Farming Recovery Fund
The Farming Recovery Fund has been expanded to include a wider geographical area of farmers with more funding made available for those affected across the whole of England. The budget for the scheme is now £50 million.
Farmers whose land has suffered significant damage due to flooding or exceptional rainfall this winter and spring will receive a payment to help remediate land and bring it back into production.
- Grants will help contribute towards the costs of land remediation, including recultivation, soil remediation or the removal of debris and pollution.
- Farmers will have flexibility to spend the grant appropriately in their context and will not have to provide evidence of damage or costs.
Those originally contacted in early April about the first version of the scheme are now being updated on progress of the scheme and the original payments due to them. We await to hear more from the RPA on the expanded offer announced on the 24 May.
Eligibility
Eligible farmers will be contacted directly by the RPA. To determine eligibility:
- Defra will use mapping data to determine land flooded close to rivers in the counties most affected by flooding over this period.
- Defra will also use rainfall data to establish other areas across the country that have experienced exceptional rainfall (more than 70% higher than normal) over the period.
- There will be no exceptions process.
Payments are expected to be made this summer. Defra has based the payment rates on an assessment of average likely costs.
There will be a flat rate payment, set in bands according to farm size. The minimum payment amount eligible farmers will receive is £2,895, up to a maximum of £25,000.
Farmers already contacted by RPA as eligible in the initial role out of the Storm Henk scheme on 9 April will still be eligible, and will receive at least the amount they’ve already been offered. They will receive payments based on the updated rates. The RPA will be in contact with farmers directly.
Find out more: GOV.UK | Farming Recovery Fund expanded.
Property flood resilience repair grant scheme
Most grants under the Flood Recovery Framework have now closed but the Property Flood Resilience Repair grant scheme remains open until 2025.
Eligible flood-hit property owners are able to apply for up to £5,000 to refund homes and businesses for works undertaken to make them more flood resilient or recover more quickly from future flooding.
Your property must have been internally damaged by flooding between Tuesday 2 January 2024 and Friday 12 January 2024 as a result of Storm Henk.
You will need to visit your local council’s website in order to apply. See the list of eligible councils below:
- Gloucestershire County
- Nottinghamshire County
- West Northamptonshire
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire County
- Herefordshire County
- Lincolnshire County
- Somerset County
- Surrey County
- Oxfordshire County
- Leicester City
- Leicestershire County
- Wiltshire
- Windsor & Maidenhead
- Tower Hamlets
- West Berkshire