As a landowner you have legal obligations to manage and maintain land with:

• trees and woodland
• hedgerows or watercourses
• dry stone walls

You also have obligations if you own or occupy a scheduled monument.

Rural landscapes and features are protected:

• by planning policies and laws
• through the Rural Development Programme for England
• through ‘cross compliance’ - where farmers meet set standards of farming practice and land management

You can apply for funding schemes to help you protect your land.

You can apply for funding to protect rural landscapes and features through:

• The Single Payment Scheme - main EU agricultural subsidy scheme supporting environmentally friendly farming practices

• The English Woodland Grant Scheme - supports existing woodlands and encourages the creation of new ones

• Environmental Stewardship - offers financial rewards for good land management which improves the quality of the environment

Read a Natural England guide to looking after your land with environmental stewardship.

Cross compliance

To get funding from EU and UK rural development schemes you need to meet standards set down in cross compliance.

To qualify for funding, farmers must meet:

• Statutory Management Requirements
• standards of Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC)

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) produces detailed information on what you need to do to meet cross compliance requirements.

Defra cross compliance helpline
Telephone: 0845 345 1302
Find out about call charges

If you own land with hedgerows or watercourses, you must do everything you reasonably can to keep green cover (natural vegetation) on land:

• within 2 metres of the centre of a hedgerow, watercourse or field ditch
• within 1 metre of the top of the bank of a watercourse or field ditch

It's against the law to remove or destroy certain hedgerows without permission from your local planning authority.

You must also make sure you don't:

• cultivate or apply fertilisers or pesticides on these strips of green cover
• remove hedgerows without written consent from your local authority
• cut or trim hedgerows between 1 March and 31 July

Download 'GAEC 14 - Rules on protection of hedgerows and watercourses' (PDF, 1MB)

Find more information on hedgerow management and preservation.

The Forestry Commission has produced guidance on managing woodlands and minimising damage to them.

Download 'Guide to the prevention of mammal damage to trees in woodlands' (PDF, 374KB)

Download 'Guide on the prevention of rabbit damage to trees in woodland' (PDF, 232KB)

Download 'Guide to the impact of deer on woodland biodiversity' (PDF, 127KB)

Download 'Restoration of native woodland on ancient woodland sites' (PDF, 1.93MB)

Tree felling and Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs)

You must get the written consent of your local planning authority before you damage or destroy, uproot, top or lop any trees that are protected by TPOs.

You must also give 42 days’ written notice to your local planning authority if you wish to cut down any tree in a conservation area.

Download 'GAEC 16 - Rules on felling of trees' (PDF, 676KB)

Download 'GAEC 17 - Rules on Tree Preservation Orders' (PDF, 667KB)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of forestry projects

You need an EIA if you are:

• creating new woodland
• cutting down existing woodland
• doing forest road works
• doing forest-related quarrying

You also need permission from the Forestry Commission.

Funding for woodlands

Payments for woodland are available under the Single Payment Scheme and Farm Woodland Payments.

Funding is also available under Environmental Stewardship.

Woodland grants

Find out about grants available under the Forestry Commission’s English Woodland Grant Scheme.

Call the helpline if you require further information.

English Woodland Grant Scheme
Telephone: 01223 346 004
Find out about call charges

Stone walls of all types are important as landscape features and for stock management. Dry stone walls are walls made without the use of mortar or cement.

If you have dry stone walls on your land, you should:

• check their condition at least once a year
• remove any vegetation to help to 'air' the wall and prevent frost damage
• use local stone to make any repairs
• prevent trees from growing alongside, as their roots can weaken wall foundations

You must not remove a dry stone wall, or remove stone from it, except in special cases.

Read ‘GAEC 13 - Rules on dry stone walls’ or contact the Dry Stone Walling Association for more information.

Dry Stone Walling Association
Telephone: 01539 567 963
Find out about call charges

Funding for dry stone walls

Environmental Stewardship funding is available to farmers and land managers for dry stone wall management.

Payments for dry stone walls are also available under the Single Payment Scheme.

A scheduled monument is a site which is legally protected because of its historical importance.

Scheduled monuments might be:

• archaeological sites, such as ancient burial mounds
• 20th-century remains, such as from the coal industry or World War II

If you own or occupy a scheduled monument and want to carry out work on it, you’ll need to get written permission from your regional English Heritage office. You may also need to get planning permission from your council.

You can download ‘A Guide for Owners and Occupiers of Scheduled Monuments’.

Grants for scheduled monuments

You may be able to get an English Heritage grant to help maintain or repair a scheduled monument.