Defra have launched the application process for the first round of Landscape Recovery pilot projects. They have published the Guidance for the scheme and released their Invitation to Apply on the eSourcing Portal, where you can find more detailed guidance documents, and builds on the information published in January.
The Landscape Recovery scheme is the third of our new environmental land management schemes, alongside the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Local Nature Recovery.
Defra will provide an update on the Future Farming blog and publish additional content on their social media channels.
Applications for this round of funding are open from 1 February 2022 and will close on 24 May 2022.
The first round of Landscape Recovery projects will focus on:
- recovering and restoring England’s threatened native species. Projects under this theme will be administered by Natural England
- restoring England’s streams and rivers: improving water quality, biodiversity and adapting to climate change. Projects under this theme will be administered by the Environment Agency
Projects must cover 500 to 5,000 ha of broadly connected land and will be open to any individuals or groups who want to come together to deliver these projects. As part of submitting a bid, applicants will need to confirm that tenants and those with rights of common within the Landscape Recovery area have been engaged prior to application and are supportive of the project.
Defra will run a competitive process to select the most ambitious and impactful projects. This process will assess applications against selection criteria focused on the project’s potential impact, feasibility and costs, and we will then confirm the chosen round one pilot projects in the summer. They intend to launch a second round of pilot projects next year and will confirm the proposed theme(s) for that round in the next six months.