CSW25: Manage riparian and water edge habitats
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

£1,186 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to enhance and maintain a 12 to 24 metres (m) wide area of water-dependent habitat occurring between the land and the water’s edge of:
- rivers and streams (riparian habitats)
- lakes and ponds
This will include:
- areas of marshy wildflower grassland, fen, reed and wetland species of scrub and trees
- water loving plants, trees and shrubs occurring near the water’s edge on the bank and in low lying areas on the bank top
- some trees and shrubs overhanging the river, lake or pond
- standing and fallen deadwood
- areas that flood seasonally
- areas of river channel habitat when created by river widening as part of a river restoration plan (where there’s also 12m of habitat between the land and water’s edge)
The purpose is to deliver benefits for biodiversity, flood and drought management and water quality.

Where you can do this action

You should do this action on land with natural connectivity to a river, stream, lake, or pond, or where its natural connectivity is being restored. For example, where there is no continuous embankment acting as a barrier to stop water moving between a river and an adjacent area of vegetation, such as fen, reed, grassland, scrub or trees.

You cannot do this action on land next to drainage ditches or highly modified systems, such as embankments.

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 areas 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. 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:
- maintain a 12 to 24m wide area of undisturbed, diverse riparian or water edge habitats
- remove or disable artificial drainage from the land to restore natural hydrological conditions – you must agree all drainage works (including modification to existing drainage) in writing with Natural England before carrying out any activities
- establish or maintain permanent vegetation cover, including wetland plants, grasses, wildflowers, scrub and trees
- retain all mature and veteran standing trees and all standing and fallen deadwood
- remove all non-biodegradable flood debris
The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:
- establish a mosaic of habitats in the first year of your agreement
- complete capital works set out in your river restoration plan by the time agreed with your Natural England adviser
- manage the area through appropriate grazing and cutting
- control invasive non-native species
- allow trees and scrub to establish and retain trees and woody material across the area
- protect trees to prevent damage from livestock and wild animals
- remove soil compaction
You must not:
- fill hollows and wet features
- store materials in the agreement area
- apply fertilisers, manures or lime
- 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
- plough, harrow, roll, cultivate or re-seed unless it’s part of an agreed sward enhancement programme
- use the land as access routes for vehicles or livestock
- remove, replace or relocate historic structures
- create or maintain hard standing, boardwalk or closely mown access routes parallel to the water, unless providing permissive access agreed with Natural England
- damage or disturb legally protected or priority species
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:
- 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:
- 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
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

Ideally, choose a site where part of the land lies permanently or seasonally saturated with water and support wetland plants. Locations where connectivity between the waterbody and land can be restored are also suitable. The action is best suited to land with low to moderate fertility with extractable phosphate levels in the range of 5 to 30 milligrams per litre (mg/l).

The presence of beavers may indicate a suitable site as they can also create water dependent habitats.

Try to choose a site that connects to wider habitats as this will provide a corridor for wildlife through the landscape. This is particularly important along rivers and streams and between ponds, lakes and other wetland habitats.

You must use a nutrient buffer where needed, however you can use this action in addition to a nutrient buffer.

If you have buffer strips, habitat strips next to a waterbody, or other similar actions from previous agreements, then this action may be suitable as an improvement.

You may need to consider how you maintain existing access requirements, for example for angling.

Planning

You can create a restoration plan to direct restoration and inform management. 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 identify any environmental or historic features that you need to consider when completing this action.

Establishing a site

You may need to:
- reduce soil nutrient levels and compaction
- allow vegetation to establish by natural regeneration
- sow a native water edge seed mix or plant wetland plugs local to your area to help establish a diverse habitat
- avoid bare ground in winter to reduce the risk of soil erosion
- control injurious weeds, nettles or invasive non-native species more often over the first few years to help wetland vegetation establish
You can encourage trees and scrub to establish by natural regeneration or by planting a mixture of native tree and shrub species. These can include species such as alder, willows and guelder rose. When using this option along rivers, you can include trees along the bank and bank top to provide dappled shade to the river.

In areas where the riverbank is heavily shaded, it may be beneficial to carry out discrete tree works to allow more light to reach the water in places along the bank. Capital items are available to support this activity including tree hinging into the channel.

Tree shading can have a greater influence on ponds, so consider the need for plenty of light to reach them. For example, trees around the southern edge of a pond will have a greater shading effect than other areas of the pond.

Trees and scrub can also provide other benefits such as shelter, invertebrate habitat and food sources. In woodland habitats where removing trees and scrub may be unsuitable for some species, you will need to adapt this advice to your site.

When planting trees and scrub:
- avoid historic and archaeological sites
- be sympathetic to the landscape character
You can read the Tree Council’s guidance on hedge planting and growing (https://treecouncil.org.uk/guidance-resources/hedge-planting-and-growing/) and watch a video on how to plant trees and hedgerows (https://treecouncil.org.uk/guidance-resources/video-guide-how-to-plant-trees-and-hedgerows/).

Managing the site

Carry out management in stages to minimise disturbance and create a more varied habitat. This may include:
- maintaining vegetation cover to avoid large areas of bare soil and prevent soil runoff
- adopting very low levels of seasonal grazing and or cutting on some parts of the area. When cutting, remove all arisings.
- the use of fencing and gates (where needed) to manage livestock access to the area – use high tensile wire or electric fencing where flooding may occur to reduce the risk of damage
- controlling woody growth to maintain a varied cover of open space and scattered scrub and trees, unless you are creating a more wooded habitat
- leaving cut branches, fallen trees and scrub, or piles of dead wood to help provide habitat for wildlife.
- retaining features such as exposed tree roots
- encouraging overhanging boughs as these can provide cover and a future supply of woody material to the river, lake or pond
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.

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.

Establishing and maintaining riparian and water edge habitats allows plant and animal communities to adapt in response to environmental and climate change. Healthy riparian and water edge habitats can also help slow the flow, reducing flood risk downstream and improving water retention during droughts.