CCT10: Manage and restore maritime cliffs and slopes

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier ( CSHT ). You must read the CSHT guidance before you apply.

Duration

5 years

How much you’ll be paid

£791 per hectare ( ha ) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to restore and keep maritime cliff and slope habitat in good condition. You can do this through appropriate management and by allowing natural processes to function.

The purpose of this is to:

create space for habitats and sediment supply for the rest of the coast

increase biodiversity by supporting locally or nationally important species

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on priority habitats and sites of special scientific interest ( SSSI ) designated as maritime cliffs and slopes on the Priority Habitat Inventory layer on MAGIC

If you have land that’s not mapped on the Priority Habitat Inventory on MAGIC , it may be eligible for this action with approval from your Natural England adviser for:

land that’s a coastal cliff or slope

land on top of a cliff or slope up to 500m inland of the sea

You can only do this action if you have an implementation plan or feasibility study agreed with Natural England.

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

declared with a  land use code  which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Arable land used to grow crops Arable land Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops

Temporary grassland Arable land TG01

Arable land lying fallow Arable land FA01

Improved permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01

Sports and recreation Recreational land RL03

Golf course Recreational land RL04

Saline habitats Marine wetland MW05

Cliff Coastal features CF01

Non-agricultural area or feature which is temporary and likely to change over time (ineligible area) Non-agricultural area NA02

Rocky outcrop Rock RO04

Scattered features – mixed Notional features NF08

Sand dunes Coastal features CF03

Salt marsh Marine wetland MW01

Boulders Rock RO03

Pond Water/irrigation features WF03

Scattered rock Notional features NF01

Scattered bracken or heather Notional features NF02

Scattered water features Notional features NF05

Scrub Natural woodland WO25

Fen, marsh and swamp Inland wetland IW06

Reed bed Marine wetland MW03

Watercourse – ditch, drain or dyke Water/irrigation features WF01

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 2) Inland water IW02

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 3) Inland water IW03

Bracken, heather and heathland Heath land and bracken HE02

Sports and recreation Recreational land RL03

Golf course Recreational land RL04

Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel.

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it on the same location each year of the action’s duration, but there’s some flexibility due to natural coastal changes.

What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:

allow coastal and natural hydrological processes to function freely without obstruction

manage scrub and bracken to provide areas for birds to nest or shelter and encourage a diverse habitat

protect archaeological or historic features from damage

The advice you’re given from Natural England is specific to your land which means (where relevant) you may also need to:

manage vegetation by grazing, mowing or cutting

create and maintain areas of bare ground

You must not:

carry out activities which could increase erosion rates (for example digging out weeds, reprofiling the cliff face or planting species to stabilise the slope)

modify hydrology through installing new artificial land drainage or abstracting water

apply artificial fertiliser on cliff tops or near the cliff slopes

create new access for vehicles unless agreed

use supplementary feed for grazing livestock, unless it’s during periods of extreme weather

apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser

create bare ground on, or disturb, historic or archaeological features

plough, cultivate, reseed, roll or chain harrow unless agreed with you Natural England adviser

dispose of any organic or non-organic matter on the site

When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency ( RPA ) may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if they ask for it.

Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

Scheme Action or option code

SFI 2024 actions OFC1, OFC2, OFM1, OFM2, CMOR1, CIPM1, CNUM1, CSAM1

SFI 2023 actions MOR1, IPM1, NUM1

CSHT actions CSP13, CSP14, CSP15, CWS1, CWS3, CSP21, CSP20, CPAC1

CS options OR1, OR2, OT1, OT2

ES options N/A

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:

CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4

SFI  2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD2

SFI  2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3

CS  option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:

to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser

Scheduled Monument Consent from the government from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments

consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest ( SSSI )

to obtain any necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority ( LLFA ) or Internal Drainage Board ( IDB ) before starting any work

You may also need to:

get advice from the Environment Agency or a risk management authority on managing coastal erosion rates

refer to the shoreline management plan for your area to understand what management is proposed and find out the local erosion rate

get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land

get a wildlife licence from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat

All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record ( HEFER ).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding .

You can also apply for capital items to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Choosing a site

You can use this action on a cliff face, slope, edge or coastal cliff top. It supports all semi-natural habitat vegetation types including grassland, heath, bracken, wetland, scrub and woodland up a maximum of 500m inland of the sea (mean high water).

Both hard and soft cliffs can have natural wet areas with small pools or seepages that support wetland plants. There are many rare specialist cliff species of plants, invertebrates and birds.

You can use this action to restore habitats in poor condition or manage those which are in good condition. Habitats in need of restoration are likely to have man-made structures blocking the natural erosion and movement of sediment.

The best examples of maritime cliff and slope habitats are the ones where waves are allowed to interact freely with them. This allows erosion to happen and sediment (such as mud, sand and gravel) to move freely, creating specialist habitats and providing flood and coastal erosion risk benefits.

Maintaining maritime cliff and slope habitat

The best approach to restore and manage maritime cliff and slope habitat is to allow natural coastal processes to occur freely.

Examples include:

allowing the natural movement of sediment and overlying vegetation to reach the beach where it’ll be distributed by the waves, wind and tides

allowing natural changes to the cliff slope and topography

monitoring this natural change using fixed point photography (for example, after storm events or following rock fall, slumping or slips)

encouraging the natural movement of water on or near the cliff face – capital works can break up or block existing man-made drains on the land

allowing wetland features to develop naturally (for example, seasonal pools or seepages)

allowing vegetation to grow naturally

managing the spread of non-native invasive species

in soft cliff areas to allow the continued creation of naturally occurring bare sediment (by erosion and landslides)

creating small areas of bare ground using manual tools to benefit annual and short-lived plants and rare insects

If restoration works are needed, you can use your feasibility study to plan these. You can apply for capital items to manage specific sites or species for:

removing defunct or no-longer functioning flood or erosion risk management structures (or both)

restoring natural hydrology by blocking artificial field drains and stopping water abstraction from adjacent land parcels

reverting a buffer area to semi-natural habitat to help promote greater resilience for cliff slope vegetation quality – whole fields would ideally benefit from reversion

Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:

an eligible land type

registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps

declared with a  land use code  which is compatible with the eligible land cover

Eligible land type Eligible land cover Compatible land use code

Arable land used to grow crops Arable land Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops

Temporary grassland Arable land TG01

Arable land lying fallow Arable land FA01

Improved permanent grassland Permanent grassland PG01

Sports and recreation Recreational land RL03

Golf course Recreational land RL04

Saline habitats Marine wetland MW05

Cliff Coastal features CF01

Non-agricultural area or feature which is temporary and likely to change over time (ineligible area) Non-agricultural area NA02

Rocky outcrop Rock RO04

Scattered features – mixed Notional features NF08

Sand dunes Coastal features CF03

Salt marsh Marine wetland MW01

Boulders Rock RO03

Pond Water/irrigation features WF03

Scattered rock Notional features NF01

Scattered bracken or heather Notional features NF02

Scattered water features Notional features NF05

Scrub Natural woodland WO25

Fen, marsh and swamp Inland wetland IW06

Reed bed Marine wetland MW03

Watercourse – ditch, drain or dyke Water/irrigation features WF01

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 2) Inland water IW02

Watercourse – river or stream (Rivers and Streams Type 3) Inland water IW03

Bracken, heather and heathland Heath land and bracken HE02

Sports and recreation Recreational land RL03

Golf course Recreational land RL04