New RDPE

DEFRA and Natural England have started designing the agri-environment programme for England for the years after 2014.  Work is underway on a ‘New Environmental Land Management Scheme’ (NELMS).  The aim is to incorporate the best elements of the Environmental Stewardship, Catchment Sensitive Farming and the England Woodland Grant Scheme into the new scheme.    

Work is at an early stage, research projects into the effectiveness of the current scheme, proposals for the overarching scheme design and payment calculations are underway.  We will provide more information as and when available.  This will include transitional arrangements for those whose agreements end between December 2013 and 1^st January 2016, when DEFRA/Natural England expect the new agri environment agreements are likely to start under the new programme.   DEFRA is currently in discussion with the European Commission over bridging the gap in 2014 and 2015 but it is not yet clear whether or how this will be done.  More detail on NELMS can be found in the Natural England Newsletter – http://www.naturalengland.gov.uk/Images/scheme-development-bulletin-feb-2013_tcm6-35183.pdf