Rural Payments and Services

The aim of this item is to create wet areas to benefit a wide variety of wildlife, including invertebrates, plants and birds, and habitats such as lowland raised bogs and fens.

These wet areas provide important feeding for wading birds such as lapwing, redshank and snipe.

Breaking field drains and blocking the downstream pipe will raise water levels in order to create wet areas.

Any land, with the exception of heather moorland, is eligible for this item.

You should not include areas of land covering rocks, scree, water, dense bracken etc. We will check this using the same approach we use to check land for the Basic Payment Scheme.

Assessing your land eligibility

You must identify on a map the locations of all the drains you propose to break.

• you must break the field drains to raise water levels in the area to be managed
• you must provide photographic evidence of the works undertaken, and record on a map the number and location of drains you have broken and submit these with your claim
• you must maintain a diary

You can claim £44.72 per break.

You can choose one of the following management options to support the creation of wetlands:

• Management of Buffer Areas for Fens and Lowland Bogs
• Lowland Bog Management
• Wetland Management
• Habitat Mosaic Management
• Wader Grazed Grassland

The inspectors will check:

• the location and extent of the work
• you have broken the field drains to raise water levels in the area to be managed
• you have provided photographic evidence of the works undertaken, and recorded on a map the number and location of drains you have broken and submitted these with your claim
• you have maintained a diary

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