CSW24: Manage grassland for flood and drought resilience and water quality
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

£938 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to reduce runoff from rainwater and store more surface and groundwater in grasslands. You can do this through changes such as creating topographical features that will retain water after periods of high rainfall.

The purpose is to help reduce flooding, improve drought resilience and improve water quality.

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on temporary or permanent grassland with low species diversity that have low to moderate fertility. You should do it on grassland where the landscape, soil and geology provide conditions that benefit flood and drought resilience.

You cannot do this action:
- in floodplains
- above the moorland line
- on priority habitat such as species-rich unimproved grassland
- where extractable soil phosphate levels exceed 25mg/l (‘Olsen P’ method)
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 (minimum area of 0.25ha).

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. 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:
- create and maintain new topographical features across at least 5% of the action’s area to slow and retain water for longer – for example, low earth bunds, swales and scrapes
- remove or disable artificial drainage such as ditches, drains and pipes – you must agree all drainage works (including modification to existing drainage) in writing with Natural England before carrying out any activities
- establish deep rooting plants such as grasses and native wildflowers, as agreed with your Natural England adviser in your management plan
- graze vegetation to maintain surface roughness throughout the year and maintain an average sward height of 15cm (or taller) during autumn and winter
- keep a record of your grazing livestock
- remove soil compaction before starting work
- control invasive non-native species
- introduce native herbs and grasses to improve soil health, porosity, sward structure and surface roughness and improve biodiversity
You must not:
- cut the land for silage – cutting for hay is allowed but you must avoid features and areas of compaction identified in your agreement
- plough or cultivate unless you’re restoring grass species or removing compaction in the first year
- supplementary feed except with mineral blocks
- apply fertilisers or manures
- create new access routes for vehicles or livestock
- 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
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, including:
- field operations at a parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs relevant to the action
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
- 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

This action works best as part of a combined approach to water management across a holding, for example alongside other actions to improve soil health, increase infiltration and minimise run-off.

Work with neighbouring farms for combined benefits.

This action is not suited to areas:
- with steep slopes (averaging more than 7° degrees of slope)
- of land with an existing conservation value
- with artificially drained heavy clay soils
It’s best not to use this action where adjacent land holdings could be affected unless there is written legal agreement between all affected parties.

Planning

You can create a water flow management plan to assess the suitability of your land and help decide the best position to locate the features. You can apply for a capital grants plan (PA1: Implementation plan (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/implementation-plan-pa1) or PA2: Feasibility study (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/feasibility-study-pa2)) to fund this. The plan will:
- assess the location of your site within the catchment, and whether it can provide flood, drought or water quality benefits
- determine whether the soil type and condition are suitable for this action
- identify the best locations for topographical features to slow and retain water and how to maintain them
- identify existing artificial drainage and how to remove or disable it
- determine how to establish and manage the vegetation, including stocking regime
- identify any environmental or historic features that you need to consider when completing this action
Managing the site

Manage your grassland in a way that creates an uneven ground surface. This can include small depressions in the soil which will hold small pockets of water.

Graze or cut and remove vegetation to produce extra surface roughness in the winter months.

These activities will help keep water on site and reduce diffuse pollution.

This action is likely to require a change in grazing and livestock management as the area will be wetter for longer.

Manage grazing to prevent poaching

Veterinary medicines such as ivermectin wormers, and livestock insecticides (especially pyrethroids) can have a negative impact on both land and freshwater 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.

You may need a risk assessment in areas where contaminated runoff will infiltrate into the underlying groundwater.

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.