Guide
Capital Grants 2026: open now, closing when the money runs out
Updated
This is the one open scheme on the board with a deadline nobody can tell you. It closes on money, not on a date, and the money is going quickly.
What it covers
Capital Grants are three-year agreements offering capital items to achieve specific environmental benefits within six groups: boundaries, trees and orchards; improved water quality; improved air quality; improved natural flood management; assessments; and improvements (gov.uk: Capital Grants 2026). Applications opened on 30 July 2026.
The closing mechanism
There is no published closing date. The applicant's guide says This round of the Capital Grants offer will close for applications when the available funding is allocated
, that Defra will aim to give reasonable notice of the Capital Grants offer closure
, and, most importantly, that At the point of closure, we will not accept any further applications including those started but not yet submitted
.
That last sentence is the one that costs people money. A saved draft is worth nothing at closure. Defra has been posting budget milestones on the Farming Blog: 25% allocated on 30 July, 50% on 31 July and 75% on 1 August 2026, with a commitment to blog again when the budget is fully allocated.
Before you start
- Capital Grants are open to owner occupiers, tenants, landlords and licensors with management control of the land and activities for the full duration of the agreement.
- Some items require Catchment Sensitive Farming support to be in place before the offer opens, so check the item list against what you already have.
- Check your digital maps and permissions in the Rural Payments service first. The same mapping problems that block SFI applications block these.
- Submit, do not save. Started-but-unsubmitted applications are not accepted once the budget closes.
The capital grants available through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier come from a separate budget and are not affected by the Capital Grants 2026 allocation. Check the current status yourself at gov.uk before you commit any time, because this page states the position on 15 August 2026 and this scheme can close between one week and the next.