Rural Payments and Services

This is an old version of the page

Date published: 30 March, 2015

Date superseded: 5 January, 2016

The aim of this item is to improve water quality by creating a strategically placed sediment trap and / or bund to intercept run-off that currently discharges direct to a watercourse or freshwater drain.

The land must be within a diffuse pollution priority catchment or focus area (unless an endorsement has been obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency) or a flooding target area.

You must combine this item with:

• Stock Fence

You must prepare a plan which must include a map of the relevant fields / steading identifying the location of the rural sustainable drainage system feature.

• bund height must be less than 1.3 metres, unless designed by a qualified engineer
• fencing must be provided to protect people and livestock.
• only run-off which does not fall within the definition of slurry may be conveyed to a sediment trap / bund
• run-off from pesticide handling or washdown areas must not be conveyed to a sediment trap / bund

You can claim:

• excavate and form sediment trap – £10.50 per square metre
• create bund – £7.20 per linear metre

The inspectors will check:

• the location and extent of the sediment trap
• the length of the newly created bund
• bund height is less than 1.3 metres, unless designed by a qualified engineer
• fencing is provided to protect people and livestock
• only run-off which does not fall within the definition of slurry is conveyed to a sediment trap / bund
• run-off from pesticide handling or wash-down areas is not conveyed to a sediment trap / bund

Supporting guidance is available for this item.