Guidance

Processing felling applications involving larch species (operations note 23)

Updated 9 September 2025

Applies to England

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

Larch trees infected with ‘Phytophthora ramorum’ produce spores that can spread the disease many miles. To minimise the risk of spread during felling operations, special precautions are needed when felling larch that are, or could be, infected.

Purpose

Operations note 23 explains the process for handling felling licence applications which include operations for the felling or thinning of species susceptible to infection by Phytophthora ramorum, and the policy on new planting or restocking using larch species.

Context

Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum) is a fungus-like pathogen of plants and shrubs that has been found across the world. It has caused significant damage and mortality to many trees and plants in the UK and poses a risk to important habitats in the wider environment.

Infection rates in the UK were low until 2009, when P. ramorum was found infecting and killing large numbers of larch trees in South West England.

In 2010, it was found on larch in Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This sudden change in the pathogen’s behaviour was the first observation that P. ramorum had infected and sporulated (reproduced) on large numbers of a commercially important conifer tree species.

A strategy was developed in 2010 to control the spread of this pathogen. This included dividing England into 3 ‘Risk Zones’, based on a combination of climatic zones and current larch distribution. Find details of the risk zones on the Forestry Commission map browser and Land Information Search.

As part of this strategy, the Forestry Commission will manage decision-making on supporting felling licence applications and the potential for financial support for larch planting and replanting, dependant on which risk zone a particular application/proposal sits within.

The strategy also includes the use of Statutory Plant Health Notices (SPHNs) to enforce the felling of suspected infected stands. There are also requirements for timber movement controls, and the authorisation of sawmills (who process timber from infected stands).

Improved advice on biosecurity measures, and the management of co-products from infected material (bark in particular) are progressed in a way that prevents the infection entering the horticultural trade and the wider environment through bark-based composts.

The Forestry Commission has an ongoing programme of felling trees in infected stands on the public forest estate throughout England, with similar approaches in other UK nations.

For details on larch controls in Wales or Scotland, contact the relevant authorities for those countries.

Across privately owned woodland in England, the Forestry Commission has maintained a surveillance programme each year since 2010.

Current position

Applications for felling licences in risk zone 1 (high risk) will likely have a processing delay, whereas felling licence applications in risk zones 2 (medium risk) and 3 (low risk) will be processed as normal.

Larch species risk zone 1 (high risk)

Once larch trees have dropped their needles in the autumn it is not possible to easily identify if a stand is infected or not. If defoliated larch is felled and transported off site, it increases the risk that infected material could bypass biosecurity measures and further extend the spread of P. ramorum, undermining the current controls.

Therefore, the processing of felling licence applications within risk zone 1 may be delayed until such a time as we can establish whether the standing timber proposed for felling is infected or not. This means that any application that includes proposals to fell larch received:

• 1 September to 30 March - could potentially be delayed until the following 30 June
• 1 April to 31 July - could potentially be delayed until the following 31 October
• 1 August to 31 August - would be expected to be processed within the normal statutory 3 month time period, as set out in the Forestry Act

These dates are based on the Forestry Commission’s ability to conduct aerial observation of the susceptible tree stocks, to check for the presence of P. ramorum.
These checks are subject to availability of suitable weather for flying, and to seasonal growing conditions, as successful observation requires the larch to be in flush (early spring growth) for an assessment to be made.

These variables mean that all dates in the table above are potentially subject to change. 

The principle of delaying processing of felling licences in risk zone 1 during these dates has been embedded into the Forestry Commission’s regulatory decision making and will continue for the foreseeable future.

Processing felling licence applications that include larch

We will accept and process felling licence applications for the felling of larch species in risk zones 2 and 3, as normal, throughout the year.

For applications to fell in risk zone 1, we will accept and register all felling applications containing larch species, but the following process will be applied to applications received between 1 September and the following 31 July:

1. When an application that contains larch species is received, we will send a letter to the applicant requesting that they agree to an extension of the processing times (as required under the Forestry Act). The letter will explain why the delay is necessary, and will seek agreement for the extension.

2. The felling licence decision will be made as soon as possible after the Forestry Commission’s Plant Health Forestry team have completed a flyover of the area. The flyover will be timed to allow larch trees sufficient time to flush in the spring, and for the Forestry Commission to establish if the larch stand is infected or not.

3. If the stand of trees is found to be uninfected, a felling licence decision will be issued as soon as possible. Where a felling licence is issued, the harvested larch can be sent to any authorised or unauthorised  mill or premises.

4. Where symptoms of infection are found, we will issue a Statutory Plant Health Notice (SPHN). This will require trees within an identified treatment zone to be felled within the prescribed timescale. The area of felling (the treatment zone) and the length of time available to comply with the Notice will be discussed and agreed between the Woodland Officer and applicant/land manager before the SPHN is served.

5. The SPHN will require any felled timber to be transported under a movement licence and processed at authorised mills or premises .

If the application contains larch and other species

If a felling application contains felling of larch species in risk zone 1 along with other species (not under suspicion of infection), or alongside larch species in risk zones 2 or 3, we will give the applicant the option to remove the larch within risk zone 1 from their application.

This option is given so that the non-larch risk zone 1 parts of their application can be processed without delay, within our normal statutory 3 month period.

