A practice note on the Entry Level Stewardship Scheme and the matters to consider when purchasing land subject to this scheme.

For an overview of Environmental Stewardship Schemes, see Practice note, Agri-environment schemes under the Rural Development Programme for England (2007-13): an overview.

Note: This practice note is no longer maintained as this scheme is closed to new applicants. The content of this note remains valid for agreements that commenced before the scheme closed.

Note: The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. Under the UK-EU withdrawal agreement, a transition period will end on 31 December 2020 unless extended (end of transition period), during which time the UK will be treated for most purposes as if it were still an EU member state, and most EU law (including as amended or supplemented) will continue to apply to the UK (see Practice note, Brexit: transitional arrangements and Practice note, European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020: Transition period).

For more information about agricultural policy post-Brexit see Practice note, Post Brexit: timeline for UK agricultural policy.