Correspondence

eAlert: 15 December 2021 - England Woodland Creation Offer updates

Published 21 December 2021

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

1. Updates to the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

We have recently made updates to the scheme rules, application form and Grant Manual of the EWCO scheme.

1.1 Updates to the scheme rules

The Grant Funding Period for Capital Payments has been extended from the 31 March 2023 to two years from the agreement start date. Additionally, Agreement Holders are now given three months from the end of this period to make any outstanding claims. This change is applied to all Grant Recipients, including those already in receipt of agreements.

We have also revised the minimum claim value. All claims must be for £5,000 (unless it is the final claim for what is outstanding on the agreement). We will provide some flexibility for current agreement holders to adjust to this change and set out the timeframe for this when we write to them to notify them of the changes.

1.2 Updates to the application form

The application form (Part A) has been updated in respect of tenants. We no longer require tenancy agreements to be provided but we do require landlords to countersign the application form, even where the tenant has management control for duration of the agreement.

1.3 Updates to the grant manual

The grant manual has had a number of updates to improve the clarity of our guidance to customers.

Find out more about the England Woodland Creation Offer

2. Introduction of new Plant Health requirements to prevent the spread of the tree pest Ips typographus

2.1 On Wednesday 22 December, we will be introducing new Plant Health requirements to prevent the spread of the European eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) in Kent and East Sussex.

These new restrictions relate to the felling, killing and movement of susceptible spruce material within the demarcated area. A new Notice enforcing these measures will come into force on Wednesday 22 December 2021.

These measures include:

• written notification to the Forestry Commission if you intend to fell susceptible spruce material, or kill any trees of the genus Picea A. Dietr over three metres in height, within the demarcated area
• prohibitions on susceptible material being left in situ in the demarcated area following felling, without written authorisation from an inspector

Landowners are asked to report any suspect trees via TreeAlert.

Further information on Ips typographus can be found on our website

3. Changes to our services over the Christmas period

As most of our staff are still working from home, we have tried to give an indication on when our services will be unavailable over the Christmas period.

Our two Administrative Hub teams will be unavailable from Friday 24 December 2020, restarting business on Tuesday 4 January 2021. Post to our offices will not be opened during this time. Most of our Woodland Officers will also be unavailable during this time.

The Felling Licence Online (FLO) mailbox and telephone line will not be monitored from Friday 24 December 2020 until our return on the 4 January 2021. The FLO online service will be available as usual.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and we will look forward to getting in touch with you in the New Year.