Severn Trent reopens environmental grants scheme for farmers

Grants are used to help protect watercourses from pollution

Severn Trent will be giving farmers in the Midlands another opportunity to apply for a grant to help them protect local watercourses from pollution.

The ‘Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme’ (STEPS), which is solely funded by the water company, supports farmers in making improvements to their farm management and infrastructure, reducing the risk of pollution from their land into local watercourses.

The STEPS scheme offers grants of up to £5,000 per year per farm. Farms must be located within a Severn Trent priority water catchment area.

Jodie Rettino, Severn Trent’s catchment manager, said: “The more work we can do with farmers to reduce pollution from their land, the more we’ll protect local water courses, such as rivers and streams, and the environment. In turn it’ll also help reduce how much we have to treat the water we take from these water courses.”

More than 600 farmers were awarded STEPS grants in the last three years to make improvements to their farm and land.

Rettino added: “Funding is available for a range of farm and field improvement works including pesticide handling areas, watercourse fencing, cover crops and much more.

“Farmers also have the opportunity to propose their own ideas in a unique ‘Farmer Innovation’ option which has proven very popular. We’d love to hear from anyone interested and we’re doing farm visits now to help farmers get the support they need.”

Grant applications for 2018/19 will be open from 1 January to 16 March 2018.

Last week, Severn Trent announced it will sell off its surplus land to help the UK’s housing market. It pledged to share a proportion of the profits from the move with customers.

The company outlined its plans as it reported a 3.7 per cent rise in turnover to £850.4 million in its half-year financial results for the six months to 30 September 2017.