Defra launch Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant

Defra have launched the Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant amongst a wider suite of grant funding aimed at benefiting lowland peat soils. The Implementation Grant is an expanded successor to LAPSIP that many IDBs participated in, and we hope that many will once again apply to install water level management assets and telemetry. We would urge those applying to start their applications as soon as possible.

The Implementation Grant will be delivered by the Environment Agency, assisted by ADA, funding projects that will allow IDBs, farmers, local authorities, and other land managers to better manage water levels for lowland peat areas. This £36 million scheme will support a collaborative and strategic approach to delivering previously developed water management plans within lowland peatland catchments, with the aim of safely raising and maintaining water tables.

The Implementation Grant scheme will fund the delivery of infrastructure needed to retain higher water levels safely within England’s lowland landscapes for the preservation of our peat soils. Its primary aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from lowland peat, whilst also delivering wider benefits such as more sustainable land use, improved flood and drought resilience, and enhanced biodiversity. The scheme will support projects that take a collaborative, strategic approach to water management across lowland peatland catchments.

Around 80% of England’s peatlands are in a degraded state, contributing roughly to 2% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, an amount comparable to emissions from around 3.5 million homes. Sadly, drained lowland peat accounts for 88% of these emissions. However, if we can adopt more sustainable water table management, we can help slow soil degradation, cut emissions, and maintain productive, sustainable agriculture.

Previous grant schemes, such as the Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot (LAPSIP) that focused on the role of IDBs in rewetting lowland peat to reduce CO₂ emissions, have highlighted the opportunities for new and adapted water management infrastructure to safely raise water tables in lowland peat soils.

The new Implementation Grant will now support landscape-scale change in lowland peat areas around England, with IDBs continuing to play a key role working with and alongside a broader range of delivery partners.

The grant is being led by the Environment Agency with support from the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) and the Defra Lowland Peat Team.  We have worked closely together to get the implementation grant up and running.

What does a successful project look like? 

The grant team are look for projects that will install infrastructure to enable the rewetting of lowland peat, raising water tables in lowland peat soils safely. This should reduce both greenhouse gas emissions from lowland peat and peat deterioration. Projects should seek to work with local stakeholders to create effective collaborations, and contribute to wider benefits, such as aiding a transition towards a mosaic of more sustainable land uses, improved biodiversity, and resilience to flooding and drought.

Applications may be made by those based in England within areas of lowland peat, including: charities or not for profit organisations, public bodies (including local authorities and IDBs), land managers, and businesses or commercial enterprises.

Each applicant project can apply for a grant between £100,000 and £2,000,000 to cover up to 100% of eligible project costs.

How to apply

You can apply via: www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-lowland-peat-water-implementation-grant. Completed applications should be returned to: peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Applications must be received by 23:59 on 18 September 2026. Grants are expected to be awarded in December 2026, and grant projects must complete by 31 March 2030.

A second application window is anticipated in Summer 2028 with projects also needing to be complete by 31 March 2030. Further details will follow for this.

Further information

The lowland peat water grants team runs a SharePoint website to provide more information about the scheme and share answers to common questions. If you would like access to this, email peatwatergrants@environment-agency.gov.uk with ‘Lowland peat water grants SharePoint access’ as the email subject.

If you’re interested in building or joining a consortium ahead of a group application, you can save your details to this consortium-building database.

An Application Webinar is being held on 15 July at 10.00am that will provide more information to help aid applicants. You can register to attend by completing this form. This webinar will be recorded and made accessible via their lowland peat water grants page on SharePoint afterwards.

 

Building on LAPSIP The Lowland Agricultural Peat Small Infrastructure Pilot (LAPSIP) invested around £3.3 million to support IDBs during 2024/25 to deliver targeted water management infrastructure across England’s lowland peat landscapes. Through 20 projects spanning the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire Fens, Somerset Levels, Yorkshire, Kent, and the Broads, the scheme facilitated the installation of a variety of interventions, largely within local watercourse networks to control water levels across the associated sub-catchments. Interventions included primarily tilting weirs, penstocks, sluices, solar-powered pumps and real-time telemetry systems. Tilting weirs, penstocks and other such controls have given IDBs the ability to hold water levels higher and more dynamically within peat soil areas and to hold levels higher for longer periods, without increasing flood risk. This is helping to reduce oxidation, slow peat loss and support rewetting where appropriate. Monitoring and telemetry systems have provided real-time data, which when coupled with remotely operated gates and weirs they allow IDBs to respond to changing conditions in real time and hence maintain higher water levels for longer, whilst retaining control of flood risk. Together, these changes have supported a shift from drainage-led water management towards managing water to conserve peat soils, alongside existing functions.

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