With the details of the next Rural Development Programme still being negotiated we are currently in a transitional period running from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2015. Unfortunately due to the high level of demand for English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) grants under the previous Rural Development Programme there is limited finance available for this transitional period and as a result only a few of the original suite of grants are still available.
The Forestry Commission will continue to accept applications for the following grants for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 claim years. The deadline for applications is the 30th September 2014. However, with the exception of the Woodfuel WIG, the Forestry Commission will accept applications beyond this deadline if they are confident of approving them by 31st December 2014:
- Plant Health Woodland Improvement Grant (WIG) – Funding for removing Rhododendron within 3km of Pytophthora ramorum and kernoviae infections, removing P.ramorum infected immature larch and to cover the costs of professional help in implementing harvesting plans for P.ramorum infected larch.
- Woodfuel Woodland Improvement Grant (Woodfuel WIG) – A grant of 60% towards costs to support woodland management for woodfuel and timber production, including forest roads and work related to timber harvesting e.g. inventory work.
- Plant Health Woodland Regeneration Grant (WRG) – Funding for the restocking of sites where Chalara fraxinea infected ash or P.ramorum infected larch has been felled.
- Woodland Planning Grant (WPG) – A one off contribution towards to cost of drawing up a Forestry Commission approved Management Plan. One-off grants of £20 per hectare are available on the first 100 hectares, with £10 per hectare thereafter and a minimum plan area of 3 hectares.
The Woodland Creation Grant (WCG), which provides funding for new planting, is currently closed for new applications. However there will be an application window in early 2015 for applications for the 2015/16 season.
After the transitional period, all woodland grants will be administered under the New Environmental Land Management Scheme (NELMS), applications for which will be invited from August 2015 with the first agreements commencing in January 2016.
More detail is due to be published in respect to NELMS later in the year, however Natural England have stated that it will include the following woodland options, all of which will be dependent on having in place a Forestry Commission Approved Management Plan:
Woodland Planning Grant – to support the preparation of a United Kingdom Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant Woodland Management Plan.
Woodland Improvements – to deliver substantial change in supporting Priority Species and Priority Habitats.
Woodland Regeneration – to restore forests damaged by non-endemic pests and diseases and to change the species structure of forests for ecological reasons e.g. restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites.
Woodland Creation – to support the creation and establishment of new woodlands and to increase woodland cover for biodiversity, flood management and water quality.
Woodland Infrastructure – to support the improvement of access for example in bringing under-managed woodland into management.
The most significant change feared from EWGS is that there will maybe be no general grant for restocking after tree felling with grants for woodland regeneration only being available in the specific circumstances detailed above.
Although DEFRA have a £3.1 bn agri-environment budget for the next six years, £2.2 bn of this is already accounted for by existing Environmental Stewardship and EWGS commitments leaving less than £1 bn for NELMS. The level of grant funding under NELMS is therefore likely to be at lower than it has been under EWGS. Our advice therefore to those who are looking to obtain grant funding is to act fast to apply under the current schemes.
