Metal Detecting on Agri-Environment Land

Metal detecting conditions

Here are the metal detecting conditions which apply to agreements under the Countryside Stewardship scheme, which has operated since 2016.

• It's against the law to use a metal detector at a scheduled monument without consent from Historic England. Metal detecting is also not allowed on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, nor on known archaeological sites on Agreement Land. (These latter are identified on various records held by the Agreement Holder).
• On any other Agreement Land, metal detecting is allowed as long as it does not conflict with the requirements of the Agreement (for example, disturbing ground-nesting birds could be a conflict).
• Agreement Holders are responsible for ensuring any metal detecting will not conflict with their Agreements.
• All hobby metal detecting allowed by Agreement Holders must be undertaken in accordance with the current Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting, and all finds must be reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme as set out in that Code.
• Metal detecting rallies are allowed as long as they do not conflict with the requirements set out above, and they do not conflict with the requirements of the Agreement.
• All metal detecting (including that on rallies) must be undertaken in accordance with the current Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting.

Further information about metal detecting on Countryside Stewardship land can be found in the gov.uk Countryside Stewardship page.

Countryside Stewardship legal conditions can vary year to year, so agreement holders should refer to the Countryside Stewardship manual for the relevant scheme and year in which their agreement started to check the specific rules relating to metal detecting. 

Other rules that affect metal detecting on agri-environment land

Environmental Stewardship

Although this agri-environment scheme closed in 2014 for new applications, existing legal agreements will continue, the last of which will expire in 2028. There are different conditions for Entry Level and Higher Level stewardship agreements as follows:

• Higher Level
  Metal-detecting is not permitted on archaeological sites on holdings with Higher Level Stewardship agreements or Sites of Special Scientific Interest without the permission of Natural England: such sites will be identified in the landowner/farmer occupier's Farm Environment Plan.
• Entry Level
  It's against the law to use a metal detector at a scheduled monument without consent from Historic England. Metal detecting is also not allowed on Sites of Special Scientific Interest or known archaeological sites on grassland. Other than that, there are no restrictions on metal-detecting on Entry Level Stewardship land providing searchers follow the Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting in England and Wales, and that they follow the rules on rallies below.
• Rallies
  Natural England requires up to 12 weeks notice of any large scale metal detecting events (known as rallies) on Environmental Stewardship land. Metal detecting rally organisers should follow the Guidance for Recording Finds at Metal-Detecting Rallies in England and Wales.