Press release: Bridging Payments for Countryside Stewardship customers

Countryside Stewardship (CS) Mid Tier agreement holders who claimed in 2017 for their revenue payment will receive a bridging payment by the end of June if they have not been paid by 21 June 2018.

A bridging payment is an interest-free loan to customers in advance of their full year payment. Customers will receive 75% of the current estimated value of their CS 2017 revenue claim. When the full payment is processed and made, the amount paid through the bridging payment will be held back.

While some 82% of 2017 CS claimants have already received a payment for the important environmental work on their farms, bridging payments are being made to ensure that the remaining 18% of farmers and land managers are not left out of pocket for the work and time they have invested.

Letters and emails are being sent to farmers and land managers awaiting payments this week, with a reminder to make sure bank account and contact details on the Rural Payments Service are up-to-date so that bridging payments can be made successfully.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is administrating the payments on behalf of Natural England. This comes ahead of administration work on agri-environment schemes transferring to the RPA later this year.