Government Funding for Peatlands Announced

9th July 2026

The Government has announced £47 million of funding to be used to protect and improve peatlands in England. As peatlands sequester significant amounts of carbon this will help reduce the country’s carbon emissions, as well as protect rural communities from flooding and wildfires.

Currently, the majority of the peatlands in England are dry and degraded, and in need of re-wetting in order to maximise carbon capture. The announcement gave details of three funding schemes to aid the improvement of peat landscapes.

The Lowland Peat Water Implementation Grant

£36 million from the Environment Agency will fund local water projects through infrastructure that elevates and manages the water tables in lowland areas. This has proved to be successful in our local area of the Cambridgeshire Fens but also further afield in the Somerset Levels and Yorkshire.

The Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund

£10 million from Natural England to fund research into growing crops on wetter peat soils. Again, something which is already being looked at in the Fens with wetland plants like bulrush having been successfully used in building materials. These new grants will use this research to aid larger action across other lowland areas.

The Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant

£1.15 million from DEFRA to fund training, equipment and apprenticeships designed to enhance skill sets that will be needed to restore peatlands for years to come.

The above grants will support different peat landscapes, and most importantly aims to protect productive farming on agricultural land. Instead, in these areas, the focus will be on improved water management and sustainable practices. The above schemes are currently open for applications.

Please see details below of how to apply and if you are eligible:

Lowland Peat Water Infrastructure Grant – Information on how to apply can be found on the GOV.UK website. Applications can be submitted until 18 September.
The Paludiculture and Wetter Farming Fund – Applications can be submitted on the Defra e-Commercial portal until 21 August.
The Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant – Applications can be submitted via the government’s Find a Grant website until 23 July.

This is part of the 2026-2030 Peat Programme announced in the Environmental Improvement Plan worth £85 million in total. They sit alongside the Lowland Peat Water Discovery Grant, the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, and the England Peat Map.