THE Hedgerow and Boundary Grant Scheme is a standalone capital grant which is available under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. Applications are to be submitted by April 28, 2017 and works completed by December 31, 2018.

Agricultural Surveyor Kirsty Short MRICS FAAV, of Greenslade Taylor Hunt, writes: “The maximum grant available (for each SBI number) is £5,000 to fund a range of boundary capital items including hedgerow laying, earth bank restoration and stone wall restoration.”

Applications are more likely to be successful if the applicant is a smaller holding, the farming business has previously held an agri-environment agreement, - for example, Entry Level Stewardship or English Woodland Grant Scheme - and the applicant has applied for at least £1,000 worth of capital works.

The grant will be competitive with each application being scored based on a number of selection criteria. Therefore only the highest scoring applications will be offered a grant and presenting a strong application will be critical to increase the chances of being accepted.

This year the scheme is more flexible and is now open to existing ELS agreement holders provided the works within the Hedgerow and Boundary Agreement are not subject to another obligation.

For advice or assistance on your potential eligibility for the grant scheme, contact Kirsty Short BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV on 01884-243000 or on Kirsty.short@gth.net. For Somerset enquiries please call 01278-410250 and for Dorset ring 01935-415300.