Sustainable Farming Scheme 2026 – Welsh Government published 15/07/2025
Summary Extracts relating to Stone Walls – of interest to DSWA – CWCS – Cymru members and farmers and rurally based establishments requiring dry stone wall repairs.
Complete document available here:
Page 135 (First of 19 references to ‘wall’)
Part 4: Landscape features
You are required to manage any known historic features on your farm to meet UA11 Historic environment. The detailed management requirements of different types of historic features are described in Annex 8.
In addition to those feature specific requirements, the following general requirements should be applied to historic and landscape features on your farm.
Landscape Features are defined as:
Landscape features include hedges, stone walls, earth banks, stone- faced banks, slate fences, stone stiles, sheep creeps and culverts and field margins. Some of these are used as traditional field boundaries, but that may not always be the case.
‘Stone wall’ means traditional stone wall and includes earth banks / Cloddiau with two constructed stone faces such as the traditional ‘Penclawdd Wall’ or ‘Pembrokeshire Hedge’.
‘Stone stiles’ are made of large slabs cantilevered on both sides of a stone wall.
‘Sheep creeps’ are a purposely constructed gap in the base of a drystone wall, commonly topped with a granite lintel.
Page 136
You should:
retain all landscape features such as stone walls, stone-faced banks, hedges, earth-banks, and slate fences. Their removal or destruction will not be allowed unless you have written planning or development consent from the relevant authority
retain all stone stiles, sheep creeps, culverts and other traditional features
Do not:
damage any traditional boundary features such as iron railed fencing, wooden pales, slate fencing, cloddiau, hedges or stone walls. You must therefore:
use soil and other fine material to fill in gaps in the middle of a dry-stone wall between face stones
use wedges (small stones to secure larger stones) on the face of a wall
cultivate (e.g. plough, rotovate, tine or disc) any land within 1m of a hedge, stone wall or earth bank, regardless of the size of the field
Page 202
Traditional farm buildings
Description
…They are a key part of the historic environment but are not necessarily legally protected. Traditional farm buildings are worth maintaining as they contribute to the wider landscape, scenic beauty and our understanding of history, as well as being useful, functional structures.
Traditional buildings and remnant structures must be retained, regardless of condition unless they cause a demonstrable hazard. A demonstrable hazard for these purposes is defined as where it occurs close enough to a public or permissive right of way that falling material could obstruct the path or where it is close enough to another access route or building that falling masonry could cause damage. Where removing a traditional building or part of a traditional building you determine to be a hazard you will need to provide photographic evidence that it was a hazard.
Requirements
remove new vegetation from walls before it takes hold. Invasive growth that cannot be removed by hand without damaging masonry or pointing should be treated with a systemic herbicide, by stem injection, and left in place to die and fall away
remove vegetation growing against external walls, where doing so does not reduce the structural integrity of the remaining walls, and ensure that soil does not build up at the base of walls or above the level of underfloor ventilation grilles or air bricks. Check drainage channels and gullies for cracks and open joints, and seal if necessary. Avoid storing materials outside the building close to the walls
re-bed isolated loose stones and replace small areas of pointing or render using hydraulic lime mortar. Do not point any crevices at the wall top or seal gaps between walls and barge / facia / soffit boards. In addition, 10% of remaining crevices to be left unfilled. Examine any crevice to be filled with a torch prior to any works and if any bats or bat droppings are seen, stop all pointing work and seek advice. Works should be undertaken between 15 March and 1 April and / or 1 September and 31 October
Annex 8: Universal Action 11: historic feature requirements
See UA11: Historic environment in Chapter 3 for an explanation of this action. This includes the aims and benefits of the UA, along with a description of the specific activity you are being asked to undertake, the deadline for completion and the evidence you will be required to present as proof the UA has been completed.
This action applies to you if you have any of the four types of historic assets on your farm. RPW will provide the information we hold to help you identify any historic assets you may have.
This annex contains a more detailed description of the actions and outcomes you are required to deliver to meet this action. Generally, these requirements involve adopting a ‘do no damage’ approach to any historic assets on your land.
Where these historic assets are also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) the historic feature interests should be considered as part of UA7: Designated Site Management Plan.
Guidance and support will be available, for example through Cadw and Farming Connect, to help you understand and gain the maximum benefit from this action.
