Section 5 - Choosing your Capital Works
- 5.1 Do I need to carry out any capital works?
- 5.2 Is funding available?
- 5.3 How do I apply for capital works?
- 5.4 Do I need to provide estimates of the cost of works?
- 5.5 When can I start work?
- 5.6 What standard of work is required?
- 5.7 When will I receive payment?
- 5.8 Special projects
- 5.9 Restoration of traditional buildings
5.1 Do I need to carry out any capital works?
Not necessarily, but in addition to your annual management payments, HLS can contribute to the cost of a wide range of capital works to help you to deliver the environmental objectives on your land. These will be agreed with your RDS adviser and set out in a Capital Works Plan (CWP). You will not be able to have a CWP without also having one or more HLS land management options. The potential for capital works may be identified as part of the FEP or become apparent later during the life of the agreement. Works on which management options will depend (such as fencing and access gates), will have to be completed in year 1, but other works may be completed at a later stage.
5.2 Is funding available?
Yes, if the proposed work is appropriate and helps to achieve the objectives. Please see the leaflet in the back of this handbook which lists capital works and their associated payments. There is a wide range of environmental works that can be considered for funding as part of your agreement. Please note that any work you propose to undertake, and for which you wish to seek grant aid, must be approved before you start work.
5.3 How do I apply for capital works?
When you make your initial application, you should aim to include in it the most important capital works which could be carried out during the first three years of your agreement. You must list these works in annex 4 of your application form and mark them on your HLS Options Map. When your RDS adviser visits the land they will agree with you, using the guidance in your FEP, the works to be included in your first CWP. It is important to be realistic when agreeing the works to be completed during each year of the CWP. Your CWP will indicate the value of work expected to be completed in each year.
An individual CWP can run for two or three years. Amendments to a CWP during this period are not allowed, but in subsequent years you will be able to apply for a completely new CWP to run for another two or three year period. Contact your RDS adviser for the relevant application form and map.
5.4 Do I need to provide estimates of the cost of works?
Not usually. Payments for the majority of capital works are standard and a specification for the work will be included in your agreement. However, where it has not been possible to identify a standard payment, a percentage grant based on the actual costs can be offered. In these cases you will need to provide written estimates at the time of your application and an invoice at the time of your claim. If you are registered for VAT, the VAT element will not be eligible for grant.
5.5 When can I start work?
You can only start work, subject to the requirements below, when your relevant CWP has been agreed and signed. Some works might be seasonal and in such cases you will be advised as to the most appropriate time to carry out the work.
Some works will require consent from a statutory body (see section 1.3.9) and it is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain permission before starting work. The requirements of health and safety, codes of practice and any other relevant legislation must also be observed.
5.6 What standard of work is required?
Specifications will be provided, if applicable, for the minimum standard of work for items in your CWP. If you do not follow these specifications, we cannot pay you for the work. All capital works must be completed and maintained to the standard required to perform their intended function for the duration of your agreement.
5.7 When will I receive payment?
Your CWP will set out the work that you need to do over the whole period of the plan. It will also set out the proportion of the work you should aim to complete by the end of each intermediate year. You will be expected to complete, and claim for, at least 75% of that year's proportion by the end of each intermediate year. All the work should be completed by the end of the plan period. The exact order in which you do the work is up to you. The one exception is those works which are critical to the success of other management options that are required under your agreement. These 'mandatory works' will be highlighted in your CWP and must be completed, and claimed for, in the specified year.
You will be sent a pre-populated claim form at the start of each plan year and this can be used to claim at any time during the year, as soon as the work is completed. Once the payment has been authorised a further pre-populated form will be sent to you showing any outstanding CWP items. At the end of each year any outstanding items will also be shown on the annual claim form (used to claim your land management options).
A number of claims can be submitted during the year. If the cost of items claimed exceeds that scheduled for that year, any excess will be paid at the start of the following year. Each individual claim should be for at least £250.
5.8 Special projects
Exceptionally, your proposals may need work outside the scope of the standard payments. Examples, which can be for both capital works and land management projects, include:
- interpretation boards or information leaflets to increase understanding of an area of countryside or an historic feature and explain the work being undertaken
- conservation and restoration of historic buildings
- restoration or consolidation of archaeological features
- provision of hides for viewing wildlife
This type of work may be funded as a special project, either as a one-off capital work or for
a continuing programme of up to ten years. For any more complex works, including building restoration, it is very likely that you will need a management plan (see section 3.5). In all cases you should consult your RDS adviser before you start detailed planning or seeking quotes, so that you can be clear that your proposed work is eligible. For more simple work items, such as interpretation boards or leaflets, you will need to submit an initial description of the proposed works, together with an estimate of the costs, and then discuss these with your RDS adviser at an early stage.
5.9 Restoration of traditional buildings
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The restoration of farm buildings under HLS is intended to help ensure the conservation/upkeep of buildings that contribute to the character of the landscape and are of historical interest. Funding will be targeted at those buildings of most importance on landscape or historic grounds (not only designated buildings), as identified in the targeting statement, providing they represent good value for money.
As HLS is an agri-environment scheme, we focus on farm buildings in the countryside. In terms of after-use, our priority is to ensure that the character of the building, inside and out, is maintained, along with any existing value as a wildlife habitat (e.g. for barn owls or bats). To this end no internal or external changes to the building that alter its historic, landscape or wildlife value will be allowed without written consent from Defra. To achieve this we expect an after-use that has a continued connection to agriculture or other agreed sensitive and unconverted use, whilst under a management agreement.
The Government also supports the conversion of farm buildings to aid economic regeneration and diversification, but HLS is not the appropriate mechanism for doing this. The Rural Enterprise Scheme may however be of assistance.
Page last modified:
30 June, 2005
Page published: 3 March, 2005