Yard roofing grant calculator for Welsh farms
Welsh Government pays £40 a square metre towards a new roof over an existing feeding area, gathering yard or solid manure store. Enter each area and this checks it against the rules, works out the grant and lists what you would have to do to be paid it.
- Grant
- £40 per m²
- A flat rate for the roof, whatever it costs you.
- Smallest application
- £3,000
- 75 m² of roof, from one area or several added together.
- Most in a year
- £15,000
- Per CRN, reached at 375 m².
- Next selection
- 30 November
- Week commencing. Selection is scored and budget-limited.
Get the roof priced
Send us the areas and South West Steel Buildings will design and price a roof that meets the grant's building standard, with the structural calculations the claim needs. Your answers above go with the enquiry.
Every enquiry gets a reply the same day, and your figures go with it. The building itself is designed and priced by South West Steel Buildings, our building partner, so your details go to them too, and they will be in touch. How we handle your details.
Rules for 2027/28, checked on 23 September 2026 against the Welsh Government's guidance for Universal Layer claimants and guidance for everyone else. This is a check before you apply, not an application, and it cannot tell you whether you will be selected.
How the grant is worked out
The grant is a standard cost, not a share of your bill. Welsh Government pays £40 for every square metre of new roof it funds, and that is the figure you receive whatever the roof costs you. A heavier-spec roof earns no more; a cheaper one earns no less.
£3,000 to £15,000
The smallest application is £3,000 (75 m² of roof). The most one CRN can receive in a financial year is £15,000 (375 m²). Roof beyond that earns nothing more that year.
The minimum applies to the application, not to each area. A 60 m² feeding area on its own falls short; add a 30 m² manure store and the two together clear it. The calculator adds your areas the same way.
The maximum is per Customer Reference Number across the financial year. If you have already accepted a Small Infrastructure award this year, a second application can only be for what is left — and what is left must still reach the £3,000 minimum. Money from the earlier Yard Coverings scheme does not count.
What qualifies
Three kinds of area, each already in use today:
- Livestock feeding area. A permanent feeding area, enclosed by walls or permanent barriers, used through the winter feeding period.
- Livestock gathering area. A permanent gathering area with a demonstrable purpose, such as a collecting yard for the parlour or access to a fixed handling system.
- Solid manure store. A store for farmyard manure that stacks without slumping — not slurry — with impermeable wall bases.
Each must already have a sound, impermeable concrete floor. The grant pays for the roof over it, so a hardcore yard or a broken slab has to be put right first, at your own cost. The area must be permanent and not already roofed, and it must not have been grant funded before. Second-hand materials are not accepted.
What is not covered: general yards, silage clamps, slurry stores, new areas and anything that becomes livestock housing once it is roofed. If your job is a new building rather than a roof over a yard, the larger Infrastructure and Equipment grant is the one to watch for — it had not opened when this page was last checked, on 23 September 2026.
For what goes into the roof itself — what it stands on, how high, whether it has sides and where the water goes — see roofing over farmyards.
The order it happens in
- 1
Photograph and measure
At least 4 geo-tagged photographs of each area, before anything changes, and the measurements of the roof you want.
- 2
Apply through RPW Online
You apply yourself. Selections run in the weeks commencing 30 November 2026, 25 January 2027 and 22 March 2027; the last date to apply for 2027/28 is 25 June 2027.
- 3
Wait for the Grant Award Letter
Get prices, but order nothing and start nothing until it arrives. Accept it within 21 days.
- 4
Planning, SAB and NRW
Planning permission or evidence it is not needed; SAB approval or written confirmation it is not needed; and 14 days' written notice to Natural Resources Wales before building any new reception pit or store.
- 5
Build the roof
To BS 5502 Part 22:2013, CE marked or backed by an engineer's structural calculations, with gutters and downpipes to a clean water drain or rainwater harvesting.
- 6
Claim, then keep it
Claim within the award period, up to 12 months, with the same number of photographs again. Keep the roof in place and in use for 5 years after the award ends.
Planning and SAB for a yard roof in Wales
Two separate consents, both from your council, and the claim needs evidence of both — even when the evidence is a letter saying it was not needed.
