Farming in Protected Landscapes projects

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Listed below are the projects which have received funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme in the Shropshire Hills between September 2021 - March 2022.

The funding is aimed at farmers and land managers in England's protected landscapes and is for one-off farming projects that can demonstrate benefits to climate, nature, people and place. 

The programme is part of the government's Agricultural Transition Plan which is shifting from direct payments to farmers, to rewarding environmentally-friendly practices. 

national report about the programme 

 

Click button below to download the list of projects that have been supported to date:

projects in the Shropshire Hills  

or view project summaries on our website by clicking links below:

Pollardine Farm, Pontesbury: Training courses for transition to regenerative agriculture.

Awarded £2,509.50.  Total project value £3,585.

September 2021- March 2022 

Grant to support landowners attend two training courses on regenerative management.  The courses are a 9-day Holistic Management Comprehensive course, accredited by the Savory Institute, and a Conservation Grazing in Practice, 2-day course, accredited by LANTRA.  The courses are helping the landowners to change their farming practices to regenerate their soil, improve profitability, quality of life, and learn how to use livestock to achieve environmental objectives. Knowledge gained will be shared with other local farmers/landowners.  

Graig Farm, Knighton: Hedgerow restoration and rotational grazing

Awarded £19,561.80.  Total project value £19,561.80.

October 2021- March 2023 

The project will divide a 15 hectare field to enable managed rotational grazing which will improve the grazing management and extend of two Local Wildlife Sites. This will be done by rejuvenating and restoring 440 metres of currently unfenced ancient hedgerow through coppicing, gapping up, hedgerow tree planting and fencing as well as new stock fencing to encourage expansion of the species rich Local Wildlife Sites. 

Powkesmore Farm, Ditton Priors: Soil improvement  

Awarded £18,840.  Total project value £47,100.

October 2021 - March 2022

The grant is contributing to the purchase of a direct drill in order to improve the overall soil health across the farm. This will deliver a number of benefits including improved soil structure and health, improved infiltration and drainage, increase in beneficial invertebrates and earthworms, increased soil organic matter, reduced soil erosion and improved carbon sequestration. 

Blackhurst Farm, Longnor: Highland Beef expansion  

Awarded £30,170.58.   Total project value £48,636.44.

October 2021- March 2023 

The grant is supporting the expansion of the applicant’s Highland/ Shorthorn Beef business.  The animals graze a wildlife-rich iconic local hill which is part Local Wildlife Site. Their foraging on the heathland ground and rough pasture, helps to maintain this species rich habitat which include  various mosses, herbal grasses and wildflowers. The project also includes alterations to an existing farm building to house a cold store, sorting area and customer facing area for collection of beef boxes, the purchase and installation of cold store, kitchen facilities, display refrigerator, and the purchase of a  refrigerated trailer for safe transport of meat to and from the farm, abattoir, butcher and farmers’ markets. 

Bog Farm, Minsterley: Hedgerow creation and water course protection  

Awarded £6,091.04.  Total project value £6,531.04

December 2021 - March 2023

This project is creating a 140 metre buffer strip between a brook and grazing land to prevent cattle from damaging the watercourse.  The strip will be planted with species commonly found on riverbanks such as alder, willow, downy birch, hazel and hawthorn. This buffer strip will help to reduce soil erosion and water runoff into the brook and is linking two areas of woodland to improve habitat connectivity.  A pasture pump is also being installed to provide water for the cattle, and a hedge is being restored to create a wildlife corridor, linking woodland to another hedgerow and area of woodland.

Tregodfa, Knighton: Hedgerow restoration

Awarded £5,328.10.  Total project value £5,328.10.

November 2021 - March 2022 

This project is reinstating a hedgerow network on a small upland farm. The restoration includes laying, coppicing and gapping up the hedge, as well as planting new hedgerow trees.  The hedges will be fenced to protect new growth and to encourage regeneration of ground vegetation.  Hedgerows have benefits for wildlife and also act as barriers to reduce soil erosion and water runoff.  Historically, hedgerows were a key feature of upland farms, dividing the land into small fields and this project seeks to enhance this key feature of the Shropshire Hills landscape.

new hedge planting and fencing on farm

new fencing and hedge restoration on the farm

Lawn Farm, Craven Arms: Recovery and restoration of area of River Clun

Awarded £28,063.80.  Total project value £32,503.80.

November 2021 - March 2023

The grant is supporting woodland and hedgerow habitat restoration. Riparian (river) woodland will be enhanced by carrying out tree surgery on diseased, leaning or fallen trees and by replanting the riverbank with suitable trees as needed. The area (0.4 hectares) will be stock fenced to allow a wide riparian woodland corridor to establish.  Historic hedge-lines will be restored by coppicing, planting up gaps and fencing to create valuable wildlife corridors across the farm.  

(2 agreements due to Countryside Stewardship rate changes, January 2023)

photograph of hedge laying and fencing on farm

Lower Treverward, Clun: Fencing to protect valuable habitat  

Awarded £3,733.80.  Total project value £3,733.80.

November 2021 - March 2022

The project will erect 762 metres of protective livestock fencing to safeguard newly layed hedges from livestock damage. The hedges will provide vital habitat for local birds/wildlife and insects, ensuring a greater area of wildlife rich habitat. The fencing will be spaced 1.5 metres from the centre of the hedge to allow hedges to grow up to 3 metres wide, ensuring a strong, thick hedge to provide essential wildlife corridors and to act as carbon sinks, reducing soil erosion and improving the visual character of the area.  

