Defra has announced that its Farming in Protected Landscapes programme has extended to run until March 2025. Originally, the programme was due to end a year earlier, in March 2024.
The programme offers funding to farmers and land managers in Areas of Natural Beauty (AONBs), National Parks and and the Broads. It is not an agri-environment scheme, but is part of Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan.

The programme will fund projects that support nature recovery, mitigate against the impact of climate change and protect or improve the quality and character of the landscape in the designated areas. Projects will also need to provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage.
You could be eligible for up to 100% of the project costs. Although, if you are likely to benefit commercially, then you will receive a proportion of the costs. The exact amount will depend on how much the project will benefit your business.

It is open to farmers and land managers operating within an AONB or National Park in England, or the Broads, whether they are from the public, private or charity sector.
Crucially, it is also open to farmers and land managers
on land outside of protected landscapes providing the proposed project benefits the landscape, or the protected landscape body’s objectives or partnership initiatives.
To apply you must “manage all the land included in the application and have control of all the activities you would like to do”, or “you must have written consent from all parties who manage and control the land”. Common land is also eligible for programme funding. You can apply as a landowner with sole rights, or as a group of commoners acting together.

For more information about the programme, eligibility and project outcomes, visit:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-for-farmers-in-protected-landscapes