The four categories of historic assets are:
scheduled monuments https://www.gov.wales/pdf-optimised/node/ 69184#scheduled-monuments
historic environment features https://www.gov.wales/pdf-optimised/node/ 69184#historic-environment-features
registered parks and gardens https://www.gov.wales/pdf-optimised/node/ 69184#registered-parks-gardens
traditional farm buildings https://www.gov.wales/pdf-optimised/node/ 69184#traditional-farm-buildings
Annex 9: membership of Ministerial Roundtable and stakeholder working groups
Unfortunately no reference amongst groups to the Dry Stone Walling Association either amongst Partner or Officials Group or Trees and Hedges Stakeholder Delivery Group
Annex 10: Glossary
Amongst other includes:
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) An ongoing learning and development process to build skills and knowledge.
Universal Code This sits above regulation and comprises a series of non-regulatory requirements which apply to every farmer in the scheme. It includes requirements designed to protect soil cover, biodiversity and habitats, trees, and landscape features. Part of the scheme requirements
10% scheme requirement Farms entering the scheme must have 10% of their land managed as habitat for environmental and wildlife benefits. Additional temporary habitat can be created if there is insufficient permanent habitat.
SFS extract/summary ends here
Welsh Government available funding https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2025-02/single-application-form-saf-2025-rules-booklet_0.pdf suggests funds available for dry stone walls -possibly for various walling locations?
B16 Landscape Features protected by Cross Compliance
B16.1 The following landscape features are protected under Cross Compliance by
Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition 7 (GAEC 7) and so are eligible for
BPS payment. These features do not need to be deducted from the eligible area
within field parcels:
hedges and wooded strips
ditches
traditional stone walls
stone faced banks
slate fences
Scheduled Ancient Monuments
End
Garden Walls
Fences, walls and gates do not require building regulation approval.
n.b. Walls may be subject to rules within a conservation area
Although building regulations do not apply, the structures must be structurally sound and maintained. See link (Welsh Government)
Regulations until 31st December 2025 when the new Welsh goernment Sustainable Farming Scheme (above) takes effect
2025 Dry stone walls – Agricultural farming boundaries
“traditional field boundaries” means structures such as hedges, stone walls, earth banks and slate fences customarily used to create separate fields within a farm;”
Stone walls of all types are important as landscape features and for stock management. Dry stone walls are walls made without the use of mortar or cement [although mortar may be used at the top of the wall to secure coping stones where this has been used traditionally].
If you have dry stone walls on your land [including small holdings], you should:
- check their condition at least once a year
- remove any vegetation to help to ‘air’ the wall and prevent frost damage
- use local stone to make any repairs
- prevent trees from growing alongside, as their roots can weaken wall foundations
- You must not remove a dry stone wall, or remove stone from it, except in special cases.
(UK Gov – Protecting rural landscapes and features)
Hegerows and walls – Hedgerows Regulation1997 [Clawdd]
3.5 Stone walls are not covered by the regulations unless, as for example is common in the south west of England and some parts of Wales, land supporting the hedgerow consists of an earth and/or stone bank with the hedgerow growing along the top.[Clawdd]
n.b. Removal of a hedgerow (20m long) may incur a fine of £5,000 and local planning authority can require replacement.
Post Brexit and Pre 2026
Wales
Many of the subsidies and regulations relating to Dry Stone Walls, Hedging and Forestry were promised to remain the same or similar post-Brexit. These are now being superseded by the Sustainable Farming Scheme 2026.
Land in Care Scheme (Tir Gofal) (Wales) Regulations 1999 – outlines capital allowance £/m
England
Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Scheme is one element of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme, managed by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) (in succession to Natural England) as part of the Rural Development Programme for England…
Glastir Welsh Grants regulation: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-01/glastir-small-grants-scheme-rules.pdf
Glastir grants: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-03/glastir-small-grants-landscape-and-pollinators-option-payment-rates-2019.pdf
Welsh Regulations: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-05/glastir-small-grants-landscape-and-pollinators-capital-works-technical-guidance-booklet-2021.pdf
Welsh government regulations – Landscape features: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2020-12/cross-compliance-landscape-features-gaec-7-2021.pdf
Rural Payments Agency – Natural England 2020 – BN12: Stone wall restoration + schedules
Richard Staniforth Dry Stone Waller & Garden Waller 