Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier provides multi-year agreements for land managers in England to carry out environmental management on their land. Higher Tier targets the most environmentally important sites and features, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), priority habitats, and areas of high environmental value. It covers woodland management, habitat restoration, species conservation, and landscape-scale environmental improvements. Higher Tier agreements are competitive and typically run for 5 to 10 years.

There are 141 actions available under CS Higher Tier, grouped into the following categories:

| Category | Actions | Example |

|----------|---------|---------|

| Countryside Stewardship - Priority Habitats | 18 | CSP1: CSP1 |

| Countryside Stewardship - Woodland | 17 | CSW12: CSW12 |

| Biodiversity and Nature | 16 | BN1: BN1 |

| Capital - Boundaries | 12 | CAB10: CAB10 |

| Capital - Grassland and Scrub | 11 | CGS16: CGS16 |

| Capital - Upland | 11 | CUP10: CUP10 |

| Coastal and Marine | 9 | CCT10: CCT10 |

| Capital - Historic Sites | 7 | CHS2: CHS2 |

| Capital - Trees | 7 | CT1: CT1 |

| Capital - Public Access | 6 | CPAC1: CPAC1 |

| Capital - Agroforestry | 4 | CAGF1: CAGF1 |

| Arable Capital | 3 | AC1: AC1 |

| Arable Field | 3 | AF1: AF1 |

| Capital - Landscape and Heritage | 3 | CLH1: CLH1 |

| Arable Buffer and Margins | 2 | AB15: AB15 |

| AQ | 2 | AQ1: AQ1 |

| Boundaries and Edges | 2 | BE5: BE5 |

| CBE | 2 | CBE4: CBE4 |

| Water Management | 2 | WT8: Management of fen |

| CES | 1 | CES6: CES6 |

| Countryside Hedgerow | 1 | CHRW4: CHRW4 |

| COP | 1 | COP3: COP3 |

| Trees and Hedgerow (Capital) | 1 | TE1: Planting standard hedgerow tree |

Payment rates under CS Higher Tier range from £1.16 to £2760.00, depending on the action. Payments are typically made per hectare per year, though capital grant actions may have different payment structures.

