About Us

Severn Trent's Environmental Protection Scheme

Helping Farms across the region protect their local environment, local water courses and improve farm infrastructure and river health

Familiar to many farms, land agents and estate owners across our region, STEPS is part of our Farming 4 Water catchment management programme.

So, what’s new for 2023

This year, due to feedback, we have taken out all of the biodiversity options, but you will see these in our sister handbook SPRING STEPS 2023, which will be out in April.      

Where we can, we have also endeavoured to competitively match our prices to other schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship.    

We have maintained our recently introduced (March 2022) packages of priority items, including up to £30,000 for pesticide washdown areas and free rainwater harvesting, soil testing for

cover crop applicants in groundwater catchments and up to 100% funding for fencing in our crypto catchments.

We've also increased our grant rates for many of our items.

How to apply for STEPS and Spring STEPS

To help with timescales and on farm priorities, we have separated out all of our biodiversity options so that is clearer for you to be able to make choices that suit your farm business

Our new Spring Steps 2023 brochure will be available from the 1st April 2023.

You can apply for our main STEPS options all year round. Applications close on 31 December 2023.

We’ll match-fund up to £10,000 per application.

The grant scheme is a competitive process and all our applications are assessed and reviewed based on each farm’s individual circumstances and the options you choose to apply for.

We advise you to read the relevant handbook before you apply. This will improve the chances of you making a successful application.

 
Working with your local Agricultural Advisor will also help improve the likelihood of your application being successful, as a collaborative approach provides the opportunity to get your application right first time and to meet mutually beneficial outcomes.

When you'll hear about your application

If you've applied for funding from STEPS, we'll let you know if you've been successful within 5 weeks of the application date.

Work must be completed within 12 months of issuing an agreement to you.

If you've applied for funding from Spring STEPS, the closing date is 31 October 2023 and we'll let you know if you have been successful within 6 weeks of your application being submitted.

Work must be completed by Tuesday 1 March 2024.

Apply for STEPS funding