Projects Approved

In the first year of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, beginning in September 2021, there were:

• 16 expressions of interest
• 4 applications were approved
• £60,046 was committed to projects, which is 100% of the first year’s fund

In the second year of the programme, by March 2023, £114,245 was paid in grants. For Year 3 we are delighted to have secured additional funding from Defra which has enabled us to commit £202,108 to projects in the Dedham vale in 2023/24. For Year 4 (the last year of this programme) £52,000 is committed to projects so far.

Across the programme as a whole so far, the following projects were approved, with full details outlined:

Cut and Collect Project – Giffords Hall Farm

For Year 1 of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, £16,480 was awarded to Giffords Hall Farm and the Stour Valley Farmer Cluster to purchase a midi baler with its associated drawbar and transport trailer.

This equipment is for use on wildflower and grass margins and field corners, which are not possible to reach with the usual large balers.

Wetland Management – Tendring Hall Estate

For Year 1 of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, £33,600 was awarded to The Tendring Hall Estate, a member of the Stour Valley Farmer Cluster to purchase a 6 tonne 360 Hyundai digger.

This equipment is for ditch management & restoration, wetland creation and water management across the floodplains and grazing marshes of the Stour Valley cluster farms.

Polstead Pond Restoration Project

For Years 2 and 3 of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, £36,709 has been awarded to farmers F&H Engleheart for restoration of historic Polstead pond.

The cornerstone of the project is the comprehensive desilting of Polstead Pond: a popular amenity for the local community and Dedham Vale National Landscape visitors, and an asset for the farm. 

Ancient Woodland Restoration Project

For Years 2 and 3 of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, £22,636 has been awarded to Rivers Hall Farm Estate for ancient woodland restoration.

Rivers Hall is a set within a diverse undulating landscape with numerous small steep sided valleys running from the main Stour River valley. There are several ancient woodlands scattered through the estate the most notable is Ash Wood.

Habitat Improvement in East Bergholt

£16,066 was granted to Old Hall from the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme over the two years 2022-24.

The project will improve the wildlife value of the grounds of the community through wide hedgerow creation, tree planting and the restoration of two ponds.

Pond Restoration at Tiger Hill Nature Reserve

£4,081 was awarded for pond restoration on Tiger Hill Local Nature Reserve, at Arger Fen.

This pond had become heavily shaded and silted up since it was created 20 years ago. Work included mechanical dredging of the sediment, reducing risk of flooding, and redirecting the flow of the spring.

Hedge restoration at Bevills Farm

£5,000 was awarded to Bevills Farm Partnership for hedge restoration and coppicing over 938 metres of hedges to re-invigorate their growth from the base.

This is part of a phased long term approach to management of the 24,300m of hedge on the farm. Where spiral guards were still present on hedges planted in the past 20 years or so they were removed and disposed of responsibly as part of the coppicing programme.

Dedham Vale – Wayside Benches

In 2024, £5,155 was awarded to the Stour Valley Farmer Cluster to enable several Cluster members to erect locally made wooden benches on their land alongside a public right of way or permissive path.

The sites for the benches were chosen so that walkers and visitors can rest and enjoy the beautiful, restful views along the Dedham Vale National Landscape.

Bevills Farm Orchard Restoration

This 19th Century orchard lost most of it’s trees in the 1987 hurricane. The Estate replaced the lost trees with rare pre-1900 fruit trees but these had become very over-grown.

Bevills have been given a grant of £29,954 in 2023-24 and £6,828 to restore these unique trees, and to record and name the varieties using specialist advice.

Creation of Stag Beetle stumperies

Over the past two years, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust were awarded £6,387.50 and £12,268.85 to work with 12 farms and landowners in the Dedham Vale National Landscape and Stour Valley to create 25 stumperies as habitat for stag beetles.

Stag beetles are the UK’s largest beetle and they are classed as a Near Threatened species. Their distribution is highly fragmented, and their biggest

threat is habitat loss. Stag beetles require continuity of habitat, which is undisturbed broad-leaved deadwood in contact with soil or below ground level.