Deadline dates for applications for each of our Local Assessment Panels

While these dates are currently set, they can be subject to change.

• 30 April 2025
• 11 June 2025
• 30 July 2025
• 4 September 2025
• 15 October 2025

FiPL Year 5 Priorities

As we move into Year 5, we particularly want to see applications coming forward from new farmer applicants, farmer groups, as well as previous applicants continuing to develop and evolve existing projects (total funding limits apply).

We encourage you to get in touch and talk to the team so we can help you to shape your application to achieve greatest benefits for you and the Park.

Please note, projects must be able to be fully delivered and paid for by 31 March 2026.

All projects need to be relevant to at least one of the Defra FiPL themes of nature, climate, people & place, but areas of particular priority for the National Park this year include:

Nature

• Projects in the Windermere catchment, Coniston catchment or the priority river catchments of Kent, Ehen, Eden, and Derwent that inform, and/or deliver on-farm water quality improvements or water slowing and storing interventions to reduce run-off.
• Habitat surveys for farm holdings, where these will support the achievement of FiPL outcomes.
• Management of habitats for invertebrates, birds or other priority species highlighted in the Lake District’s Nature Recovery Delivery Plan (page 12), such as red squirrel and otters.
• Small scale projects to enhance, restore and create habitat that are of priority in the National Park – see Annex 1 of the Lake District’s Nature Recovery Delivery Plan - for example ponds and scrapes, species rich hay meadows, woodland edge and regenerative scrub, and creation of wildlife refuges such as Sandmartin holes.

Climate

• Delivery of climate resilience initiatives, for example rainwater harvesting, letting rivers and watercourses re-wiggle or creating features to slow the flow of flood waters such as leaky barriers, buffer strips and bunds.

People

• Initiatives to secure the long-term future of the traditions and skills of farming and commoning communities, including farming shows and shepherd’s meets.
• Development of local food and farm product networks and opportunities for farms to access diverse markets. This could include supporting local infrastructure needed and developing skills.
• Projects to deliver access improvements that help more and different groups of people to access the countryside. These could include replacing stiles with gates on rights of way, creating new paths or upgrading paths to make them more accessible for disabled people.
• Projects to deliver educational and engagement activities on farm to raise awareness of Lake District farming and encourage responsible enjoyment of the countryside, with a focus on the identified key audiences for the National Park – see Outcome 4 of the Lake District National Park Partnership Plan.

Place

• Restoration of farm heritage features such as lime kilns, packhorse bridges, sheep folds and washes, pig hulls, hennery piggeries, bee boles, bields and shard fences or other boundary features not covered by Countryside Stewardship capital grants.
• On-site interpretation (signs, materials etc) of heritage or landscape features to enhance public understanding.
• Projects building Lake District hill farming business resilience.