Guidance

Extraordinary Payment for Restocking in Exceptional Circumstances (2024/25 planting season)

Published 28 October 2025

Applies to England

The Extraordinary Payment for Restocking in Exceptional Circumstances (EPREC) provides funding to help sustain woodland planted in 2024/25 that have been affected by the prolonged period of hot and dry weather.

This fund supports plant replacement for trees planted under specific grant schemes in England.

Who can apply

You will be invited to apply if you’re an agreement holder who has claimed for trees planted in the 2024/25 planting season under the following schemes:

• England Woodland Creation Offer
• Urban Tree Challenge Fund
• Local Authority Treescapes Fund

To be eligible, tree failure rates must be at least 25% due to the hot and dry weather.

What you could get

The funding contributes to the costs of replacing dead trees to meet the requirements of your agreement.

EPREC will cover up to 50% of the standard costs of tree replacement and is capped at £10,000 per agreement.  Funding is allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The amount you could get depends on which original grant scheme your trees were planted under. You will be paid 50% of the following costs:

England Woodland Creation Offer

• £1.72 per tree

If applying under an England Woodland Creation Offer agreement, you will need to pay to replace the first 15% of all failed trees originally planted under your agreement in 2024/25.

Urban Tree Challenge Fund and Local Authority Treescapes Fund

• £171.47 per tree for standards
• £3.79 per tree for feathers
• £2.29 per tree for whips

All trees must be sourced from suppliers who can provide evidence that they meet the requirements set out in the Plant Health Management Standard.

You can buy or order trees before your EPREC agreement is agreed, but you must not plant them until the agreement is in place.

How to apply

Step 1: Receive your invite

You will be invited to apply if you are an agreement holder who has claimed for trees planted in the 2024/25 planting season under one of the eligible schemes.

Step 2: Submit your application

You will need to set out where and how you plan to address the planting issues. You must include:

• a copy of your agreement map(s), annotated to show where failures have occurred and require replanting

Submit the completed application form by 14 November 2025.

Any proposed changes to tree species must still meet the requirements of your original grant scheme, such as the percentage of native trees and compartment size. We will not agree to changes to planting location through EPREC.

Step 3: Get approval and complete the work

Once your EPREC agreement is offered, you will need to sign and return any agreement documentation by the stated deadline.

You can then carry out the work as set out in your application.

How to claim

After completing the work, submit one claim form with an annotated location map showing the work done.

All work must be completed and claimed for by 31 March 2026.

If you claim for less work than originally agreed, or have changed species, you must still meet the original requirements of your grant agreement.

Claims will not be paid unless the work meets these criteria.

You must retain the following:

• all relevant invoices and receipts for 7 years
• photographic evidence of the work completed

Important dates

Applications are open between: 28 October 2025 to 14 November 2025.

Claims deadline: 31 March 2026 - all claims must be complete and submitted by this date.

Force majeure

If you consider the tree losses you have identified, due to the exceptionally hot and dry weather, as ‘force majeure’, an application for force majeure can be made alongside or instead of an application for EPREC grant.

See Invoke the force majeure clause in your Forestry Commission grant for further information.

Get help and support

If you have any questions about the EPREC grant, email us at EPREC2025@forestrycommission.gov.uk. We will aim to respond within 3 working days.

For more information about the original grant schemes, visit:

• England Woodland Creation Offer
• Urban Tree Challenge Fund
• Local Authority Treescapes Fund