CBE5: Create traditional orchards
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

£471 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to:
- create a traditional orchard with healthy young fruit and nut trees, pruned to maintain their characteristic tree form
- manage any existing mature and veteran trees to leave undisturbed standing, attached and fallen deadwood
- retain a grass sward between the trees (once the orchard is created), with suitable sward heights and structure
The purpose is to:
- provide a mosaic of trees and grassland which offers sources of food and shelter for wildlife, such as invertebrates and birds
- enhance landscape character
Where you can do this action

You can do this action where:
- a traditional orchard once existed – you must have evidence, such as historic maps or photographs
- a new orchard will extend or link to existing tree and woodland habitats, such as traditional orchards, wood pasture, agroforestry, in-field or hedgerow trees or woodland habitats
- a traditional orchard has less than one third of its original plantings (where trees have been planted in the past) occupied by trees over 10 years old
For the purposes of this action, a ‘traditional orchard’ means groups of fruit or nut trees which are both:
- from at least one of the eligible species
- grown on vigorous rootstocks in permanent grassland
A traditional orchard may include:
- apple
- pear
- cherry
- plum
- damson
- cobnut (a variety of hazelnut)
- walnut
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:
- follow a capital works plan when planting fruit trees on vigorous root stock to create an orchard
- use a traditional planting pattern to plant new ‘traditional orchard’ trees – you can apply for capital item TE3: Planting fruit trees
- maintain the existing number of trees present
- record the location, species, and age range of any existing trees in the orchard at the start of the agreement
- formatively prune new trees (up to 20 years old) – this is to help create a strong branch framework and healthy young trees
- keep the area around the base of establishing trees clear of vegetation (usually the first 3 years after planting) – this area will usually be around 1 metre diameter to minimise the impact on tree survival and growth
- manage tree guards, so they do not damage growing trees
- protect the trees from avoidable harm, including from machinery and 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 and set out in your agreement) maintenance-prune and shape any established trees (more than 20 years old) at the time of year appropriate for your tree species
You can apply for capital item TE18: Restorative pruning of traditional orchard trees (https://www.gov.uk/capital-grant-finder/te18-pruning-to-restore-veteran-fruit-trees) to carry out restorative pruning of unmanaged, mature trees.

To manage an established sward, you must:
- cut it or graze it with livestock (or a combination of both)
- maintain a continuous sward over any historic or archaeological features, with minimal scrub, bracken and bare ground
- manage scrub on the area in each land parcel
- allow some wildflowers, sedges and grasses to flower and set seed in the spring and summer
- leave some flower, sedge and grass seed heads undisturbed during the autumn and winter months
- keep existing wet areas and ponds
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- establish a sward in the first year of your agreement
- agree a feasibility study or implementation plan
You must not:
- apply fertilisers, manure or lime
- 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
- plough, cultivate, harrow, roll or reseed, unless it’s to restore or enhance a grass sward for biodiversity
- use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless agreed with your Natural England adviser
- remove dead or dying trees to replant with new trees
- carry out drainage works without written permission from your Natural England adviser
- damage any 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, including:
- aerial photographs to show the location of trees
- field operations at the parcel level
- associated invoices
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:
- 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 need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- 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
- consider a screening decision under the agricultural [EIA] Regulations from Natural England (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changing-uncultivated-semi-natural-and-rural-land-when-you-need-permission/check-if-you-need-a-screening-decision)
- consider a Forestry EIA (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/environmental-impact-assessments-for-woodland) from the Forestry Commission depending on tree density
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.

Traditional orchards are open mosaic habitats defined as groups of fruit and nut trees:
- planted on vigorous rootstocks at low densities in permanent grassland
- managed in a low intensity way
This includes cobnut plats.

Growing trees in low densities

Your adviser will use the following measurements to assess low densities of traditional orchards:
- apple orchards are usually planted between 7m and 10m apart at a density of between 100 and 150 trees per ha
- pear trees are usually planted between 10m and 20m apart at a density of between 25 and 100 trees per ha
- cherry trees are usually planted between 10m and 15m apart at a density of between 50 and 100 trees per ha
- walnut trees are usually planted between 12m and 15m apart at a density of between 50 and 80 trees per ha
- plum trees are usually planted about 5m to 10m apart at a density of between 150 and 260 trees per ha
- cobnut trees have a planting density of about 400 trees per ha with different layouts
Traditional orchards often contain a large variety of fruit and nut cultivars.

How to increase biodiversity in your orchard

The wildlife of orchard sites depends on the range of habitats available, including:
- fruit (or nut) trees
- scrub
- hedgerows
- hedgerow trees
- the orchard floor habitats (for example, flower rich grassland)
- fallen and standing dead wood
- other features such as ponds and streams
Maximise the orchard wildlife by cutting or grazing to create a sward that flowers and sets seed in the spring and summer. Allow plenty of tussocky vegetation and some scrub at the edges of the orchard.

Mixed species orchards offer a better variety of pollen and nectar sources, food and habitat for biodiversity.

To maintain landscape and historic continuity, replant with some of the existing species and varieties.

Prime traditional orchard habitat has:
- fruit trees of different ages
- plenty of standing and fallen dead and decaying wood
Many rare invertebrates rely on standing and fallen deadwood habitat.