Woodland management plan grant
A grant for land managers to prepare a 10-year plan for sustainably managing woodland in England, including its resilience to climate change.
Deze mogelijkheid is momenteel in het Engels beschikbaar.
PA3 pays for preparing a woodland management plan, rather than carrying out the woodland work. Use the Forestry Commission’s full plan template and meet the UK Forestry Standard. Complete the version 5 inventory and plan of operations worksheet and maps showing the woodland compartments. The plan must explain your management objectives, woodland features and threats, and how you will manage them. Its climate assessment considers species diversity, woodland structure and whether tree species suit the site now and under future conditions. For example, resilience objectives can include thinning and planting additional species. The Forestry Commission assesses and approves the plan.
The payment is based on eligible woodland area: £1,500 for 0.5–50 hectares; for 51–100 hectares, £1,500 for the first 50 hectares plus £30 for each additional hectare up to 100; and above 100 hectares, £3,000 plus £15 for each additional hectare. At most 20% of the payment area may be woodland planted less than 10 years before applying. Your plan must still include all woodland on the holding, including newly planted areas excluded from payment.
The grant excludes the woodland management work itself, planning and other legal transaction fees, agent or other advisory fees, work before the agreement starts, materials purchased, donated work or services and gifted materials for which you incurred no cost.
Eligibility
You can apply as an owner occupier, tenant, landlord or licensor with the necessary management control. Business partnerships can apply. Licensees usually lack sufficient control, but a licence giving you wider responsibilities may qualify as a tenancy.
- Every land parcel must be entirely within England. Total woodland must be more than 0.5 hectares, with each separate block at least 0.5 hectares. Woodland must average at least 20 metres wide, have trees that reach or will reach 5 metres, and have crown cover above 20% of the ground. Include all woodland managed as a unit in the same geographical location; the Forestry Commission can advise on separate plans for holdings spread across locations. Internal open space is normally limited to 20%, exceptionally 30% with Forestry Commission advice.
- You need management control for five years from the agreement start or the necessary landowner countersignature. Tenants need their landlord’s agreement, control of the required activities and a tenancy for at least three years; a rolling tenancy must be expected to cover the agreement. Get written consent from others who share management control. Landlords and licensors must ensure their tenants or licensees understand and follow the agreement.
- Crown bodies and non-departmental public bodies cannot enter land they own or manage. Local authorities, national park authorities and public corporations may enter land if the work is outside their public obligations. Parish councils and former college farms can apply. Tenants of public bodies must check land eligibility with the landlord and obtain its countersignature if the tenancy does not cover the full agreement.
- Developed land, hard standing, land within the HS2 route safeguarding zone, incompatible obligations and land without sufficient management control or countersignature are excluded. A plan needing only minor changes to meet the current standard is ineligible. A changed situation requiring a new plan, or land previously funded for a plan, may qualify with Forestry Commission agreement.
- Newly planted land cannot count under the 20% allowance while in an HS2, Woodland Carbon Fund or England Woodland Creation Offer agreement, during a Woodland Creation Grant’s five-year durability period after its end, or during a 10-year Woodland Creation Maintenance agreement.
- Other public funding cannot pay for the same plan on the same land. Existing Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship or Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements can coexist if actions are compatible and not funded twice. The grant cannot pay for obligations you are already legally bound to undertake. The agreement exempts conservation covenants where no other funding has been or will be paid, and Flood Defence Grant in Aid where there is no double funding and the work is not a legal requirement of the relevant Risk Management Authority.
- On common land, apply as a single beneficiary or registered group with sufficient management control. A group must take reasonable steps to consult everyone with a legal management interest and obtain the owner’s consent where required.
The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) checks applicants against an insolvency register. Applications over £50,000 need a registered accountant’s statement confirming sufficient resources to complete the work and how it will be financed.
How to apply
- Status
- Doorlopend open
- Voorwaarden voor deze aanvraagronde
- Available throughout the year subject to sufficient budget.
Register yourself and every application land parcel in the Rural Payments service first. Apply online through its Countryside Stewardship application screens. You also need a woodland management plan (WMP) annex and maps covering the full plan area. Request the annex from RPA at ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or 03000 200 301. If you cannot apply online, RPA accepts an application by email or post.
After applying online, RPA must receive your annex and maps within 30 days of the submission date, or receive your explanation of the delay within those 30 days to avoid rejection. Complete the annex’s Start here and area/grant amount sections; online applicants leave its land summary section blank. Email PDF documents to ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk with your single business identifier (SBI) and application ID on each document and in the email. Use the subject “Application – CS – WMP” plus your SBI. Follow the application guide’s mapping standards, including whole parcel boundaries and references, clear plan boundaries, map numbering, applicant details and an appropriate Ordnance Survey or geographic information system map scale.
Applications are assessed for eligibility and available budget, rather than scored. Return a signed acceptance within 20 working days of the date on the offer. Start drafting only after you have accepted and returned the agreement and reached its start date. Do not submit a draft plan with the grant application.
If your plan needs a felling licence, the applicant guide requires that permission before the WMP agreement is granted; felling proposals other than thinning must be published on the public register. Obtain Natural England consent for Sites of Special Scientific Interest and any necessary Historic England consent for scheduled monuments. These consents need not accompany the initial application, but may be needed before plan approval.
Complete the plan and obtain Forestry Commission approval, including associated felling approval, within three years of the agreement start. RPA recommends sending the draft in the first year. Submit one payment claim through the Rural Payments service after approval, within three months of the agreement end. If you cannot claim online, request a form from RPA. Claims received one, two or three months after that deadline face reductions of 5%, 10% or 25%; claims later than six months after the agreement end receive no payment.
Keep grant records for seven years after the agreement ends and allow compliance checks. Maintain the funded item for its five-year durability period from the agreement start. Notify RPA promptly in writing of eligibility or funding changes and obtain written permission before changing the agreement. The three-year agreement cannot be transferred: selling or letting covered land ends its inclusion and can require repayment. Breaches can lead to payment reduction, withholding or recovery.