CUP7: Manage non-peat moorland soils for flood and drought resilience supplement
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

£160 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

The aim of this supplemental action is to:
- carry out activities on your land to slow the flow of surface runoff from rainfall events
- enable more water to be retained in the catchment
The purpose of this is to:
- store more water for drought resilience
- reduce flooding
- reduce sediment losses from the land
- improve water quality
- increase ecological resilience
Where you can do this action

You can only use this supplemental action in combination with Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier base action CUP3: General moorland management (https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cup3-general-moorland-management).

You can do this supplemental action within areas identified as either:

high priority for natural flood management (https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/793f7e63-0c3e-49cd-808f-9f77e55382d2)

high priority (score of 5) for water resources recharge potential (https://environment.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=91202d8f6e3947689dc1c74b9fdd078f) to support drought resilience by the Environment Agency – these are areas with the greatest potential for water to move through the soil and be stored within the ground water zone

Your Natural England adviser will agree with you what other supplemental actions may be needed to meet the intended environmental outcomes. This could include CSP9: Support for threatened species.

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

You cannot use this supplemental action on peat soils.

Eligible land

Same as base action.

Available area you can enter into this action

Same or less than the base action.

Rotational or static action

Same as base action.

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:
- create and maintain new topographical features throughout the action area to slow the flow and retain greater volumes of water for longer – these new features must cover at least 5% of the total land area
- remove or disable artificial drainage of the land (for example ditches, drains, grips, rhynes, field drains and pipes)
- remove 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 remove soil compaction.

Where a site is proposed that sits below a body of peat in poor condition, you should take action to restore the peat before, or alongside, this supplement. Natural England will assess this as part of the implementation plan or feasibility study you are required to prepare before applying for this supplement.

When to do it

You must carry out the works in year 1 of your agreement.

You’ll need to carry out the management for the duration of your agreement with maintenance every third year on average.

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:
- management activity on the action area for each parcel
- receipted invoices, consents or permissions connected with the work
Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this supplemental 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 need to:
- to agree capital item FM2: Carry out customised capital works to manage specific sites or species (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/major-preparatory-works-for-priority-habitats-creation-and-restoration-and-priority-species-fm2)
- get the necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB), before starting any work
- get a wildlife licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wildlife-licences) from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
- get advice from your relevant 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 funding through CS 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

Use this action on areas that mostly contain non-peat soils.

You may need professional advice from Natural England, Environment Agency or experienced external contractors to choose the right location for this action.

You can get a feasibility study using the capital item PA2: Feasibility study (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/feasibility-study-pa2). You can also use a plan which is not funded by PA2 if it includes all the information needed.

The feasibility study will consider the:
- site’s hydrology and whether it is in a natural condition
- actions needed to restore the hydrology, if it has been modified
- new topographical features required throughout the action area to slow the flow and retain greater volumes of water during flood events
- management of vegetation to increase surface roughness and soil infiltration
- impact on the local biodiversity
- historical and archaeological features present
You can also use capital items to create features that slow the flow of water and store more water during high rainfall. These may include:
- RP9: Earth banks and soil bunds (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/earth-banks-and-soil-bunds-rp9)
- RP11: Swales (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/swales-rp11)
- RP12: Check dams (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/check-dams-rp12)
If you have temporary water storage features such as bunds, swales, leaky sediment traps, you can create multiple smaller features rather than a single large feature. They’re most suitable on flat or gently sloping land with a gradient of less than 5 degrees.

Make sure the features are appropriate in terms of scale and location. For example, large stone dams for gullies and small bunds to divert water from animal tracks. You may need to reintroduce mosses and rough vegetation in areas with bare soil if appropriate.

Managing your site

It’s best to only use vehicles for essential management and stock welfare. This will help avoid soil compaction.

Regularly check artificial drainage blocks and other features to make sure they’re intact and replaced if they fail. Manage grazing to avoid poaching, soil compaction or the creation of drainage channels. You may need to change both livestock type and livestock numbers.

Manage the area in a way that creates an uneven ground surface. This can include hummocks of vegetation and small depressions in the soil which will hold small pockets of water. New areas of taller vegetation such as bilberry and heather may also start to form. These features will increase the surface roughness and keep water on site. Appropriate grazing and livestock management can help with this.

To create and maintain surface roughness, use a low stocking density such as 0.02 GLU per hectare in combination with off wintering of stock.