Higher Level Stewardship

Higher Level Stewardship
Name	Higher Level Stewardship
Type	Land management scheme
Country	United Kingdom
Launched	2005
Administered by	Natural England
Funding	Rural Development Programme for England
Current status	Closed to new agreements (post-2015)

Higher Level Stewardship

Higher Level Stewardship was a targeted agri-environment scheme in the United Kingdom designed to support targeted land management, habitat restoration and cultural heritage conservation on priority sites. It operated alongside other interventions to deliver landscape-scale outcomes across protected areas, catchments and designated sites, with agreements tailored to meet statutory designations and local conservation priorities. The programme involved multiple stakeholders from statutory agencies to landowners and conservation NGOs.

Overview and Objectives

Higher Level Stewardship aimed to safeguard biodiversity on sites covered by designations such as Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, and Ramsar wetlands, while promoting measures relevant to Countryside Stewardship targets and Environment Agency flood risk management. Objectives included restoring semi-natural habitats associated with National Trust properties, enhancing agro-ecological networks championed by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and The Wildlife Trusts, and integrating cultural heritage work supported by Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The scheme was shaped by policy frameworks such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the European Landscape Convention and intersected with national programmes administered by Natural England and regional bodies like Defra delivery teams.

Eligibility and Application Process

Eligibility typically required land to be within priority areas identified by landscape character assessments conducted with partners such as Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, and local National Park authorities including Lake District National Park Authority and Peak District National Park Authority. Applicants included private landowners, charitable trusts such as RSPB, tenant farmers represented by National Farmers' Union, and estates like Duchy of Cornwall or Earl of Stradbroke's holdings. Applications were assessed against criteria influenced by statutory obligations under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and designations overseen by English Heritage (now Historic England). The process required mapping, management planning with input from advisers from Natural England and sometimes co-funding partners like Heritage Lottery Fund or European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

Management Requirements and Conservation Practices

Agreements prescribed measures such as restoring species-rich grassland with techniques advocated by organisations like Plantlife, creating buffer strips used in projects with the River Trusts, and managing woodland structure following guidance from the Forestry Commission and Woodland Trust. Management plans reflected targets from the Biodiversity 2020 strategy and incorporated practices promoted by Landowners' Federation collaborators, including rotational grazing regimes linked to National Trust moorland restoration and invasive species control referenced in work by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Historic landscape restoration measures aligned with conservation charters supported by Historic England and Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Agreements specified timings for operations to protect breeding birds listed under conventions such as the Birds Directive and species recovery priorities promoted by Bat Conservation Trust and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation.

Funding, Payments and Compliance

Financial arrangements used tiered payments covering capital works, annual management and facilitation, with funds drawn from the Rural Development Programme for England and administered through Defra schemes implemented by Natural England. Payments had to align with standards set under the Common Agricultural Policy including cross-compliance with regulations enforced by bodies like the Environment Agency and local Animal and Plant Health Agency offices. Compliance mechanisms mirrored audit procedures used in other schemes delivered by Rural Payments Agency and involved costed works by contractors accredited with organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management. Co-financing or match funding was sometimes provided by charities including The National Trust and private foundations such as Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Monitoring, Reporting and Enforcement

Monitoring protocols combined on-site inspections by Natural England advisors with condition assessments used for Site of Special Scientific Interest reporting and condition metrics similar to those under European Commission reporting for Natura 2000. Spatial monitoring incorporated tools developed in partnership with research institutions like Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford remote sensing groups, and reporting frameworks compatible with national indicators compiled by Office for National Statistics. Enforcement actions for non-compliance were handled via contractual remedies administered by Natural England and, where necessary, escalated to legal processes under statutes such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or civil recovery pursued with advice from Crown Prosecution Service guidance on environmental offences.

Impact, Outcomes and Case Studies

Evaluations of Higher Level Stewardship reported outcomes across biodiversity, water quality and cultural heritage objectives, with case studies in catchments like the River Wye and uplands such as Exmoor and Yorkshire Dales showing benefits for priority species recorded by groups like British Trust for Ornithology, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife. Landscape-scale initiatives coordinated with Natural Capital Committee recommendations demonstrated synergy with projects run by Wildlife and Countryside Link and Local Nature Partnerships. Independent reviews by organisations including National Audit Office and research published by universities such as Imperial College London and University of East Anglia informed successor schemes and policy adjustments in programmes delivered post-2015.

Category:Conservation in the United Kingdom