Correspondence

eAlert: 9 June 2021 - England Woodland Creation Offer is open for applications

Published 9 June 2021

Applies to England

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

1. 9 June 2021

We are excited to share with you that the England Woodland Creation Offer is open for applications from today (9 June 2021).

2. We aim to at least treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament, reflecting England’s contribution to meeting the UK’s overall target of planting 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament.

Trees are at the forefront of the Government’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The recently announced England Trees Action Plan, supported by an intended £500m from the Nature for Climate Fund, is a once in a generation plan to help achieve this vision. We will see an unprecedented number of trees planted, protected and managed to deliver more for society, nature, the climate and the economy.

From that £500 million, a series of funds will support the creation and management of woodland. This includes:

• over £25 million for our Woodland Creation Partnerships this year
• £6 million for the Urban Tree Challenge Fund for the next two years
• a £2.7 million Local Authority Treescapes Fund over this next year
• and over £15 million this year alone for the England Woodland Creation Offer, which will support traditional methods of tree establishment as well as natural colonisation, agroforestry and riparian planting

3. Apply now for the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

3.1 With £15.9 million available in its first year, this new flagship grant scheme supports the creation of a range of woodland types and sizes, while providing greater financial incentives for landowners and farmers to plant and manage trees.

EWCO provides greater flexibility and recognition of the benefits woodland can provide for people and wildlife by offering additional incentives to ensure the right tree is planted in the right place for the right reason. The grant will cover standard capital costs for tree planting (up to a per hectare cap of £8,500) and annual maintenance payments of £200 per hectare for 10 years, as well as rewarding farmers and landowners for providing public and wider environmental benefits.

4. Want to hear more about EWCO?

4.1 Visit our webpage

View the England Woodland Creation Offer webpage.

4.2 Webinars coming soon

To support customers and applicants we will be running two webinars to run through EWCO and answer questions later this month. We will share more detail on how to attend next week.

5. Watch our video case study

Discover how this rural estate in Northumberland - Little Harle Estate, famous for the birth place of Capability Brown, chose woodland creation using a variety of species over two decades with support from the Forestry Commission.

5.1 Additional Contributions (which can be combined) will be available for:

• nature and species recovery – between £1,100/ha and £2,800/ha available where woodland creation will help woodland-dependent priority species to recover
• tree planting near watercourses and rivers (riparian buffers) – £1,600/ha available where the creation of native broadleaved woodland along water courses will improve river habitats
• reduced flood risk - £500/ha available where woodland creation can help reduce the risk of flooding
• improved public access - £2,200/ha available where woodland creation will provide long-term permissive access for the public to enjoy
• close to settlements - £500/ha available where woodland creation will provide social and environmental benefits by being close to people
• improved water quality - £400/ha available for woodlands that clean our water by reducing pollutants through land use change by intercepting pollution and sediment before it reaches watercourses

6. Forestry Commission Chair Sir William Worsley said:

This exciting new grant offer is flexible to allow landowners to create a woodland that meets their own objectives. From planting a small one hectare block, a strip of trees along rivers to reduce flood risk, to large mixed woodlands. This improved grant gives everyone the opportunity to see woodland creation as a financially and environmentally rewarding option. This will help with our journey to reach net zero by 2050.

EWCO also addresses wider barriers to woodland creation, by improving regulatory processes, consultation arrangements and advice and guidance as part of the application process. Applicants to EWCO will receive specialist support from the Forestry Commission and its growing team of Woodland Officers and Woodland Creation Officers across England.

You can find out more about the England Woodland Creation Offer including application forms and guidance on how to apply on our England Woodland Creation Offer GOV.UK page.

If you have an existing woodland creation agreement or have recently applied for another scheme, you can find out what options are available for EWCO.

7. Apply now

Apply using our application forms and guidance.