Guidance
Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT)
Find out when and how to apply for CSHT funding from 2025 and how to manage your agreement.
Change of https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht
Change description : 2025-10-07 15:15:00: Section ‘13.3. SSSI consent’ of the ‘CSHT applicant’s guide’ has been updated to make the process clearer. For CSHT actions or capital items on land that’s an SSSI, you will need SSSI consent. If needed, you must give notice to get consent if the RPA offers you a CSHT agreement and you accept it. [Guidance and regulation]
Showing diff : 2025-09-19 11:32:37.048961125 +00:00..2025-10-07 14:15:31.762677490 +00:00
Find out when and how to apply for CSHT funding from 2025 and how to manage your agreement.
This CSHT guidance replaces the preview guidance published in December 2024.
Your CSHT agreement comprises:
Read the applicant’s guide to understand when you can prepare a CSHT application, get pre-application advice and apply.
Use the application checklist to make sure you’ve followed all steps in the application process.
Select CSHT actions using the Find funding for land or farms tool.
Read the agreement holder’s guide to understand how to manage your agreement.
Read the terms and conditions that you will need to comply with under the scheme.
Section '13.3. SSSI consent' of the 'CSHT applicant's guide' has been updated to make the process clearer. For CSHT actions or capital items on land that’s an SSSI, you will need SSSI consent. If needed, you must give notice to get consent if the RPA offers you a CSHT agreement and you accept it.
Removed an extra comma in the CSHT applicant's guide - HTML attachment
First published.
2025-11-24 17:24
Section 13.7 ‘Permission to change uncultivated, semi-natural and rural land’ of the ‘CSHT applicant’s guide’ has been updated. We have added detail to the description of semi-natural areas.
2025-11-24 14:02
Correction: For action CCT8: ‘WF03 Pond’ is an eligible land use code, not ‘NF03 Scattered scrub’ and ‘WO25 Scrub’.For action CCT10: ‘NF03 Scattered scrub’ and ‘WO25 Scrub’ are eligible land use codes, not ‘WF03 Pond’.
2025-11-24 12:43
Updated section 11.5 in the CSHT applicant’s guide – added 3rd bullet to make it clear that land use area needs to be the same as the land cover area.Updated section 5 of the CSHT checklist – added prompts 4 and 5 about land use and land cover being compatible.Updated the CSHT actions (print version) – added eligible land use codes to 3 actions:* action CGS22 – added WO25 Scrub,* action CCT10 – added WF03 Pond,* action CCT8 – added NF03 Scattered scrub and WO25 Scrub.
2025-10-16 16:56
Added link to guidance on Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) actions affected by Lump Sum Exit Scheme payments in section 6.1 of the CSHT applicant’s guide.
2025-10-16 09:26
In the applicant’s guide, Section 7.2.1: ‘Management control if you are a landlord’ – the landlord no longer needs to provide the tenant with the requirements of actions or capital items in writing.
2025-10-09 12:29
Have added guidance on how to check your land use is correct under section 11.5 of the ‘CSHT applicant’s guide’.
2025-10-07 15:15
Section ‘13.3. SSSI consent’ of the ‘CSHT applicant’s guide’ has been updated to make the process clearer. For CSHT actions or capital items on land that’s an SSSI, you will need SSSI consent. If needed, you must give notice to get consent if the RPA offers you a CSHT agreement and you accept it.
2025-09-19 12:32
Removed an extra comma in the CSHT applicant’s guide – HTML attachment
2025-09-10 13:00
First published.