Green light given to the UK’s biggest ever farmer led nature recovery project

• Farmers across the Cotswolds are beginning the UK’s largest farmer-led interconnected nature restoration projects.

• The North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster’s Evenlode Landscape Recovery project will enable farmers to restore more than 3,000 hectares of habitat, across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and  Warwickshire while the farms continue producing food.

• The project is backed by a £100 million blended finance model to support long-term public private investment in nature.

• This is a farmer-led effort to shift from short-term schemes to long-term land stewardship and  landscape-scale recovery.

Farmers across the Cotswolds have formally begun work on the UK's largest and most ambitious nature restoration programmes delivered entirely through farmer collaboration. 

The Evenlode Landscape Recovery project will see a group of over 50 farms in the North East Cotswold  Farmer Cluster being paid to work together to restore more than 3,000 hectares of habitat in  Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire aligned to existing food production. 

Now backed by over £100 million of innovative public funding from government, this nature restoration  project will see farmers paid for their work in restoring their landscape over 20 years. 

The project has been triggered by increasing environmental pressures across the area, including  intensive flooding, soil erosion, declining water quality and biodiversity loss.  

These challenges could not be tackled by individuals or small-scale projects acting alone, but by working  collectively, the farmers aim to slow water flows, improve river health, restore soils and reconnect  habitats, delivering benefits for wildlife, downstream communities and the long-term resilience of their  farming businesses at landscape-scale. 

It is one of the very first Landscape Recovery projects in the UK to move from planning into full delivery  mode, and has been built and organised by the farmers themselves.

The project is an initiative of the North East Cotswolds Farmer Cluster (NECFC), whose members have  worked together for several years on collaborative land management and the design of this ambitious  scheme. 

Tim Field, NECFC General Secretary and Executive Director of Evenlode Landscape Recovery, said: 

“This project has been built by farmers and with farmers, who know this land inside out. We’ve  seen the pressures building year after year with flooding and tired soils and knew that significant  change needed to happen.” 

“Going live now is a real moment of pride because it shows what’s possible when farmers work together for the long-term taking shared responsibility for their landscapes and passing it on in  better shape than they inherited.” 

Planning for specific and long-term landscape recovery has been complex and years in the making. The  Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) newly confirmed funding under the  Landscape Recovery scheme marks a significant milestone, allowing the farmers to begin  implementation and enter long-term, paid agreements to change how their land is managed. 

Dame Angela Eagle DBE, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs at Defra welcomed the launch of  the project and said: 

"The Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project is a great example of farmers and land managers  coming together to successfully blend food production and nature restoration, backed by  government funding and private investment working hand in hand. 

"This exciting partnership will improve water quality and reduce flood risk in the North  

Cotswolds, delivering real benefits not only for the landscape but for the people who live in it.”

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said: 

“The Evenlode project marks an exciting milestone. With secured agreement for environmental  restoration lasting over 20 years and spanning across more than 3,000 hectares, this innovative  project will improve water quality, strengthen flood resilience and deliver lasting economic  benefits to over 50 farmers and landowners in the area. 

“This project is a brilliant example of collaborative work creating a powerful legacy and setting  great standards for future landscape recovery schemes restoring and enhancing our  

environment.” 

Natural England Chief Executive, Marian Spain said: 

"Evenlode presents an exciting opportunity for both public and private investment in nature-based  solutions. Recovering nature across the project area will help to manage flood risk in an area which  has been hit hard by wet weather in recent years, as well as improving water quality.

"I am proud that Natural England has been able to approve funding for this ambitious  collaboration between more than 50 innovative farmers, supported by the joint resources of  Natural England, the Environment Agency and Forestry Commission. We are looking forward to  working closely with the partnership to make this project a success over the coming years." 

Alongside public funding, the project is developing a blended finance model crowding in private capital  and generating commercial revenues that will allow private investment to support long-term nature  recovery. This includes the creation of a range of high-integrity nature market outcomes linked to  measurable improvements in habitats, water quality and carbon storage, while keeping decision-making  in the hands of the farmers. 

Crucially, the project is not about taking land out of food production. Participating farms will continue to  operate as working farms, adopting practices that support wildlife, improve soil structure and protect  watercourses. Progress will be tracked through a robust monitoring programme measuring biodiversity,  river health, carbon storage and farm resilience. 

Tim Coates, a local farmer, Director of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster and Managing Director of  Evenlode Landscape Recovery, said: 

“This is the largest Landscape Recovery project of its kind to reach implementation so far, and  that sets a real precedent. It shows that farmers can lead these type of projects that are ambitious, investable and built for the long term. 

“By combining innovative public funding structures with private investment, we’re moving away from short-term schemes and creating a model for long-term land stewardship that could be replicated elsewhere, responding to the need for resilient landscapes in all of society’s interests.” 

As one of the earliest, and biggest landscape recovery projects, to begin delivery, this work is expected  to provide valuable lessons for similar initiatives across the UK, demonstrating how farmer-led  collaboration can deliver nature recovery at scale while supporting viable food production.