Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant Scheme
England’s peatlands are our largest terrestrial carbon stores and provide several environmental benefits, however, approximately 87% of England’s peatlands are degraded, damaged and dried out, emitting approximately 8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Defra is now launching the Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant Scheme, which will provide funding for a range of activities that will remove barriers to peatland restoration to grow and develop the scope and size of the peatland restoration sector. The scheme will run from 2026 to 2030 with a total value of £1.15m. The scheme will have annual rounds of competition offering individual grant awards up to and including £20,000 with a term of 12 months.
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Contents
Summary
Background:
In the Environmental Improvement Plan (2025), Defra committed to restore 280,000 hectares of peatlands by 2050. As part of this, Defra have committed to work with partners, farmers and land managers to restore 40,000 hectares of peatlands by April 2030, as well as water infrastructure and paludiculture trials.
However, the current size of the sector represents a major barrier to scaling up the amount of restoration possible. In 2024, a research paper set out in detail the issues caused by sector capacity. Difficulties creating or accessing opportunities to gain practical experience in restoration represent the key skills related issue experienced by the sector, with many restoration sites located in remote upland settings where resources may need to be transported via helicopter or other vehicles.
There is also a challenge finding experienced excavator operators willing to work on peatland restoration, due to both the remoteness of restoration sites and disparity in pay between the restoration and construction sectors. It is also expensive for a company to train an operator in a peatland setting. A related skills issue is shortages in hydrology experts in a restoration context, although this issue is noted as slowly closing with support from universities. Specialist surveyors are also a gap in some areas. Sector capacity has been identified as a major barrier to increasing the amount of peatland restoration possible across England.
Purpose:
In order to address these barriers and grow the sector to be able to deliver higher rates of restoration, we are launching the Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant Scheme. The scheme is intended to provide additionality to the current capacity of the restoration workforce. The Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant Scheme is a four year grant scheme running from 2026 to 2030. The total value of the grant scheme is £1,150,000.00 and will be split over four rounds of applications annually.
For 2026 the budget is £250,000.00 and for the remaining years of the scheme the budget will be £300,000.00 each year.
For the 2026 round of applications, interested parties can apply for up to two year's worth of funding (at a maximum of £20,000.00 per year). From 2027 onwards applications will be restricted to one year only (at a maximum of £20,000.00)
Eligibility
To be eligible for this grant scheme, applicants must be currently engaged in peatland restoration in England and be able to meet the required outcomes/objectives of this grant scheme.
Objectives
In order to address barriers and grow the sector to be able to deliver higher rates of restoration, the scheme is intended to provide additionality to the current capacity of the restoration workforce and aims to meet the following objectives:
An increase in the size of the local restoration workforce through apprenticeships and internships.
An increase in the amount of relevant skills within the local restoration workforce, such as green finance or project management.
Attracting new entrants into the sector, such as raising the awareness of peatland careers within local schools, universities or the community.
Attracting private investment into a peatland restoration project.
Progressing collaboration with other organisations – for example, subsidising the cost of specialist machinery to be used in a ‘machinery ring’, whereby machinery is shared and leased between several stakeholders.
Laying the groundwork for future Landscape Recovery delivery.
Ultimately, an increase in the amount of peatland restoration delivery possible via increased capacity.
Dates
Invitation to Apply (ITA) Open – 11th June 2026
Deadline for clarification questions from Applicants – 16th July 2026 17:00 BST
Deadline for submission of Applications – 23rd July 2026 10:00 BST
Evaluation of Applications – 24th July 2026 to 3rd September 2026
Outcome letters and funding award notification – 28th September 2026
How to apply
Apply via Defra e-Sourcing platform: Welcome
Supporting information
A workshop will be held on 16th June to provide an opportunity for applicants to ask questions. Details of the workshop were issued prior to publishing this tender pack in a Defra Environment Blog post, available here: Investing in England’s peatlands: introducing the Peatland Restoration Sector Capacity Grant – Environment, where applicants can register for the event.
All questions and answers and slides will be published as soon as they are available after the event, in Atamis with the Invitation To Apply documents.