Farming In Protected Landscapes (FiPL)
In this blog, Elliot Hutt, Rural Adviser explores how members can benefit from FiPLWhat is FiPL?
Farming in Protected Landscapes is a programme designed to fund one-off projects under the themes of climate, nature, people and place. It is also there to support sustainable farm businesses.
This is a programme open to all farmers and land managers who are operating in a protected landscape and have full management and control of land and activities included in their applications. Common land is also eligible and this can be considered for individual applications or by a group of commoners acting together.
Payment rates are dependent on whether the applicant is looking to make a commercial gain. Projects not looking to make a commercial gain could receive up to 100% of the costs. Where an applicant would benefit commercially could receive between 40% and 80% of the costs.
What can you apply for?
The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme will pay for projects that, in the opinion of the selected Local Assessment Panel, provide value for money and meet at least one of the outcomes from the four themes below:
Climate – e.g. action to reduce carbon emissions on a farm; natural flood management; carbon sequestration; land management planning
Nature – e.g. improving connectivity between habitats; gathering data and evidence to inform conservation and farming practices
People – e.g. replacing stiles with gates on public footpaths, for easier access; helping more diverse audiences explore, enjoy and understand the landscape and farm businesses
Place – e.g. conserving historic features on a farm; supporting a locally branded sustainable food initiative that promotes links between the product and the landscape
Where in the south west can you apply for FiPL funding?
Why should members engage?
This programme is a very diverse and exciting scheme giving farmers and land owners lots of opportunities to aid nature recovery and mitigate climate change.
When submitting applications it would be advisable to liaise with your local authority on what is needed for a full application. There have been instances where partial applications have been submitted and this halts the process in a time sensitive situation. It would be worth noting that for an application to be accepted all aspects need to be present. For example, if the project involves planning then this will need to be granted prior to your application being accepted. This all needs to be taken into consideration when planning the timeline for your project from start to finish.
It is also worth noting that applications of £5000 or more will be assessed by a local assessment panel made up of individuals from various organisations such as the CLA, Natural England and other local specialists. Applications under this will be assessed normally by the Farming in Protected Landscapes manager however, this may differ for each local authority.
If anyone is looking for more information on this programme then please either contact CLA South West on 01249 700200 or contact your local authority directly following the hyperlinks above.