STEPS (The Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme) is providing grants up to £5000 for infrastructure improvement and land management changes in Severn Trent Water (STW) target areas.  The 4-year-old scheme has already paid out £4m in grants for 936 projects.

STEPS aims to protect and improve watercourses and the wider environment by supporting improvements which are “above and beyond” good agricultural practice.

Local agricultural advisors, employed by Severn Trent, are also on hand to provide one to one support with the application process.  Farmers who are in a Severn Trent (ST) priority catchment area can select from a pre-defined list of funding options, including pesticide handling areas, watercourse fencing, livestock drinking troughs and cover crops.

To qualify for the scheme, farmers must own or lease a farm of a minimum of 3 hectares and be situated within a Severn Trent target area.  The scheme offers a fixed payment rate depending on the options chosen and is open for applications until 31 January 2019.

Whilst the fixed payments won’t cover the full cost of the work you will have to undertake, it offers a great incentive to those who may be thinking of doing some work anyway or if you’ve been putting something off because of the cost. There are over 40 different options to choose from so there should be something there for everyone.

If you would like further advice with regards to anything mentioned above, please contact Charles Daniell on 01684 325215 or 07814 033449.