FiPL Eligibilty

Malvern Hills National Landscape > FiPL Eligibilty

Eligibility  

This programme supports activity on the following areas and features within a protected landscape:  

  • Farmed or managed areas of arable and other crops, grasslands (temporary and permanent); moorland, woodland and scrub; heathland; in-stream and riparian areas and open waterbodies; land which is or is proposed to be the subject of re-wilding  
  • Non-farmed areas of a holding, including hardstanding, farmyards, agricultural buildings, historic structures, tracks.  
  • Protected sites e.g. SSSIs, SACs, SPAs, Ramsar sites or other wildlife rich sites such as wetlands or saltmarsh    

Agricultural land is eligible even if it is not actively farmed. The definition of agricultural land is best defined by reference to Part 6: Exemptions – Part D: Agricultural Premises (7) of the Valuation Office Agency Rating Manual available on Gov.uk 

The FiPL programme does not support works on domestic property. 

You can receive funding through the programme if you: 

  • Are a farmer or land manager (including individuals, charities and some public bodies [the table below gives further details of land manager types])  
  • An organisation or individual collaborating with an eligible farmer / land manager (or a group of farmers/land managers) to deliver an eligible project  
  • Own, or have management control of, all the land affected by the project, or have the formal consent of the person who does. 

You do not need to be registered with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) or have a Single Business Identifier (SBI) to apply. However, your Protected Landscape will share the information you provide in your application with the RPA as described at the Declaration. 

Collaborative and group applications are supported, proved there is management control of all land entered into the application, and one individual is happy to be the “Lead Applicant”.  

Further details can be found in the (Annex C) FiPL Guidance for Applicants (8) or contact our Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer at: Swarden@worcestershire.gov.uk, or FiPL@worcestershire.gov.uk  or 07873 616 395 

Body/Organisation Can I apply? Additional Information   
Government departments, executive agencies and NDPBs (for example, Ministry of Defence, Forestry Commission), with exception of the bodies listed below in this table: No None 
Natural England Yes For work on the National Nature Reserves which goes beyond other legal obligations 
Other public bodies (including National Park Authorities, The Broads Authority, Conservation Boards and National Landscape partnerships through their accountable bodies) Yes Provided the work goes beyond the duty of regard and other legal obligations    
County, Unitary, District, Parish Council and former college farms Yes None 
Tenants of eligible public bodies Yes Ineligible where the work is already a requirement of the tenancy agreement. The public body must countersign the application if the tenant does not have security of tenure for the full term of the agreement. 
Tenants of ineligible public bodies Yes Ineligible where the work is already a requirement of the tenancy agreement. Tenants must have security of tenure for the full term of the agreement, as the public body cannot countersign the application. 
Other organisations and individuals Yes Where the proposed activity or works is in support of programme aims