Farming in Protected Landscapes: Grants for Farms in the Dales, Moors, and Bowland

Farming in Protected Landscapes, usually shortened to FiPL, is a grant programme for farmers and land managers inside England's National Parks and National Landscapes. It started in 2021, has been extended to 31 March 2029 ↗, and has £30 million for 2026/27 shared across England's 44 protected landscapes.

Which landscapes it covers in our area

A good share of the land we cover falls inside one. In North Yorkshire, that's the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks, and the Nidderdale and Howardian Hills National Landscapes. The Forest of Bowland National Landscape covers much of East Lancashire, the North Pennines National Landscape takes in upper Teesdale and Weardale in South Durham, and the Peak District National Park reaches into the western edge of South Yorkshire.

What it funds

FiPL is deliberately flexible. Projects have to deliver for at least one of four themes, climate, nature, people, or place, and fit the priorities of the local protected landscape. That's included hedge restoration and new hedge planting, orchards, wildflower meadows, and natural flood management such as leaky dams. Each landscape sets its own priorities, so what's funded in the Dales may differ from Bowland.

What it can't be combined with

FiPL can't fund work that's already paid for by another scheme, and some national grants rule it out on the same work. Higher Tier Capital Grants, for example, can't be combined with FiPL, so it's worth deciding early which scheme suits each part of a project best.

Where deer fit in

Upland planting and hedging projects face deer pressure like anywhere else, and in places like the Dales fringe and Bowland, roe working woodland edges can strip a new hedge or young trees quickly. If a FiPL project includes planting, the protection needs to match the deer actually present, and it helps to have that evidence before the application, not after the first losses.

How to apply

FiPL is run locally, so the first step is your protected landscape's FiPL officer: the Yorkshire Dales ↗, North York Moors, Nidderdale, Howardian Hills, Forest of Bowland, North Pennines, or Peak District ↗ team. They'll talk through whether a project fits before you apply. If deer are part of the picture, a Deer Number Survey & Impact Assessment is free and gives you the evidence to include.