NELMS abandons landscape-scale

Landscape-scale agri-environmental agreements do not look like forming a major part of NELMS after all.  Readers may recall that this was one of the ‘big ideas’ in the New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS is still to be christened with its official name).  However, a recent DEFRA announcement severely downgrades this element of the scheme.

DEFRA issued a second response to the ‘Consultation on CAP Reform in England’ at the end of February (the first came out before Christmas – see December article).  This document gave more details on the department’s plans for Rural Development (see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284801/cap-consult-response-201402.pdf).   Part of this focusses on NELMS. 

As already known, there will be an upper-tier focussing on ‘priority sites’.  This will look very much like the present HLS, and would effectively be by invitation-only on the land with most environmental potential.  In addition, there will be a universal capital grant scheme paying up to £5,000 to fund activities such as hedge management, stone wall repairs etc.  This would be open to all, even those not in a management agreement.

The ‘mid-tier’ was originally planned to focus on landscape-scale agreements.  This was groups of land managers coming together to offer large areas of land into a scheme.  This was thought to offer better environmental outcomes than isolated ‘pockets’ of land.  However, it is now stated that ‘high quality individual applications addressing local priorities will characterise these agreements’.   The document goes on to state that ‘there were concerns over the challenge of getting farmers and other land managers to act in concert at the landscape scale’ – something we have been highlighting for some time.  DEFRA is still looking at ways to reward collaborative applications, but this is no longer the pre-requisite that once seemed likely.  Instead, it seems that the industry is going to be guided towards a more focused agri-environmental approach.  This will be through only offering mid-tier agreements in certain ‘priority areas’ with limit option choice. 

The upshot is that this will probably make it easier to apply for NELMS.  However it does not change the fact, and possibly makes it more likely with the additional targeting, that some farmers will not be able to get into a management scheme when their ELS agreement ends.