Water Management grant

Round 2 required an arable or horticultural business in England growing, or intending to grow, irrigated food crops, ornamentals or forestry nursery crops. Assets had to be in England; mobile assets had to be kept there when not in use. Joint businesses or partnerships based in Northern Ireland were excluded. The business had to own the installation land or hold a tenancy lasting until five years after project completion.

Public organisations, including Crown bodies and non-departmental public bodies, and local authorities were excluded. Members of Producer Organisations under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme could not receive funding for the same project through their operational programme. Applicants had to use some stored water to irrigate their own crops; supplying neighbouring growers was allowed alongside that own use.

Eligible reservoir works included the abstraction pump, reservoir walls, synthetic lining and associated fencing, pumphouse, filtration, pumps and controls, spillway, reservoir filling pipes, underground distribution mains and hydrants, water meters and irrigation storage tanks. Supported irrigation included boom, capillary-bed, ebb-and-flow, mist, sprinkler and trickle systems, plus soil-moisture and irrigation-scheduling equipment and water-application sensors. A pumphouse grid connection or electricity-supply upgrade could account for at most 10% of total eligible costs, with only the proportion needed by the project eligible and detailed evidence of power needs required.

Projects had to increase the applicant’s productivity. They could not introduce or increase summer surface-water abstraction or mains-water use. Excluded items included boreholes, rain guns and mounts, hose reels, generators, diesel equipment, movable above-ground pipes and pumphouses, rainwater-collection roofs or gutters, and hand-watering equipment. Storage had to serve crop irrigation: growing containers such as hydroponic reservoirs, water for washing, livestock or leisure, mains water, dirty or reused irrigation water and equipment mainly for flood control were excluded.

Funding excluded growing and harvesting buildings or equipment, standard farming inputs, production rights and payment entitlements, fertiliser storage, items lasting under five years, legal-compliance-only projects, permissions and consents, legal and engineering fees, project-management fees, contingency costs and previously or prospectively EU/national-funded items. It also excluded repairs, maintenance and like-for-like replacements, land, renewable energy systems, housing, marketing, relocation costs (expansion costs could qualify), salaries, running costs, own labour and other in-kind contributions, subscriptions, general business computers and phones, bad debts, advance payments, insurance, working capital, financial charges, leasing-contract charges, pension provision and reclaimable VAT. Machinery and equipment had to remain on the business asset register five years after completion. Evidence was required for eligible irrecoverable VAT.

Required planning permission and abstraction licences had to be in place for the full application. Reservoir construction or enlargement and pumphouse construction needed planning permission; smaller reservoirs could use prior notification. The abstraction licence had to match the proposed use. Licence requirements depend on the activity; the Environment Agency’s guidance explains how to check them and local water availability. Licence conditions may restrict access to water to protect the environment and other users.

Reservoir owners must also meet applicable safety requirements. Large raised reservoirs hold or could hold at least 25,000 cubic metres above ground: notify the Environment Agency before building, bringing back into use or altering one, register it and appoint the required qualified panel engineers. A panel engineer is a qualified civil engineer. Appoint a construction engineer for design, construction or alterations. The Environment Agency classifies a reservoir as high risk when an uncontrolled release of water could put lives at risk. High-risk reservoirs require supervising and inspecting engineers, with a construction engineer replacing supervision during alterations. Inspections are at least every ten years and identified safety measures must be completed by the engineer’s deadline. All large raised reservoirs require an on-site emergency flood plan, kept under review and tested as advised by a panel engineer. A supervising engineer must help prepare and certify this plan, including for reservoirs that are not high risk. Smaller reservoirs do not need registration, but health-and-safety and local building regulations still apply.

Status

unavailable

Closes

31 Oct 2024

Round restrictions

• Round 2 full applications only for applicants invited by RPA after the online stage. Closed.

Round 2 is closed. The online eligibility and scoring stage ran from 19 April to 12 July 2023. Only applicants invited by the Rural Payments Agency after this stage could submit the full application; its deadline was 31 October 2024. Use the official closed-round guidance for existing projects and agreements.

Invited applicants submitted the RPA form and supporting documents to ftf@rpa.gov.uk, using the original project and RPA project number. Significant project changes needed discussion with RPA before submission. Evidence included project costs, outputs, funding and financial forecasts, relevant permissions and licences, three quotes for each item costing £5,000 or more and one quote for an item or group costing up to £4,999.99. Relevant tenancy, joint-venture and other-grower support documents were required, alongside irrigation plans and reservoir plans submitted for planning permission. Applicants provided the most recent three years of trading accounts, or tax returns, management accounts or an accountant’s income-and-expense statement for new or self-employed businesses. Second-hand items needed supplier confirmation of at least five years’ remaining life, fitness for purpose and no previous grant funding. RPA assessed productivity, water sustainability, environmental benefits, value for money, business and project finances and delivery risks; funding was competitive.

Do not start work, commit costs or deposits, sign contracts or order items until you have accepted the grant funding agreement and reached its project start date. Earlier costs could make the whole project ineligible. Payment is in arrears after the claimed work is complete and paid for, with at most three claims. Hire- or lease-purchased items must be fully paid for and ownership transferred before claiming. Obtain RPA’s written agreement before changing the grant agreement; otherwise RPA could end it and recover money already paid.