Westhope Estate, Craven Arms: Enhancing existing woodland and creating new  

Awarded £27,411.71.  Total project value £41,482.84.

November 2021 - March 2024

The project is removing mature laurel and replanting with native species which will be managed as coppice with standards. Other woodland areas will be thinned to increase light levels and encourage a range of ground flora. A second area of woodland will be restored as a wet woodland. The existing Poplar plantation and invasive Himalayan balsam will be cleared, and replanted to increase native wet woodland species.  A woodland corridor will also be planted to improve woodland connectivity. The newly planted areas will be protected from grazing and managed as short and long rotation coppice to encourage the succession of scrub species.  The work is being supported by volunteers from a local wildlife group and the project includes training for volunteers and community events. 

Stag’s Head, Bucknell: Field barn repair  

Awarded £7,855.50.  Total project value £7,855.50.

January 2022- March 2023 

The grant is to repair a 19th century field barn/shelter in a field which is being managed for long-term conservation.  The building is present on the Shropshire Historic Environmental Record as an ‘unnamed field barn’ of post-Medieval date.  Built with local mudstone and a simple internal timber structure the building is typical of field shelters in the Clun Forest.  The barn will be used to provide shelter at public events and for storing woodland/coppice products from the site.  A local builder is being employed to do the repairs using local materials.    

repairs being made to barn

Corfield Farm, Much Wenlcok: River and pond restoration  

Awarded £11,990.50.  Total project value £16,918.00.

December 2021 - March 2023

This project will enhance ongoing restoration work along the River Corve by adding riparian fencing to exclude livestock and repairing a large redundant Victorian fish pool on the farm.  Electric fence posts will be installed rather than a permanent fence which is likely to be washed away in floods.  New hedges will be planted along existing field boundaries, standard hedgerow trees will be allowed to grow and stand alone in-field trees will be planted to improve the landscape character and provide shade for livestock.  The hedgerows will help to slow floodplain flows reducing downstream floods and improving water quality. The fish pool will be restored by repairing the breached bund and sculpting the ground levels, incorporating a reedbed to create additional wetland habitat on the farm and complimenting the river restoration habitats.  

Causeway Wood, Acton Burnell: Ecological feasibility study  

Awarded £4,778.40.  Total project value £4,778.40.

December 2021 - March 2023

The grant is funding a feasibility study to assess the farm’s proposal to create a number of new pond / pool areas to hold back flood water and enhance the local environment.  The shallow standing water / bog areas will improve habitat and increasing biodiversity in the wider landscape. The feasibility study will identify the best locations for scrapes / wetland / pool areas, advise on how to create them and the benefits to the farm and surrounding area. The grant is also supporting hedge restoration work, including coppicing and gapping up to create a wildlife corridor between two areas of existing woodland on the farm. 

Little Hobarris, Bucknell: New broadleaf woodland  

Awarded £4,497.60.  Total project value £4,497.60.

December 2021- March 2022 

The grant will support the planting of 645 native species trees within three strips of land amounting to 4,065 square metres. The strips will be end-to-end and form a belt across three fields.  The project will deliver new broadleaved woodland comprising as wide a variety of native species as possible, taking into account the site’s characteristics (eg soil, topography, prevailing wind). The new woodland will be good for carbon sequestration and enhance the character of the landscape as a significant percentage of the broadleaf trees in the valley below the planting site are ash (with dieback evident in many of them) so the new planting will help to offset the eventual losses. 

Hill View, Pontesbury: Wildlife pond and hedge restoration  

Awarded £4,868.00.   Total project value £10,508.00.

January 2022 - March 2023

The project is creating two ponds/wetland areas and scrapes to increase connectivity with local streams and wetlands.  The ponds will provide additional habitats, helping to safeguard endangered species such as the great crested newt. They will also act as surface water storage to reduce flooding in winter of adjacent fields and a lane.  The project is also restoring 150 metres of hedge by laying, coppicing and gapping up, creating connectivity between habitats, and helping to reduce soil erosion and water runoff.  These activities help to offset habitat losses from a local housing development on a greenfield site, and bring both ecological and hydrological benefits to the local landscape. 

Llanfair Hall, Knighton: Hedge improvements 

Awarded £4,245.  Total project value £4,245 

February 2022 - March 2022

This is a small project to restore an overgrown mature planted hedge which connects to several other hedges and will improve connectivity between two large ancient semi-natural woodlands.

It’s part of a larger long-term project to deliver increased habitat connectivity between Llanfair Hall Wood (over 17 hectares) and the Long Wood (8.5 hectares).  

Cow Hall, Clun: Enhance biodiversity habitats and connectivity 

Awarded £3,434.80.  Total project value £3,434.80.

March 2022 - March 2022

A small project to plant 167 metres of new hedge along an existing fence-line, install two owl boxes in locations known to be used by barn owls and two bat boxes close to water courses.  This is the start of a wider project to improve resilience in the face of the changing climate, by increasing both the biodiversity on the farm and ability of the land to store more carbon, and at the same time increase efficiencies and enhance safety within the business. The new hedgerow will be protected from the grazing sheep and cattle by new fencing. 

view of new hedge planted on farm in the Shropshire Hills