Guidance

Woodland Management Plan grant leaflet

Published 1 October 2020

Applies to England

1. What is a Woodland Management Plan grant?

The Woodland Management Plan grant is part of Countryside Stewardship. It’s a capital grant under which you can apply for a one-off payment to create a 10 year woodland management plan.

Your woodland management plan must set out the management intentions for your woodland for at least 10 years. It must also be fully compliant with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). You can find more information on the UK Forestry Standard pages.

Woodland Management Plan grants are not competitive so we do not score your application. However, the Forestry Commission check applications to make sure they are eligible.

Once you have a grant agreement, you have 2 years to create your actual woodland management plan and get approval (including any associated felling approval) for it from the Forestry Commission. You then have a further 3 months to submit your claim to be paid for the grant.

2. What are the benefits?

It will help with the cost of producing a management plan for existing woodland that complies with UKFS. A woodland management plan will help:

• develop and communicate objectives and work proposals for the woodland

• clearly demonstrate how a woodland area will be managed sustainably and monitored

3. Am I eligible?

To be eligible:

• you must have control of the land and all the activities needed to meet the requirements of the capital items included in the agreement for the full 2 years of the agreement

• you must be registered in the Rural Payments service

• your land must be registered in the Rural Payments service and linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI)

• you must include all the woodland on your holding in the plan

• the land must be woodland. Woodland is defined as an area of land that:

  • is at least 0.5 hectares

  • has an average width of at least 20 metres

  • is under groups/lines of trees that are, or will reach, at least 5 metres in height

  • with a crown cover of more than 20% of the ground area

• the woodland must be larger than 3 hectares in total, within a minimum woodland block size of 0.5 hectares

• you must limit the area of eligible internal space to 20% of the total woodland area. Open space can include forest tracks, rides, wayleaves and other permanent open areas but you must manage it as part of the woodland environment

The following land is not eligible and you cannot include it on your application:

• land that does not meet the definition of a woodland

• developed land and hard standing (including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage)

• land that is already part of another obligation which is incompatible with Countryside Stewardship

• any land parcels which are not entirely within England

• land where you do not have management control for the period of the agreement and have not had your application countersigned by the landowner

You can find full details on what is eligible in the Woodland Management Plan grant manual.

4. What can I apply for?

You must claim payment for your Woodland Management Plan grant in a single claim. The rates for the capital item Woodland Management Plan grant are in the following table:

Total area of woodland	Payment
3 – 50 hectares	Flat rate of £1,000
51 – 100 hectares	Flat rate of £1,000 for the first 50 hectares, plus £20 per additional hectare up to and including 100 hectares
Over 100 hectares	Flat rate of £2,000, plus £10 per additional hectare over 100 hectares

5. What the grant cannot pay for

The grant cannot be used to pay for the cost of:

• planning application fees or other transactional fees
• meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions

6. How do I apply?

You can apply for a Woodland Management Plan grant at any time – applications are open throughout the year.

1. Speak to the Forestry Commission about managing your woodland.

2. Register the woodland in the Rural Payments service.

3. Get consents if the proposed work affects certain designated sites (such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest or Scheduled Monuments).

4. Prepare a map to send with your application and any documents you need to support it.

5. Submit your application:

• online using the Rural Payments service

• using a paper Capital Grant Application form and Annex 3: Woodland management which you can download.

7. More information

Read more information about the Woodland Management Plan grant, and other Woodland Support grants on the Countryside Stewardship: How to apply pages.

Other woodland support grants available include:

• Woodland Creation Grant: a capital grant to plant and protect young trees

• Woodland Creation Maintenance payment: an annual payment to help maintain your woodland. Available through Higher Tier as part of the Woodland Creation Grant

• Woodland Tree Health grant: a capital grant to farmers and land managers to restock or improve woodland after tree health problems

• Woodland Improvement: an annual payment to help improve your woodland. Available through Higher Tier, you need to have an approved Woodland Management Plan to apply

8. What else is available under Countryside Stewardship?

The other main parts of the Countryside Stewardship scheme are:

• Higher Tier – Higher Tier is for land that requires more complex management tailored to the individual site

• Mid Tier – Mid Tier provides a range of options and capital items that together help to deliver a broad range of environmental benefits

• The 4 Wildlife Offers provide a simpler set of options to help improve the wildlife on their farm. The offers are:

  • Arable Offer

  • Lowland Grazing Offer

  • Upland Offer

  • Mixed Farming Offer

• Facilitation Fund - supports individuals and organisations working with local groups of farmers and land managers, to co-ordinate their environmental land management