(AGENPARL) – Tue 25 March 2025 Please find our latest news release below, which includes a case study.
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Andrew Fagg
Media Officer
Working hours: Mon | Tue | Fri
http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk
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Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority
Yoredale | Bainbridge | Leyburn | DL8 3EL
News Release
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Farming grants programme extended
Bainbridge, 25 March 2025
Nature-friendly farmers who need help to fund a project have been invited to express an interest in the Farming in Protected Landscapes grants programme.
At the end of February the government announced that the programme, which began in 2021 and was due to close at the end of this month, had been extended for one year until March 2026.
The programme is administered in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
Interested farmers need to demonstrate their projects will provide value for money and result in good outcomes for “climate, nature, people or place”.
Kevin and Lizzie Batty, from Dryevers Farm near Maulds Meaburn in the Westmorland Dales, are among the latest farmers to receive a Farming in Protected Landscapes grant. They have diversified their traditional sheep and cattle enterprise by adding visitor accommodation, in the shape of three shepherd’s huts, in part to meet a need generated by nearby wedding venues. Their Farming in Protected Landscape grant also helped fund an expansion of a nature reserve on the farm, and the construction of three “scrapes”, or small ponds, to provide better habitat for birds such as curlew and snipe.
Lizzie Batty said: “We wouldn’t have done this project without the Farming in Protected Landscapes grant. We have invested a lot of our own money, but the grant made it doable. What we learned during the application process was the importance of being organised, getting things sorted with suppliers, and with planning consents. We officially open Brackenslack Sheperd’s Huts on the May Bank Holiday and so far we’ve had 20 bookings.”
Kevin Batty said: “The farm was very reliant on the Basic Payment Scheme and a Countryside Stewardship mid-tier agri-environment agreement, but the doors have been shut on them, as well as the new Sustainable Farming Incentive, which is why this project is so important. We need a way to broaden our income streams. And it’s good to showcase this area to the general public. We’re ten minutes from Appleby, we’re in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, close to the Lake District, and next to a wedding venue. There are lovely walks round here and great cycle tracks.”
Member Champion for the Natural Environment at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Mark Corner, said: “One of the main points of the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is to help local farm businesses during the government’s seven-year agricultural transition. Farm businesses in the National Park do so much to conserve the landscape and keep local communities strong.
“We are delighted to have been able to assist Kevin and Lizzie and wish their new venture, Brackenslack Shepherd’s Huts, every success. We are now keen to hear from more farmers, given that the programme has been extended for another year. However there is only a limited pot of money so it’s important farmers explain their project in terms of the programme’s four themes of climate, nature, people and place.”
Details of how to express an interest, or make an application, are available on the Authority’s Farming in Protected Landscapes webpage.
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Note to Newsdesk
Image: ‘Kevin and Lizzie Batty with sheep and lambs, and their FiPL-supported shepherd’s huts in the background’
1. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is one of 15 National Parks in the UK. It is administered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which has two main purposes: “to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage” and “to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Park”. In carrying out these purposes, the Authority has a duty “to seek to foster the economic and social well being of local communities”. The National Park Authority comprises 25 members, made up of unitary, county and city councillors and members appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment to represent parishes or in recognition of their specialist skills or knowledge.
1. All of our work is guided by the vision for the future of the National Park set out in the Yorkshire Dales National Park Management Plan: “Through their passion for this special place, local people and businesses will keep the Yorkshire Dales National Park a thriving area. Its unique cultural landscape will be treasured for its stunning scenery, exceptional heritage and wonderful wildlife, and every year millions of people will be inspired to be a part of it.”