CWD21: Restore wood pasture and parkland
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

£371 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to restore existing wood pasture and parkland on sites that support:
- mature and veteran trees
- undisturbed standing, attached and fallen deadwood
- designed landscape and parkland features, such as tree avenues
The purpose is to:
- provide habitat which offers food and shelter for wildlife, including invertebrates, fungi and birds
- provide grazing on open habitats including grassland and heathland for livestock
- benefit the landscape character by establishing trees and retaining mature and veteran trees
- maintain and restore historic, archaeological or designed landscape features in historic parkland
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on wood pasture and parkland (or infilled wood pasture and parkland). This includes recreational parkland where it forms part of the farmed environment. To use this action, you must avoid negative impacts on existing historic, archaeological, environmental or landscape features.

You can find wood pasture and parkland on the BAP Priority Habitat map layer (https://magic.defra.gov.uk/magicmap.aspx?&startTopic=GreyRasters&chosenLayers=baseIndex,bapwoodIndex&box=-670431:224694:1470432:1175307&useDefaultbackgroundMapping=false) on Magic or have the eligible area confirmed by your adviser.

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:
- keep and manage existing open-grown or pollarded trees to extend their longevity
- 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
- protect the trees (including any veteran and ancient trees and their rootstocks) from avoidable harm, including by machinery, grazing livestock and pests, such as deer and rabbits
- leave any standing, attached and fallen deadwood in place (any exceptions will be agreed with your Natural England adviser)
- 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 the existing veteran trees
- establish saplings and young trees through natural regeneration or planting
- protect newly planted trees and replace any planted trees that fail to establish
- 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 restore 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 or cutting regime (or a combination of both) agreed with your Natural England adviser
- maintain areas of shorter and longer vegetation, either by cutting or grazing with appropriate species, such as traditional breeds of cattle
- 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 during the autumn and winter
- maintain a continuous grass cover over historic and archaeological features so bare patches are kept to a minimum
- restore, protect and maintain any designed landscape or parkland features as agreed with your Natural England adviser
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- restore and protect historic and archaeological features and carry out maintenance works and minor repairs on structural historic or archaeological features on a ‘like for like’ basis to keep the character of the feature in its local setting
- restore and protect historic features, such as parkland fences, railings or historic boundaries with an undisturbed buffer adjacent to the edge of the feature – do not cultivate or allow scrub to develop within the buffer
- manage existing wet areas, ponds and water features
- maintain the current water regime of any existing historic 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
You must not:
- apply 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 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, 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, including:
- photographs
- associated invoices
- land parcel field records
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
- Scheduled Monument Consent (https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/planning/consents/smc/) from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- advice from Historic England for grade 1 or grade 2* historic parks
- advice from the Gardens Trust for registered parks below grade 2
- 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 also 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
- to 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
- to 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.

Historic parks and gardens are highly significant assets. Read guidance on caring for historic parkland (https://hefer-data.org.uk/guidance/).

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.

Managing trees

Continuity of veteran tree or deadwood habitat is vital in wood pasture. It provides an important habitat for many invertebrates and fungi found only in the decay of old trees.

Techniques including establishing new pollards or creating additional dead wood habitat on trees may be appropriate where there are gaps in tree cohort continuity. Your Natural England Officer will advise you. New trees are best established through natural regeneration but planting also helps ensure a healthy population of trees that can become veteran trees in the future.

If trees are filling the space between the open grown trees, you may need to carefully halo thin (remove competing trees) around the veteran trees to release them from competition for light and nutrients. This may take several decades of careful work, as releasing them too fast can kill them. You may also need to create additional open areas and establish new open grown and pollard trees to become the veteran trees of the future.

Trees at risk of catastrophic failure (such as lapsed pollards) may require specialist veteran tree surgery to reduce the biomechanical stress on them. You’ll receive specialist advice via a tree management plan.

Maintaining the site

Try to restore natural processes (such as hydrology) to maximise nature recovery. A 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 restoring open habitats of the wood pasture, (such as heathland and grassland) and species reintroductions. This will increase the level of nature recovery.

For historic structures and features in parkland, use traditional methods and materials when restoring or maintaining features such as railings, pales, walls and parkland buildings. Respect historic repairs or changes, as repairs or additions made in the past may be of historic interest and worth retaining. Maintain water features for the landscape character, tranquillity, maintenance of water quality and biodiversity.

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 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.

Leave veteran trees standing as they are beneficial. Only consider cutting them 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, keep animals or people away rather than cut the tree.

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.

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.

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 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’ 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 is beneficial for livestock and will create a varied scrub structure.

If planting new trees within a parkland, you may have to:
- enhance historic planting patterns and established views
- match new tree guards to any existing designs (depending on current use within your parkland)
Do not plant scrub in sensitive areas of a designed landscape. You’ll still be able to incorporate scrub as individual trees (Hawthorn is particularly suitable) or grow it in areas of the parkland that are not sensitive. Some species of invertebrate associated with veteran trees will not survive without flowering shrubs.

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.