A separate application for the larch species in risk zone 1 can subsequently be submitted, which will then be processed once the health of the trees has been assessed.

If an applicant does not wish to remove the larch in risk zone 1 from their application, then the processing delay will apply to the whole application.

Failing to agree an extension to your application

In the event that a felling licence applicant refuses to agree to an extension to the application processing time, they have 2 options to consider:

1. Withdraw the felling licence application in its entirety, resubmitting at a later date. The Forestry Commission will close the file.

2. Insist that the Forestry Commission process the application under the normal statutory three-month time period. If the applicant insists that we continue to process the application without delay, we will have no option but to refuse the application.

The refusal of a felling licence application would be on the basis that granting a felling licence would be contrary to the Commissioner’s general duty of promoting the interests of forestry, the development of afforestation and the production and supply of timber. The refusal would be in keeping with the policy on controlling the spread of P. ramorum to new areas of woodland and the wider environment through the timber supply chain, and in particular, via co-products such as bark.

When we advise the applicant of our decision to refuse a felling licence, we will advise the applicant when we would be prepared to issue one, assuming that the application is acceptable in all other respects and that the standing trees are found to be disease free.

Applicants have a right to appeal against Forestry Commission’s refusal to issue a felling licence, but only following a second application is refused for the same trees. For example, if your first application is refused, you must apply for a licence a second time and if that is refused, only then can an appeal be heard. There must be at least 3 years between the previous refusal and your appeal request. The reason for this is to allow the applicant to address the reasons for refusal and avoid the second refusal.

Appeals must be made within 3 months of the date of refusal (of the licence that they are appealing). Find out how to appeal the conditions or refusal of a felling licence.

If a previous appeal has been heard by a reference committee, and therefore not rejected by the Minister as being a frivolous application, an application may only be made 3 years after the date an appeal was heard on the same trees.

Compensation

When refusing a felling licence (even for the first time), the applicant has the right to seek compensation from the Forestry Commission for the deterioration in quality of the timber.

They can ask for permission to fell a few trees in order to establish quality. The quantity of timber felled will be expected to be less than 5 cubic metres and must not be sold.

However, given that it is likely to be only a few months between the refusal stage of a felling licence application and Forestry Commission being in a position to be able to issue a licence (or a SPHN), it is extremely unlikely that timber quality would display any noticeable deterioration.

Infection of the foliage by Phytophthora would not be considered as affecting timber quality. Timber quality is not the same as timber value.   

Woodland management plans

The Forestry Commission will continue to review draft woodland management plans to Approved-in-Principle status, at which point any felling proposals will be administered to create the relevant felling licence application and processed within the normal statutory 3 month time period.

Woodland management plan felling licences are not subject to the larch risk zone 1 processing delay because these felling licences last for 10 years and tend to contain a large amount of speculative felling proposals.   

Existing felling permissions

For woodland owners with existing felling licences, they must inform either their local Woodland Officer or the Forestry Commission Plant Health team if they suspect, or they have evidence that their trees are infected. This is a requirement under the Plant Health Order (Forestry) Order 2005 as P.ramorum is a pest ‘not normally present in Great Britain’.

This is to allow the Forestry Commission tree health team to undertake the necessary testing and analysis, as required by Plant Health legislation. Where a P. ramorum infection is found, the Forestry Commission will issue a SPHN to control the destruction and removal of the infected material, even with an existing felling licence in place.

The SPHN will require that the felled timber only goes to a premises licensed to process infected wood.

Planting and replanting of larch

Using larch to create new areas of woodland or to replant felled areas creates risks in respect of potential P. ramorum infection. The risk zones are used to identify where it is appropriate to continue to use larch as a tree species in planting schemes, and where Forestry Commission will continue to fund larch through eligible grant schemes.

Zone 1

New schemes

The Forestry Commission has not approved any new agreements grant aiding larch planting in zone 1 since the 2012 to 2013 planting season due to the high risk of infection occurring in the future and this acting as a reservoir for further spread of the disease.

Existing schemes

The Forestry Commission announced it would also stop grant aiding any previously approved agreements containing planting or replanting of larch in zone 1 during the 2012/13 planting season.

In such agreements, where the owner has decided to continue with planting of larch up to and during the 2012 to 2013 season, or since, they will not be permitted to invoke force majeure against that grant agreement in the event of P. ramorum infection. The Forestry Commission will continue to reclaim grant where appropriate.

Zone 2

New schemes

The Forestry Commission has not approved any new agreements for grant aiding larch planting in zone 2 since the 2012 to 2013 planting season.

Existing schemes

The Forestry Commission announced it would also stop grant aiding any previously approved agreements containing planting or replanting of larch in zone 2 at the end of the 2012 to 2013 planting season.

In such agreements, where the owner has decided to continue with planting of larch up to and during the 2012 to 2013 season, or since, they will not be permitted to invoke force majeure in the event of P. ramorum infection. The Forestry Commission will continue to reclaim grant where appropriate.

Zone 3

All schemes

The Forestry Commission continues to provide grant aid support for the planting of larch in zone 3, either as part of new woodland creation or for replanting existing woodland as a result of tree health issues.

However, there is no grant aid support for replanting larch in existing woodland following normal tree felling activity.

Further information

Find out more about tree felling licences and when you need to apply.

Apply online for a felling licence.