| Code | Action | Payment Rate |

|------|--------|-------------|

| AB15 | | £593.00 |

| AB9 | | £853 |

| AC1 | | |

| AC2 | | £277.26 |

| AC3 | | £55.65 |

| AF1 | | £5.40 |

| AF2 | | £17.83 |

| AF3 | | £1.16 |

| AQ1 | | £2760.00 |

| AQ2 | | £72.00 |

| BE5 | | £471.00 |

| BE6 | | £488.00 |

| BN1 | | £67.25 |

| BN10 | | £5.82 |

| BN11 | | £22.97 |

| BN12 | | £31.91 |

| BN13 | | £5.54 |

| BN14 | | £164.50 |

| BN15 | | £15.91 |

| BN16 | | £16.17 |

| BN2 | | £163.26 |

| BN3 | | £20.59 |

| BN4 | | £10.54 |

| BN5 | | £13.52 |

| BN6 | | £5.33 |

| BN7 | | £17.22 |

| BN8 | | £4.39 |

| BN9 | Hedgerow supplement - substantial pre-work | £7.06 |

| CAB10 | | £1072.00 |

| CAB11 | | £660.00 |

| CAB12 | | £732.00 |

| CAB14 | | £354.00 |

| CAB16 | | £747.00 |

| CAB17 | | £853 |

| CAB18 | | £798.00 |

| CAB19 | | £739.00 |

| CAB2 | | £58 |

| CAB5 | | £765 |

| CAB6 | | £589 |

| CAB7 | | £596.00 |

| CAGF1 | | £849.00 |

| CAGF2 | Manage low density in-field agroforestry on more sensitive l | £385 |

| CAGF3 | | £595.00 |

| CAGF4 | | £248.00 |

| CBE4 | | £264.00 |

| CBE5 | | £471.00 |

| CCT10 | | £791 |

| CCT2 | | £773.00 |

| CCT3 | | £724.00 |

| CCT4 | | £812.00 |

| CCT5 | | £494.00 |

| CCT6 | | £123.00 |

| CCT7 | | £494.00 |

| CCT8 | | £620 |

| CCT9 | Manage and restore coastal vegetated shingle | £583 |

| CES6 | | £861.00 |

| CGS16 | | £95.00 |

| CGS18 | | £1070.00 |

| CGS19 | | £547.00 |

| CGS20 | | £676 |

| CGS21 | | £528.00 |

| CGS22 | | £646 |

| CGS23 | | £157 |

| CGS24 | | £187.00 |

| CGS25 | | £102 |

| CGS26 | | £151.00 |

| CGS4 | | £382.00 |

| CHRW4 | | £13.00 |

| CHS2 | | £613.00 |

| CHS3 | | £115.00 |

| CHS4 | | £215.00 |

| CHS5 | | £55.00 |

| CHS6 | | £2,512 |

| CHS7 | | £863.00 |

| CHS9 | | £257.00 |

| CLH1 | | £412.00 |

| CLH2 | | £311.00 |

| CLH3 | | £711.00 |

| COP3 | | £935.00 |

| CPAC1 | | £92.00 |

| CPAC2 | | £221.00 |

| CPAC3 | | £158.00 |

| CPAC4 | | £77.00 |

| CPAC5 | | £158.00 |

| CPAC6 | | £221.00 |

| CSP1 | | £93.00 |

| CSP11 | | £1.17 |

| CSP12 | | £256.00 |

| CSP13 | | £140.00 |

| CSP14 | | £230.00 |

| CSP15 | | £380.00 |

| CSP16 | | £92.00 |

| CSP17 | | £146.00 |

| CSP18 | | £7.00 |

| CSP19 | | £11.00 |

| CSP2 | | £181.00 |

| CSP20 | | £40.00 |

| CSP21 | | £99.00 |

| CSP3 | | £232.00 |

| CSP5 | | £10.00 |

| CSP6 | | £59.00 |

| CSP7 | | £279.00 |

| CSP9 | | £204.00 |

| CSW12 | | £1489.00 |

| CSW13 | | £396.00 |

| CSW14 | | £156.00 |

| CSW15 | | £740.00 |

| CSW16 | | £330.00 |

| CSW17 | | £1409.00 |

| CSW18 | | £1381.00 |

| CSW19 | | £892.00 |

| CSW20 | | £840.00 |

| CSW21 | | £1182.00 |

| CSW22 | | £1242.00 |

| CSW23 | | £1241.00 |

| CSW24 | | £938.00 |

| CSW25 | | £1186.00 |

| CSW26 | | £366.00 |

| CSW7 | | £489.00 |

| CSW8 | | £311.00 |

| CT1 | | £620.00 |

| CT2 | | £773.00 |

| CT3 | | £483.00 |

| CT4 | | £812.00 |

| CT5 | | £494.00 |

| CT6 | | £123.00 |

| CT7 | | £494.00 |

| CUP10 | | £66.00 |

| CUP11 | | £33.00 |

| CUP12 | | £43.00 |

| CUP13 | | £45.00 |

| CUP14 | | £48.00 |

| CUP15 | | £7.00 |

| CUP16 | | £18.00 |

| CUP17 | | £23.00 |

| CUP18 | | £137.00 |

| CUP2 | | £121.00 |

| CUP3 | | £55.00 |

| TE1 | Planting standard hedgerow tree | £19.06 |

| WT8 | Management of fen | £920 |

| WT9 | Creation of fen | £1,605 |

Countryside Stewardship agreements are applied for through the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). Applications typically open annually. You need a Rural Payments account and must have eligible land.

This information is provided by Farmwalk based on published government guidance. Always check the latest guidance on GOV.UK.