Farming in
Protected Landscapes
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what is the Farming in protected landscapes programme?
The Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme is designed to help Farmers and Landowners within each of the 44 protected landscapes in England, both National Parks and Area's of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to deliver projects that support nature recovery, climate change mitigation, improve landscape character and give people more opportunities to access and understand the landscape.
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Applications are invited covering 4 themes; Climate, Nature, People and Place, and can target all themes or just one. We are now accepting applications for Year 3 (2023/2024). We have recently heard that the programme is to be extended to March 2025, enabling us to continue to delivery for farmers and land owners across the Quantock Hills.
developing your project
Get in touch with our Farming in Protected Landscapes team by contacting Katie Read, Landscape Project Officer on katie.read@somerset.gov.uk or by calling 07977 412249
She can arrange a site visit to discuss and advise on your project ideas.
It is important that your project targets at least one of the 4 themes of the Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme as well as the Quantock Hills Management Plan. You can find out more information about the AONB's management plan and local priorities below.
Your Application
Applications for less than £5000 will be decided upon by a senior member of the AONB team (who has no prior knowledge of the project).
Applications for over £5000 will be judged by a Local Assessment Panel. This kind of system has been used locally before for the Greater Quantock Landscape Development Fund.
The Local Assessment Panel is made up of 8 to 12 people including representatives from the Quantock Hills AONB JAC, Natural England, representatives from the farming and land management community, and landscape and biodiversity specialists. We expect that the panel will meet to make decisions every 6 to 8 weeks.
example projects
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In our first two years we have supported 31 projects and awarded approx £180,000 to support projects bringing benefits to climate, nature, people and place. The work is ongoing, but as projects are completed we'll showcase some of the most innovative. You can follow the links here to find all of our projects supported to date.
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Nationally in the first year of the programme, FiPL approved over 1000 projects for funding and worked with 1831 farmers and landowners. At the end of the second year, those figures are now 2400 projects approved, with over 5000 farmers engaged in FiPL. For all the details and case studies from around England's protected landscapes click on the links below.
