Rural Payments and Services

To see recent changes to this guidance, check the bottom of this page.

A new element in the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme is that many management options and some capital items have been spatially targeted.

This means they will only be available in parts of the country where they will deliver the greatest benefit.

You can find out which options are available on your holding using our targeting tool. Please note that updates to spatial targeting may change the options that you’re eligible to apply for.

Targeting

In exceptional circumstances, you may apply for a management option or capital item that is not targeted on your holding. However, your application must meet the criteria for endorsement outside the target area.

For the 2016 application period, endorsements for options outside target areas are restricted to well-justified applications for those management options and capital items specified in Table 1 (below).

Requests for endorsements should be made to Scottish Natural Heritage or Forestry Commission Scotland, depending on the management option or capital item concerned.

Natural heritage designated sites

These include Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation.

If you wish to carry out management to benefit an SSSI and / or Natura site, you can apply for any management options (with the exception of the Hen Harrier Grassland Management option which is only available in Orkney) or capital items which will benefit the special features of the site, even if they do not appear on your list of targeted options.

This includes circumstances where the work that will benefit the site’s features takes place on your holding but partially or wholly outside the site itself.

You will need to submit an endorsement from Scottish Natural Heritage with your application. This needs to confirm that the option or capital item you have chosen will benefit the features of the designated site.

You can visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website to check the location of the designated site.

Designated site

You are strongly advised to seek advice from Scottish Natural Heritage before drafting an application for a designated site. If you do not, and Scottish Natural Heritage has significant issues with the management you propose for the designated site, this may prejudice the success of your application.

Contact Scottish Natural Heritage

If you include ineligible items in your application it will be rejected and you should first read the scheme guidance on designations before applying.

Agri-Environment Climate Scheme – full scheme guidance

You should also read the terms and conditions laid out in How to Apply guidance.

Agri-Environment Climate Scheme – how to apply

If you wish to apply for an endorsement then you must submit a request to Scottish Natural Heritage or Forestry Commission Scotland and ensure that the endorsement is submitted together with your application.

Please use the form below if you are requesting an endorsement from Scottish Natural Heritage.

Check Table 1 below to see whether the management option or capital item you wish to apply for this year is listed and to check which organisation to contact. Only those management options or capital items listed in Table 1 will be considered for endorsement.

In seeking an endorsement you will need to meet the criteria specified for each management option or capital item listed. Scottish Natural Heritage or Forestry Commission Scotland will clarify whether you need to provide any further evidence.

However, in most cases the endorsement will confirm that the options you have selected are eligible, will benefit the objectives of management and that the location in which you wish to carry out the management is appropriate.

In your application, you will also need to provide a justification that the management option or capital item that you are proposing can deliver the benefits expected under that management option or capital item in the target area.

Table 1

Management option or capital item	Criteria for endorsement outside target areas	Endorsing organisation
Management or Restoration of Hedgerows	The hedgerow has been created under a legacy agri-environment scheme (this applies only to the management and restoration of existing hedges and not hedgerow creation)	SNH
Unharvested Conservation Headlands for Wildlife	Presence of corn buntings according to existing records	SNH
Wader Grazed Grassland Wader and Wildlife Mown Grassland	You must meet all of the criteria below: You have provided evidence, from records held by an independent national wildlife organisation (e.g. RSPB), that curlew, lapwing or redshank have been recorded breeding on the proposed management areas in at least one breeding season within the last five years. Alternatively, you have provided evidence you are part of a wader project. Where data does not exist for the proposed management area then you may commission independent surveys to establish that curlew, lapwing or redshank were breeding in the proposed management area in at least one breeding season before seeking an endorsement. You must supply a completed vulnerable priority species recording form setting out: • which waders you are targeting • on which LPIDs • the evidence of the target wader species recorded on each LPID	SNH
Moorland Management Stock Disposal Away Wintering Sheep Summer Hill Grazing of Cattle	Presence of a habitat on your holding that would benefit from management under one or more of these options, including blanket bog and wet heath	SNH
Tall-herb Vegetation Management	Presence of tall herb vegetation which would benefit from management under this option	SNH
Control of Invasive Non-native Plant Species	The land on the holding is part of an area-wide, coordinated strategy for controlling invasive plants, or you are first land manager in your area to have the plant species on your land	SNH
Rhododendron Control	The land on the holding is part of an area-wide, co-ordinated approach for controlling a whole population of rhododendron; and work is essential to control or prevent invasion of a notable site (Special Area of Conservation, Site of Special Scientific Interest or ancient semi-natural woodland site); and/or necessary to secure another investment in controlling a population of rhododendron	SNH/FCS
Any management option or capital item to benefit a designated site	The choice and location of option(s) and/or capital item(s) will benefit the feature(s) of the designated site	SNH

Section	Change	Previous text	New text
Throughout the page	Removal of all references to endorsements being provided by SEPA.
Introduction	Clarification that spatial targeting information may be subject to updates. may be updates.	You can find out which options are available on your holding using our targeting tool.	You can find out which options are available on your holding using our targeting tool. Please note that updates to spatial targeting may change the options that you’re eligible to apply for.
	Removal of information about the decision-making process for spatial targeting.	The decision-making process for the spatial targeting will be published on the Rural Payments and Services website later in 2015. The approach to spatial targeting will be reviewed at the end of 2015 and revisions to targeting maps will be considered for the 2016 application period.	-
	Year updated for applications.	For the 2015 application period, endorsements for options outside target areas are restricted to well-justified applications for those management options and capital items specified in Table 1.	For the 2016 application period, endorsements for options outside target areas are restricted to well-justified applications for those management options and capital items specified in Table 1.
	Amendment to the information regarding seeking advice from Scottish Natural Heritage.	We would advise you to seek advice from Scottish Natural Heritage before drafting an application for a designated site, especially if you are uncertain how your proposal may affect the site.	You are strongly advised to seek advice from Scottish Natural Heritage before drafting an application for a designated site. If you do not, and Scottish Natural Heritage has significant issues with the management you propose for the designated site, this may prejudice the success of your application.
Application process	Updated request for an endorsement form (Word document)
Table 1	Added row for Wader Grazed Grassland and Wader and Wildlife Mown Grassland
	Removed row on Wild Bird Seed for Farmland Birds

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