Farming In Protected Landscapes - Yorkshire Dales National Park : Yorkshire Dales National Park

What is the Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme?

Farming in Protected Landscapes is a dedicated grant programme for farmers and land managers in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Programme will run until March 2025.

The Farming In Protected Landscapes Programme is part of the government’s Agriculture Transition Plan. It will enable farmers and land managers to apply for grants to support projects that will enable them to be ready for the move to the Environmental Land Management scheme which is due to be launched in 2024.

Are you a Dales farmer looking for new sources of income?
Do you have an idea that could benefit climate, nature, people or place?

We have £1.5 million to award in 2023/24 and £2.5 million to award in 2024/25.

Picture of a Thwaite Hay Barn — Thwaite Hay Barn

How do I apply for a grant?

The Farming In Protected Landscapes programme will offer grants to farmers and land managers in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to pay for projects that provide value for money and meet at least one of the outcomes in the four themes of climate, nature, people and place.

Climate

Projects on the climate theme could be to do with reducing carbon emissions. A grant could pay for a ‘farm carbon audit’, for instance, which would result in an ‘action plan’ for change. Projects that help to reduce farm fuel use or fertiliser use, or which look at the management of inputs such as concentrates, feed and straw, and projects where flood risk has been reduced, more carbon is stored, sequestered or both, and where the landscape is more resilient to climate change, would be supported

Nature

These projects would support nature recovery and habitat species recovery. Nature projects might be about restoring habitats or creating and maintaining suitable habitats for our most important species – for example, managing land for curlew or increasing species-rich hay meadows, creating wetter areas and ponds, or changing pasture management. Projects where there is greater connectivity between habitats, existing habitat is better managed for biodiversity and where there is an increase in biodiversity, would also be supported.

People

The government has made it a priority to increase the nation’s health and well-being by creating more opportunities for people to explore and understand the landscape. Grants could support projects that provide more opportunities for diverse audiences to explore, enjoy and understand the landscape, and where there is greater public engagement in land management – for example, through volunteering. Grants could be provided for the conversion of farm buildings or establishment of farm shops, farm tours or on-farm volunteering programmes. They could help pay for upgrading rights of way from footpaths to other uses, or for the creation of permissive access routes.

Place

Projects under the ‘place’ theme would be those which conserve or enhance the special qualities of the Dales: the quality and character of the landscape, the conservation, enhancement or interpretation of historic structures and features. Grants could support barn maintenance or patching up work, or farmers could set up a machinery ring that improves soil health. Projects where there is an increase in the resilience of nature-friendly, sustainable farm businesses, which in turn contributes to a more thriving local economy, would also be supported.

payment-by-results-training-day — Our Farm Conservation team talking to farmers at Thornton Rust, Wensleydale

A grant could pay for professional advice, new kit, a farm carbon audit, farm tours, building work, permissive footpaths, meadow restoration, pasture management, natural flood management, and much more. All you need in the first place is a good idea. And, if you get in touch with us, we can help you work up the idea into a proposal.

If no ideas immediately spring to mind, we recommend having a look at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan. This is a document put together by a range of partners, with input from farming representatives. It contains a set of objectives for our area. Projects which chime with those objectives would be supported.

The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is flexible. Projects would need to add value to anything currently being done under a national agri-environment scheme, but we are ruling nothing out.

We would also recommend taking a look at a new online mapping tool we published earlier this year, called Re:Cover. It shows the location of important habitats in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and – as Craven farmer Anthony Bradley said at its launch earlier this year – ‘shows you what you’ve got and the possibilities that can come from that’.

'I saw a dragonfly here last summer,' said farmer Anthony Bradley next to Mearbeck, which has been fenced off to create a wildlife friendly area — Anthony Bradley next to Mearbeck, which has been fenced off to create a wildlife friendly area

We know that farmers and landowners in the Dales want to protect the landscape and run resilient businesses. The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is here to assist them to do both.

Case Studies

Take a look at these case studies from some projects we have funded in the Yorkshire Dales National Park so far.

What’s happened so far?

Read our end of year reports to see what projects we have supported so far.

End of Year Summary 2021-2022 Download

End of Year Summary 2022-2023 Download

Apply

To apply, or to find out more, forms and further information is available below:

Download an Expression of Interest form here. Send this form in to our Farming in Protected Landscapes team with any ideas you have and location to express interest, and one of the team will contact you.
Download the Adviser Pack for Applicants here. Everything you need to know about the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
Download the application form here. This is the form you’ll need to complete to apply for a Farming in Protected Landscapes programme grant.
Download the application project costs table here. This is Annex A of the application form which you’ll need to complete alongside the application form.
Download the application guidance document here. This includes all the bits of information you’ll need to complete the application form
Download the scoring system here. This will help you understand how applications will be scored when they’re submitted to the Local Assessment Panel for consideration
Download the process flow for applicant here. This will help you understand the journey your application will go on from start to finish.

There are additional documents available to download which may help you complete your application.

Download our local priorities document. This links the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan (our programme of work for the next few years). This will help you understand what our priorities are.
Any proposed scheme you put forward which meets the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme criteria and meets some of the National Park Management Plan objectives will be scored higher. You can also download the objectives document here.