Guidance for the 2026 Capital Grants offer is now available on GOV.UK.
The Capital Grants 2026 manual consists of:
applicant’s guidance agreement holder’s guidance terms and conditionsA total of £225 million will be invested through Capital Grants this year to help farmers and land managers carry out environmental improvements across England.
Applications open in July, with funding available for a variety of capital items to support hedgerow and tree planting, restore boundaries, improve natural flood management, and support better air and water quality.
The available items will continue to be organised into the same 6 groups as last year’s offer:
boundaries, trees and orchards improved water quality improved air quality improved natural flood management assessments improvementsFunding limits will continue to apply to 4 of these groups:
Up to £25,000 for the air quality, natural flood management and water quality groups Up to £35,000 for the boundaries, trees and orchards groupApplications can include items from these groups up to the relevant funding limit, alongside items from the assessments and improvements groups.
In the same way as last year’s offer, you can submit one eligible application for each Single Business Identifier (SBI) you manage.
Demand for last year’s offer was very high, and we expect strong interest again this year.
Capital Grants have already delivered important benefits for the environment, nature recovery and farming practices across England.
Last year’s offer committed funding for more than 1,200km of new hedgerows, creating valuable habitats for birds and pollinators.
It also supported the renewal of more than 800 concrete yards, helping improve slurry and effluent management and reduce pollution entering watercourses.
Changes to some items for 2026This year, the agroforestry items and the woodland condition assessment will not be available through Capital Grants. They will instead be available later this year through the Higher Tier Capital Grants offer.
You can find a list of the items included in this year’s Capital Grants offer in section 5.2 of the applicant’s guidance.
One item has been withdrawn: TE6: Tree guard (tube and mesh). For 2026, this has been replaced by a new item, TE19: Tree guard (narrow weld mesh).
We’ve also updated the names and specifications for tree guard items TE7 and TE8.
You can find full details on the capital grant finder.
Learn moreIn my last post, I set out how farmers and land managers can start preparing for the 2026 Capital Grants offer.
I explained why we are asking for more supporting evidence at the start of the application process this year.
In 2025, many applications were incomplete, which caused delays and meant some applications were rejected. We therefore ask applicants to provide their supporting evidence together with their application.
I also explained what applicants can do now to prepare. This includes completing previous claims, checking business and land details, making sure maps are accurate, and preparing financial evidence if applying for more than £50,000.
The post also covered the support available through Catchment Sensitive Farming ahead of the 2026 round, requirements for tenant farmers, and the additional evidence needed for some items, such as consents for historic or archaeological features.
Do please give it a read.
I’ll blog again in July when it’s time to apply, so make sure to subscribe to the Farming Blog.
Once the offer opens, we’ll also provide updates on the blog when 25%, 50% and 75% of the available funding has been allocated.
By subscribing, you’ll receive a notification as soon as we publish a new post.
https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/28/capital-grants-2026-guidance-now-available/
seen at 11:52, 28 May in The Farming Blog.