Free advice · England
Upstream Thinking (UST4)
Free farm advice visits, soil sampling, nutrient and soil plans, a pesticide amnesty, free trees and help with grants, plus capital grants in priority catchments to protect drinking water.
- From
- South West Water with Westcountry Rivers Trust and partners
- How much
- Advice is free. Grant rates for the 2025-2030 phase are not published; ask your adviser. (The earlier UST3 phase offered capital grants up to £20,000 at about 50%, but that phase has ended.)
- Who can apply
- Farmers and landowners in priority drinking water catchments (Dart, Exe, Fowey, Otter, Tamar, Tavy and others) in the South West Water area.
Where it’s available
Land in parts of: Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Bristol, City of, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isles of Scilly, North Somerset, Plymouth, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Torbay, Wiltshire. The finder checks your exact land.
What you’ll need
- Land in a priority catchment above a drinking water intake
How to apply
- Email the UST4 team or call Westcountry Rivers Trust on 01579 372140
- An adviser for your catchment will contact you and visit
UST4 runs 2025 to 2030 and also covers the Bournemouth Water area (Dorset Stour) and, for the first time, Bristol Water. Grants usually cannot be combined with other funding for the same work.
Similar schemes
- Bespoke Water Quality Improvement Projects Scheme OpenThames WaterLarger contributions for farm projects that bring big, long-term water quality improvements.
- Catchment Fund OpenThames Water · Closes 30 November 2026Part-funding for farm work that cuts nitrate and herbicide pollution of drinking water sources in priority catchments.
- River Health and Community Fund OpenThames WaterGrants for community projects that engage people with rivers or improve them.
- River Stour Phosphorus Reduction Scheme OpenWessex WaterAnnual payments and one-off funding for farm changes that cut phosphorus run-off, such as arable reversion to grass, herbal leys, buffer strips, beetle banks, hedges, trees and wetlands.
- STEPS 2026 (Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme) OpenSevern Trent · Closes 11 December 2026Grants for soil health, soil structure, watercourse protection, better use of inputs, livestock management and keeping soil and nutrients in the field, plus a Farmer Innovation option.
- Tone, Parrett and Yeo Phosphorus Reduction Scheme OpenWessex WaterAnnual payments for farm changes that cut phosphorus run-off in the Somerset Tone, Parrett and Yeo sub-catchments.
Checked against the official pages on 29 October 2026. Sources: 1, 2. Always read the official page before you apply.