GovWire

Landowners, land managers and public bodies (other than Forestry England) can apply to the Forestry Commission to support the design of new woodland under the Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG).?

You can apply for 1,500 to complete Stage 1 of the Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan. This is focused on a desk-based exercise to identify the constraints and opportunities that may affect the proposed planting. If there is potential for woodland creation to take place on the site, then you will be offered a Stage 2 payment. Stage 2 offers funding at a rate of 150 per hectare,?minus the 1,500 paid at Stage 1,?to?complete Stage 2 of the Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan. You may get supplementary payments for specialist survey work if a need for them is identified at Stage 1.?

You will never be paid less than 1,500 for approve Stage 1 work and a minimum of 500 for approved Stage 2 work.

The total amount of funding you can receive is capped at 30,500 per project.?

How to apply for WCPG step by step

1. Find out if youre eligible by talking to your Woodland Creation Officer and reading thegrant terms and conditions on our forms page.

2. Make an application using the guidanceon our forms page. Always check the forms page to make sure you are working to the latest guidance and version of the application form.

3. Once your application is approved and you have accepted a Stage 1 agreement offer, you may start work on your woodland design plan.

You can apply all year-round. The Forestry Commission aims to respond to your application within 15 working days.?It may take longer if the application includes untrialled tree species or is in a sensitive location. You must have a signed agreement in place before you start work.

Find out if youre eligible

You must plan to create woodland that is:?

• located in England
• a?minimum of?5?hectares or?more?in total size. If the proposed woodland is?split into different?blocks, each block?must meet the definition of woodland set out by?the National Forest?Inventory: a?minimum?area of 0.5 hectares?and?a minimum?width of 20 meters.

If? you intend to seek grant aid to plant the woodland,? you?should consider the minimum?areas?required to apply for grants for woodland creation ?when planning your proposal.

Youll need the landowners consent and signature if you dont own the land, and the Forestry Commission may ask to see your tenancy agreement to confirm your land management responsibilities.

Landscape-scale applications that span multiple land holdings may be accepted. You do not need to own or control the?land,?but?you?will need a letter confirming that the landowner(s) support the application. If your proposed site spans a border, we will only make a Stage 2 payment of 150 per hectare on the land that is in England.

You may include more than 20% of designed open space in your plan if the constraints of your site make this necessary, but the total Stage 2 payment will be limited to the net planting area plus 20% (of the gross area). This means that any designed open space in your plan over and above 20% of the total project area will not receive funding.

If youve already applied for the England Woodland Creation Offer, Countryside Stewardship, theWoodland Carbon Fund, theHS2 Woodland Fund, or submitted an?Environmental Impact Assessment? (EIA) enquiry form to plant a new woodland, you are not eligible to apply for Woodland Creation Planning Grant on that site.?

If you are already in receipt of a WCPG Stage 1 agreement offer, you may request the addition of new blocks of proposed woodland over 0.5 hectares. If we agree to these additions, any future Stage 2 offer will include these areas.

To bring new blocks into their agreement, Stage 1 agreement holders will need to submit a revised Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan with Stage 1 tabs amended to account for the expanded project area. No additional Stage 1 payment will be made.

In most instances we retrospectively add new areas to agreements already subject to an existing Stage 2 offer. This is to ensure new areas are suitably assessed for sensitivities and constraints through the Stage 1 process. If you are an agreement holder at Stage 2 and would like to extend the project area you will need written agreement from your Woodland Creation Officer to add new areas. The decision to allow this will be at the FCs discretion and may result in you having to submit a new application for the new areas.

Biodiversity, habitats and environment

Existing native, semi-natural habitats are likely to have a high value for biodiversity, and for landscape and visual interest. This will need to be compared with the value of new woodland. The Forestry Commission does not support the conversion of priority habitats, such as deep peat or active raised bogs.

Where the proposed planting is on semi-natural habitat, the presumption is that the planting will be restricted to native broadleaved species or the semi-natural habitat will be retained as open ground within the woodlands design.?

Find out more about?woodland species, habitats protection?and the governments principles for afforestation on or?near to?Priority Habitats.?

How it works

The funding will support you to gather and?analyse?the information that you need to make sure your proposal takes into account:?

• biodiversity? and geology
• soils and climate
• landscape?
• water?
• historic environment
• local stakeholders?(to support your engagement with stakeholders, please share this letter to request stakeholder input (MS Word Document, 95 KB) with them when you contact them for information to explain how their response will be used)

Youll have to develop a?UK Forestry Standard-compliant plan for woodland creation that shows any constraints and opportunities, and how these are accounted for. Completing the Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan will help you do this.

If your land is already under an existing grant agreement, then your woodland creation design plan must cover the impact of tree planting on that agreement.?

Youll receive payments in?2?stages as you complete the Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan. You may also be eligible for supplementary?payments (see below).?

Creating a Woodland Creation Design Plan

You will need to complete the Woodland Creation Planning Grant Application and Plan in 2 stages:?

Stage 1