Grants and support to Go Green

Find out about grants and support available to help businesses, community groups and individuals go green.

Sustainable farm-based protein competition

The development of products such as methane reducing animal feeds and high protein crops has received a boost, with Defra opening a £12.5m competition to support research and innovation. They are inviting farmers, growers, foresters, businesses and researchers to apply with projects to help increase domestic production of healthy and sustainable protein.

The competition is part of the Government’s £270 million Farming Innovation Programme being run in partnership with UK Research and Innovation’s Transforming Food Production Challenge to help spark new ideas and collaboration across the sector.

For more information, visit the Farming Innovation Programme website.

England Woodland Creation Offer

Landowners, land managers and public bodies can apply to the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) for support to create new woodland, including through natural colonisation, on areas as small as one hectare. You could receive over £10,000 per hectare to support your woodland creation scheme. EWCO is one of a suite of Forestry Commission initiatives to support woodland creation and tree planting across England.

See England Woodland Creation Offer on GOV.UK for more details of eligibility and how to apply.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

The scheme is available to all farmers who currently receive Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments. It is designed to be accessible, and will reward sustainable practices that support food production and benefit the environment.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is the first of three new environmental land management schemes being introduced under the Agricultural Transition Plan. The schemes will ensure long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil, water, and biodiverse ecosystems.

The scheme will open with two soil standards recognising the importance of healthy soil for successful farming and the environment, and a moorland standard. In that standard, farmers will be paid to assess the condition of the moorland as a basis for further action in the future through existing and new schemes.

There is no ‘application window’ and no deadline by which farmers must apply, so farmers can apply throughout the year at a time that works best for them.

Visit Sustainable Farming Incentive guidance on GOV.UK for more information on eligibility and how to apply.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced that the government's new £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme is now open for grant applications and payments.

Homeowners across England and Wales can now benefit from £5,000 grants to fit clean heating systems when they come to replace their oil and gas boilers. This includes clean heating systems installed from 1 April this year.

Heat pumps are now much cheaper and more competitively priced against gas and oil boilers, and closer to the cost of installing a traditional gas boiler. The scheme will improve the energy efficiency of homes, reduce energy bills and cut emissions in the long-term.

Check if you are eligible to apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on GOV.UK

Greening Eden Businesses Grant

Greening Eden Businesses will support local businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, and save money at the same time. Following an environmental assessment with the CBEN partnership, applicants can apply for funding. Grants are for capital investment projects that will significantly reduce the businesses carbon footprint.

Grants range from £1,000 to £50,000 per businesses, depending on the chosen solutions. The grant rate is around 50% of the total cost of investment. This scheme is for businesses located in Eden or whose principal operations are in Eden.

Applications are now open, email greeningeden@cben.co.uk

Visit Greening Eden on CBEN website for more information.

The Big Solar Co-op

The Big Solar Co-op is a new approach to subsidy-free community solar. They aim to make solar viable on a huge range of sites, principally on rooftops rather than solar fields. If you own or run a potential site for solar PV, or have a good idea for a potential site they want to hear from you.

Go to Big Solar Co-op website to learn more.

Support for Eden Agribusinesses as Council partners with Farmer Network

Through its Inspiring Eden programme and working in partnership with the Farmer Network, Eden District Council is unveiling a fully-funded support package for farmers in the area.

The programme has now launched, and it is hoped that this will help Eden's farm businesses between now and the end of March 2023.

A wide range of support is on offer. This includes one-to-one farm business advice tailored to your situation. This could be in the form of a farm business review; assessment of the farm's potential for current and future environmental payments; help to identify farm diversification opportunities; and support with succession planning or retirement options.

Vouchers worth up to £2,500 to help fund the cost of a full carbon audit and soil testing for carbon are also on offer to help farmers in their journey towards net-zero.

Visit Farmer Network website for more information.

Farm payments 2022

The application window for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), Countryside Stewardship (CS) and Environmental Stewardship (ES) revenue agreements closed on 16 May 2022.

Later this year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will open applications for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme, which provides financial support to BPS applicants in England who wish to retire or leave farming in a planned way.

Farmers who are considering applying for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme are encouraged to apply for BPS in 2022 as well as applying for the Lump Sum Exit Scheme later on.

Go to basic payments scheme on GOV.UK for more details on payments for farmers who carry out eligible agricultural activities, what you need to know and do before you can apply for an annual payment.

Read lump sum payments for farmers in England who leave or retire from farming on GOV.UK.

Green Heat Network Fund

The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) is a 3-year £288 million capital grant fund that will support the:

• commercialisation and construction of new low and zero carbon (LZC) heat networks (including the supply of cooling)
• retrofitting and expansion of existing heat networks.

This will include schemes that deliver clean heating to homes, offices, commercial and public buildings. Funding will support the uptake of low-carbon technologies like heat pumps, solar and geothermal energy as a central heating source. The GHNF is open to organisations in the public, private, and third sectors in England (individuals, households and sole traders cannot apply).

The GHNF main scheme opened its first application round on 14 March 2022.

This will be followed by quarterly rounds until the scheme closes in 2025.

Go to Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) on GOV.UK, for more information.