Application 

Once you have spoken to our FiPL Officer and had a site visit – you will be guided on how to proceed with your application, including any relevant quotes, consents or permissions that may need to be obtained prior to application.  

The following documents are download links to the application forms: (9) 

• (Annex B) Not registered for VAT Form 
• (Annex C) FiPL Guidance for Applicants 
• (Annex O) FiPL Application Checklist 
• MHNL FiPL Application Form (Annex A Project Costs Table) 
• MHNL FiPL Application Form (Annex D) 
• Worcestershire County Council BAC’s Form 

These documents, along with the Malvern Hills Management Plan 2025 – 2030 and relevant Nature Recovery Plans can help to support and guide your application. The landscape will support and advise you throughout the process.   

Assessment 

The cost of your project will impact on how it is assessed.  

For projects with a total fund request of over £10,000

For projects with a total fund request of under £10,000

Your application will be assessed by a Local Assessment Panel made up of experts from across your Protected Landscape, including from the farming and land management community, where you project will be given a score using a common scoring system.

Your application will be assessed by a senior member from your Protected Landscape team who has not been involved in providing advice or guidance to your application. They will assess and score your application using the common scoring system.     If you submit more than five applications for projects under £10,000 over the course of the programme (from 2021) the sixth and any further applications will be scrutinised at the Local Assessment Panels, whatever their value.

All projects will be assessed and scored using a common scoring system. You will be scored against the following categories which will be weighted differently for your final score:  

• Project outcomes – (40%) 
• Value for Money – (20%)  
• Sustainability / legacy of project – (20%)  
• Ability to deliver – (20%)  

The scoring criteria can be found at the end of this guidance document.  

There are several requirements you must meet for your application to progress, and these are made clear in the application template. Your Protected Landscape will consider whether you meet the essential criteria for the programme (see under ‘who can apply’). If you do not meet the essential criteria, your Protected Landscape will not assess your application further. 

The Malvern Hills National Landscape FiPL Funding 

Between June 2021 – March 2026, the Malvern Hills has helped to support and provide over £1.7m of FiPL funding to 59 different applicants across 109 projects within our landscape. For further information, please see our Transparency of Funding below: 

• MHNL Transparency of Funding Year 1 (2021-22) 
• MHNL Transparency of Funding Year 2 (2022-23) 
• MHNL Transparency of Funding Year 3 (2023-24) 
• MHNL Transparency of Funding Year 4 (2024-25) 
• MHNL Transparency of Funding Year 5 (2025-26) 

What we have funded so far 

Hedgerow creation and management        Fencing for habitat protection 

 Support towards conservation / regenerative grazing and livestock       Orchard restoration and management 

Access and education                      Parkland restoration                         Shelter belt planting and woodland management 

Pond creation and management                Machinery for habitat and access management 

Restoring of historic features                      Meadow creation 

National Publications 

Below are DEFRA’s National Publications on the FiPL Scheme. 

• National FiPL Year 1 Publication  
• National FiPL Year 2 Publication 
• National FiPL Year 3 Publication 
• National FiPL Year 4 Publication  
• National FiPL Year 5 Preview 
•  

For more ideas you can look on other Protected Landscape’s FiPL Pages and look at their Transparency of Funding. A list of all the Protected Landscape Websites in England can be found at the National Landscapes Website: National Landscapes – National Landscapes (14) 

Funding and Rates 

FiPL has a few key points to consider when developing your application. Firstly, FiPL should not be covering items or activities that could go into a more suitable scheme, especially when that scheme is open (i.e., SFI[Sustainable Farming Incentive]). The Funding for farmers, growers and land managers – GOV.UK (10) has further information on the current funding available to farmers.   

FiPL as a programme really lends itself to Capital Purchases, to support a Land managers chain towards a more beneficial management system, rather than a long-term support scheme.  