Planning. Many farm roofs in Wales fall under agricultural permitted development, which usually still means a prior notification to the council before you build. Welsh rules differ from England's, so do not rely on advice written for English farms. Ask your local planning authority what it needs for your roof before you apply for the grant.
SAB. Since January 2019 any construction in Wales with a construction area of 100 m² or more needs approval from the SuDS Approval Body before work starts, and farm buildings and yard coverings are included. Under that size, ask the SAB for written confirmation that approval is not needed — the grant claim asks for one or the other. Welsh Government publishes advice notes on SAB for farm buildings, coverings and clean yards.
Roofing a yard changes where its water goes: the rain that fell on dirty concrete now comes off a clean roof. Gutters and downpipes must take it to a clean water drain or to rainwater harvesting. That is also the reason the dirty water system underneath matters, and why a new reception pit needs 14 days' notice to Natural Resources Wales.
Who does what
South West Steel Buildings design, supply and erect the roof, built to the standard the grant asks for, and can provide the structural calculations that show it. The application, planning, SAB and the concrete underneath are yours; the information on this page and the calculator's list are there to make that straightforward.
Questions about the scheme itself — whether an area qualifies in a case this page does not cover, or how selection is scored — go to Rural Payments Wales on 0300 062 5004. They decide, not us.
Questions
How much is the Welsh Government grant for roofing a farmyard?
Under SFS Optional: Small Infrastructure the grant is £40 for every square metre of new roof over an eligible area. An application has to be worth at least £3,000, which is 75 m², and one Customer Reference Number can receive at most £15,000 in a financial year, which is reached at 375 m². Several separate areas can go on one application and be added together to reach the minimum.
Is the yard roofing grant a percentage of what the roof costs?
No. It is a fixed £40 per square metre, worked out by Welsh Government as a share of its own standard cost for the work. You receive that amount whatever your roof actually costs, so a dearer roof does not earn more grant and a cheaper one does not earn less. The rest of the cost of the roof is yours.
What areas does the yard roofing grant cover?
Three: roofing over an existing livestock feeding area, over an existing livestock gathering area, and over an existing solid manure store. Each must already have a sound, impermeable concrete floor, be permanent and in regular use, not already be roofed and not have been grant funded before. General yards, silage clamps, slurry stores and new areas are not covered, and a funded roof must not be turned into livestock housing.
Can I order the roof before my grant is approved?
No. Nothing may be bought, ordered or started before you receive a Grant Award Letter from Rural Payments Wales — costs incurred before it are not eligible. Getting quotes and prices beforehand is fine. Once the letter arrives you have 21 days to accept it, and the award lasts up to 12 months, within which the roof has to be built and claimed for.
Do I need planning permission and SAB approval to roof a yard in Wales?
The claim needs planning permission or evidence that it is not needed, and SuDS Approval Body (SAB) approval or the SAB's written confirmation that it is not needed. In Wales SAB approval is triggered by a construction area of 100 m² or more, and farm buildings and yard coverings are not exempt. Both are run by your local council. Start both early: SAB determination can take several weeks.
Does an earlier Yard Coverings grant count towards the annual maximum?
No. Money approved under the earlier Small Grants – Yard Coverings scheme does not count towards the £15,000 maximum. What counts is Small Infrastructure grant already accepted by the same CRN in the same financial year.
Can I apply for the yard roofing grant if I am not in the Sustainable Farming Scheme?
Yes, provided you have a Customer Reference Number and either 3 hectares of eligible agricultural land in Wales registered with Rural Payments Wales or evidence of more than 550 standard labour hours. Universal Layer claimants are always prioritised at selection, so a non-claimant's application is considered after theirs.
When are the selection dates for the yard roofing grant?
For the 2027/28 financial year, Rural Payments Wales runs selections in the weeks commencing 30 November 2026, 25 January 2027 and 22 March 2027. The last date to apply for selection in that year is 25 June 2027. Every selection is subject to the budget available, and applications are scored, so meeting the rules does not guarantee an award.
Sources
Everything on this page comes from the Welsh Government guidance published on 17 September 2026, last checked against it on 23 September 2026. The application form stays open until March 2028. If the guidance and this page ever disagree, the guidance is right.
Get the roof over your yard priced
Send the areas from the calculator and South West Steel Buildings will price a roof built to BS 5502 Part 22:2013. Getting a price before your award letter is fine; ordering is not.