CCT9: Manage and restore coastal vegetated shingle
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

£583 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to restore and keep vegetated coastal shingle habitat in a good condition. You can do this by allowing natural coastal processes to function.

The purpose of this is to:
- allow natural changes to the coast to occur freely
- provide suitable conditions for diverse shingle flora to naturally establish
- increase resilience of the habitat and wider coastal system to the impacts of climate change
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible coastal vegetated shingle located below the moorland line, including coastal vegetated shingle that are priority habitats or sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs).

You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study agreed with Natural England.

You cannot do this action on:
- shingle habitat that’s unvegetated or does not have typical coastal plant species, unless agreed with Natural England
- coastal land that historically had shingle features, but the land use has changed over time
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
- manage vegetation to maintain areas of bare shingle
- only alter the shingle topography with the agreement of your Natural England adviser
- manage injurious weeds, invasive non-native species and scrub by methods agreed with your Natural England adviser
- only allow vehicle access on agreed routes
- only create new access tracks or pathways if agreed with your Natural England adviser
- 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:
- protect more sensitive areas of shingle
- manage vegetation by cutting, mowing or grazing
You must not:
- prevent natural processes, such as shingle deposits forming during storms
- modify or remove any sea defences or water inlet or outlet systems
- modify the natural hydrological properties of the site
- bring in new shingle to the site
- plough, cultivate, reseed, roll or chain harrow
- apply fertilisers, organic manures or waste materials
- use supplementary feed for grazing 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
- 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
- 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 land parcels that include areas of vegetated shingle habitat.

Coastal vegetated shingle includes both:
- dynamic and seasonal habitats near the beach (including drift line vegetation)
- more stable landward habitats (such as grasslands and heathlands) that are connected by moving and stable shingle
The habitat is often present with other coastal habitats in a complex mosaic including sand dunes, saltmarsh and saline lagoons. Vegetated shingle is a rare and protected habitat.

You can do this action on areas of vegetated shingle that:
- are connected to the beach and inland habitats like grassland and heathland, with minimal man-made structures
- require maintenance to keep the habitat in good condition
- require restoration work to restore habitat that’s in poor condition
Managing coastal vegetated shingle

The way you manage coastal vegetated shingle will depend on the condition of the habitat.

Often the best management practice for coastal vegetated shingle is to leave it alone and allow the natural processes of wind and waves to maintain it.

Natural forces such as the wind and waves will change how your vegetated shingle looks especially at its seaward edge. Natural changes will happen gradually with time and rapidly on occasions such as during a storm or high tide. These natural changes are critical to the development of the habitat and its resilience to future pressures such as sea level rise.

Allow your vegetated shingle to change naturally as far as possible. You’ll sometimes need to manage the vegetation (for example, scrub or invasive species) to best support biodiversity and protect habitat. The plant communities are slow to establish and can be easily damaged (for example, by trampling).

Restoring shingle habitat

When planning shingle habitat restoration, it’s important to consider the whole habitat function and seek specialist advice at an early stage.

Restoration work can include:
- allowing the natural movement of shingle – for example, removing redundant coastal defence structures such as groynes can re-instate the natural supply of shingle to the foreshore, so reducing susceptibility to erosion during storm events
- restoring the water table – for example, removal of artificial drains and sluices can relieve potential drought stress on the vegetation and help support the natural storage and movement of water
- importing shingle where natural sediment supply and coastal processes have been interrupted
- introducing conservation grazing where you can improve biodiversity