Countryside Stewardship (CS) or “Standard” rates 

Capital – Where there is an item which is equal to that of a Countryside Stewardship, or other Agri-Environmental Scheme item, then FiPL can and will only support to the same value – for example, in the Malvern Area, FG2 Sheep fencing at £7.47/m or TE3 Fruit Trees at £28.07/Tree are frequently used options. More information about Capital Grant Countryside Stewardship can be found here (11). 

Revenue – There a few circumstances where FiPL may consider funding a revenue activity at CS or SFI, but very rare and on a case-by-case basis.  

Bespoke Funding 

The FiPL Programme does lend itself to ‘bespoke’ funding, but there are a couple of things to note: 

1. Firstly, FiPL cannot fund anything which is a legal requirement – i.e., Planning Permission’s or surveys 

• All elements of the application must show value for money, with comparable quotes. One quote for an item/activity below £5,000, and three quotes for above.  

• Funding is subject to intervention rates / if there will be and commercial benefit from the application, as displayed in the table below:  

• The Local Assessment Panel can reduce Intervention rates if they feel this is appropriate.  

• Finally, FiPL cannot fund Livestock, Self Propelled Vehicles, with various restrictions around other elements too, such as machinery or solar – please get in touch with our FiPL Officer.  

% of Funding	Definition	Example
Up to 40% of Actual Costs	Funding rate where there will be a clear commercial gain from the project	Deer Larder, Electric fencing for Mob grazing, tools for habitat management for commercial use
Up to 80% of Actual Costs	Where there will be some commercial gain from the activity / item, but the driving force is for the delivery of public goods	An example would be supporting the infrastructure requirements to facilitate school visits to farms – i.e., hand washing stations
Up to 100% of Actual Costs	Only in exceptional circumstances, where there is no commercial gain, can applications receive 100% of costs	This may look like public engagement infrastructure, new permissive access routes

FiPL Outcomes 

The FiPL programme focuses on 4 main outcomes, which are focused on Climate, Nature, People and Place.  

(You do not need to meet all the outcomes below for your FiPL project, but the more outcomes your project supports, the higher your project scoring and likelihood of approval.)  

(C) Climate	(N) Nature	(Pe) People	(Pl) Place
C1: More carbon is stored and/or sequestered    C2: Flood risk has been reduced    C3: Better understanding among farmers, land managers and the public as to what different habitats and land uses can deliver for carbon storage and reduced carbon emissions    C4: The landscape is more resilient to climate change	N1: There is a greater area of wildlife rich habitat    N2: There is greater connectivity between habitats    N3: Existing habitat is better managed for biodiversity    N4: There is an increase in biodiversity	Pe1: There are more opportunities for people to explore, enjoy and understand the landscape    Pe2: There are increased opportunities for more diverse audiences to explore, enjoy and understand the landscape    Pe3: There is greater public engagement in land management, for example through volunteering	Pl1: The quality and character of the landscape is reinforced or enhanced    Pl2: Historic structures and features are conserved, enhanced or interpreted more effectively.     Pl3: There is an increase in the resilience of nature friendly sustainable farm businesses, which in turn contributes to a more thriving local economy.

Malvern Hills National Landscape – Management Plan 2025-2030 Outcomes 

The Malvern Hills National Landscape have our own Management plan, which can be accessed online (2); the management plan also focuses on the themes of Nature, Climate, People and Place.  

Local and National Nature Recovery Targets 

• The Malvern Hills National Landscape have our own Nature Recovery Plan, which can be found here. (3) 

• DEFRA have also created the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes framework; more information can be found at this Link: (4) The Malvern Hills National Landscape Targets as are follows: 
• National Target 1: Restore or create a range of wildlife rich habitats within the national landscape – 42.11 Ha per year 
• National Target 8: Increase tree canopy and woodland cover in the national landscape – 11.43 Ha per year.  

• The Malvern Hills Protected Landscape sits across 3 Counties, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire; Currently, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire have got live Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS’s), whilst Herefordshire’s is currently undergoing consultation and will be added which it goes live. Links for the Gloucestershire and Worcestershire LNRS’s can be found here:  
• Worcestershire LNRS (5) 
• Gloucestershire LNRS (6)