CLH2: Restore lowland heathland
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

£311 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to restore lowland heathland on forested land or woodland that has a diverse mosaic of vegetation, including:
- undisturbed bare ground
- varied vegetation and scattered native trees of different ages
The purpose is to deliver benefits for biodiversity (including rarer invertebrates), birds, reptiles and plants.

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land located below the moorland line that has established tree cover and acidic soils and where historic maps show heathland was once present. A Natural England adviser will confirm if this is the most appropriate action for your land.

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:
- areas of heathland with scattered native trees and scrub
- woodland being cleared on grassland areas
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.

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:
- remove trees, scrub and any accumulated deep litter layer to encourage regeneration of heath species from the seed bank
- graze or cut the colonising vegetation to create a wide age range and varied structure
- provide small areas of bare ground to benefit the range of species using the heath
- manage undesirable species such as thistles, willowherbs and bramble so they do not dominate and are kept to a minimum
- manage trees, scrub and bracken to provide areas for birds to nest or shelter and encourage a diverse habitat
- maintain an agreed level of native tree and scrub cover
- carry out hydrological restoration where necessary, such as reversing drainage, damming ditches or blocking drains
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to manage gorse. This is to maintain a range of ages and classes of Western or European gorse.

You must not:
- plough, cultivate or re-seed, unless agreed
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- 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 historic or archaeological features
When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration. You should avoid the bird nesting season when controlling scrub.

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)
You may also need:
- 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
- to get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- a forestry environmental impact assessment (EIA) from the Forestry Commission
- 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
- consent from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority or Internal Drainage Board (where necessary) before starting any hydrological work
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.

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 HT action.

Well managed heathland mosaic will be more resilient to climate change.

Site preparation

After felling trees, you can burn thin branches and twigs on site, unless it has species-rich grassland, anthills or other ecological or archaeological features.

Remove ash to clean the area as soon as possible after burning

Restore lowland heathland

You could consider the following actions to restore your lowland heathland site:

Conserve hydrology, for example by blocking artificial drainage and reducing water abstraction. Read Natural England’s publication ‘Generating more integrated biodiversity objectives – rationale, principles and practice Appendix E for lowland heathland’ (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5891570502467584) for more advice.

Maintain structural diversity in the vegetation to provide a wide range of micro habitats and niches, including habitats, such as:
- bare ground
- mosses and lichens, herbs, dwarf shrubs of diverse age classes, wet heath and mire
- scattered trees and shrubs
For more advice, read:
- Buglife’s publication ‘Habitat management – lowland heathland’ (https://cdn.buglife.org.uk/2019/07/Buglife_-_Lowland_heathland_-_2019-01-07.pdf)
- the RSPB’s publication ‘Nature after Minerals – Lowland heathland’ (https://afterminerals.com/advisory-sheet/lowland-heathland/)
- the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation publication ‘Habitat management for reptiles’ (https://www.arc-trust.org/for-reptiles)
Have fire contingency plans in place to reduce fire risk, such as:
- creating firebreaks, fire ponds
- maintaining broadleaved woodland to provide a firebreak or a buffer next to urban areas
- closing heathland access in hot, dry periods – read the Heather and Grass Burning Code (https://www.uplandsmanagement.co.uk/best-practice-guides) for more advice
You could also:
- use a combination of grazing and cutting to achieve a diverse vegetation structure for optimal management
- adapt your management activity to maintain the lowland heathland condition, for example increase grazing pressure or cutting cycles where the heathland growth characteristics are changing
- identify and manage areas that could become refuge areas in the future, such as north facing slopes, complex micro-topography, robust hydrology and high species diversity
- reduce the effects of fragmentation through targeted re-creation and restoration of land patches to increase the area of existing habitat