to adapt naturally to the impacts of climate change
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land next to existing coastal habitat and located below the moorland line.

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 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:
- allow coastal and natural hydrological processes to function freely without obstruction
- only prevent natural processes, such as coastal erosion where this is identified in your implementation plan
- remove and dispose of inorganic waste off site
- protect archaeological or historic features from damage
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- manage areas of scrub and established trees on land next to existing coastal priority habitat
- establish native vegetation, by encouraging natural regeneration
- manage new and established vegetation by grazing, mowing or cutting
- create and maintain areas of bare ground
You must not:
- modify the natural hydrological properties of the site, unless agreed
- carry out any capital works, including reprofiling or removing of man-made structures, unless identified in your implementation plan
- apply fertilisers, organic manures or waste materials
- use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless it’s during periods of extreme weather
- 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
- create bare ground on, or disturb, historic or archaeological features
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:
- to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- 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:
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- 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 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 in land parcels just behind or alongside priority coastal habitats. These include sand dunes, vegetated shingle and maritime cliffs and slopes in locations:
- with high rates of erosion so reducing the habitat area
- that are actively moving landwards due to natural coastal change (a process known as rollback or recession)
Suitable areas may include:
- agricultural or recreational land
- terrestrial, freshwater or brackish (mixture of fresh and salt water) habitats
For maritime cliffs and slope habitat, this action is best suited to soft rock coastlines (clay, mud and sand dominated) that are receding by around 2m a year or more on average. Learn more about coastal erosion rates using the National Coastal Erosion Risk Management map (https://environment.data.gov.uk/shoreline-planning/coastal-erosion).

For sand dune habitat, this action is suitable for locations where the seaward edge of the dune is rapidly eroding by several metres a year on average. It will be moving inland or along the shore by the action of waves and wind.

For vegetated shingle habitat, this action is suitable for locations where shingle is frequently moved landwards by the action of waves, meaning there’s a rollback of the shingle habitat.

Managing your site

Prepare your land for the rollback of coastal habitats. Manage it in a way that helps encourage habitats to naturally spread into it. Changes might be sudden and dramatic (for example, occurring during storms) or more gradual (for example, progressive erosion by waves).

To do this, it’ll help to:
- encourage the natural movement of water within the action area as far as possible
- allow the natural movement of sand and shingle sediment in the case of dunes or vegetated shingle
- allow the natural establishment of vegetation across the agreement area
You may need to do work before you do this action or early on in your agreement. For example, break up areas of compacted soil or remove artificial constraints on coastal processes (such as old defences and artificial drainage).

Discuss with your adviser the impacts that delivering this action could have on other priority habitats. For example, where the action might result in a change in habitat type.

In some instances, you can use buffer strips along the boundary of the action area. This will help develop natural vegetation communities.