Guidance

Applicant's guide: Woodland Management Plan grant 2024

Published 3 January 2024

Applies to England

1. Important dates

The Woodland Management Plan (WMP) grants are open for applications all year from 3 January 2024.

You can also apply for other capital grants at any time of the year.

1.1 About this guide

We have removed the name Countryside Stewardship (CS) from all capital grant offers because we want to make it clearer that these grants are available to a wide range of farmers and land managers, particularly those who have (or are considering applying for) a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement. 

These grants are still being offered under the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

2. About the Woodland Management Plan grants

These grants are capital grants under which you can apply for a WMP capital grant for a one-off payment to create a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant 10-year WMP.

You must have a binding agreement for your WMP (which means you’ve applied, been offered and accepted an agreement) before you can start work on your WMP.

2.1 What Woodland Management Plans are

Your WMP must set out the management intentions for your woodland for at least 10 years. It must also be fully compliant with the UKFS. Read create a woodland management plan to find technical guidance on the production and content of a WMP.

2.2 Woodland Management Plan agreements and Higher Tier

You must have a WMP approved by Forestry Commission before you can apply for woodland support under Higher Tier. This is the case whether the Higher Tier application is for woodland only or woodland in a ‘mixed’ agreement (an agreement that includes woodland and agricultural-environment land).

The WMP must be approved (including any felling permissions) before you apply for a Higher Tier application.

Approval of a WMP depends on any accompanying felling licence permission being in place, which can often take longer than approval of the WMP. This is because of the requirement to publish felling proposals on a public register for 28 days.

You must submit your draft WMP to Forestry Commission giving sufficient time when planning to apply for Higher Tier.

2.3 Land in Environmental Stewardship (ES) agreements

You can make a WMP grant application on land that is already included in an existing ES agreement, if preparation of a WMP is not a requirement of the ES agreement.

However, you cannot enter land in an existing ES agreement into Higher Tier, unless it included HC7 or HC8 on woodland that will end before the Higher Tier agreement starts. Those parcels can be included into Higher Tier because those options cannot be included in an ES extension.

2.4 How applications are assessed

Grant applications for the creation of WMPs are not competitive so we do not score applications. If you are eligible to apply for this grant (read section 3) and there is sufficient budget, the RPA (supported by a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer) will approve your application.

2.5 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use WMP grants to pay for:

• planning application fees or other transactional fees meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions and tenancy agreements
• the cost of the woodland management work itself
• any work done before the agreement start date or materials purchased
• agent fees or other advisory fees

2.6 When to apply

You can apply at any time. The grant is available throughout the year subject to sufficient budget. Read section 4 for information on how to apply for a WMP grant.

If you accept an agreement that we have offered to you, you will then need to produce a draft WMP. The standards and procedures the plan must follow are set out in create a woodland management plan.

If you are writing a WMP with grant funding (PA3) Woodland Management Plan, you need to have your grant agreement in place before you start work on your plan.

2.7 What you’ll get paid

The payment rates and conditions help to make sure that the plans we approve provide value for money.

We calculate the amount to be paid using the total area of eligible woodland on the holding. This can include a maximum of 20% newly planted woodland (this is woodland that is under 10 years old at the time of application). However, the WMP must cover all the woodland on the holding (including all newly planted woodland).

Table 1

Total area of eligible woodland	Payment
3 to 50 hectares	Flat rate of £1,500
51 to 100 hectares	Flat rate of £1,500 for the first 50 hectares, plus £30 per additional hectare up to and including 100 hectares
More than 100 hectares	Flat rate of £3,000, plus £15 per additional hectare over 100 hectares

You cannot usually apply for payment for a WMP on land which already has an approved WMP.

If your land already has an approved WMP but a change in circumstances means a new one needs to be written, contact your Forestry Commission area office and talk to a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer about whether you are eligible. You can find contact details and office access and opening times on the Forestry Commission website.

3. Who can apply and what land is eligible 

WMP grants are open to land managers who are: 

• an owner occupier 
• a tenant 
• a landlord 
• a licensor, as long as they have management control of the land and activities needed to meet the obligations of the grant for the full duration of the agreement 

3.1 Land that is eligible for  WMP  grants 

To be eligible for a WMP grant, land parcels must be entirely within England and 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 or lines of trees that are, or will reach, at least 5 metres in height 
• has 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. 

All woodland on your holding must be included in the WMP (see section 4.2). A holding is all the land in one geographical location that is managed as a single, separate unit. We calculate the amount to be paid using the total area of eligible woodland on the holding. This can include a maximum of 20% newly planted woodland (this is woodland that is under 10 years old at the time of application). 

The area of eligible internal open space shall be limited to 20% of the total woodland area (in limited and exceptional cases this may be increased to 30%). Open space may include forest tracks, rides, way leaves and other permanent open areas, but should be managed as part of the woodland environment. 

Land that has previously received funding for a WMP is eligible for another grant to produce a new WMP. The existing plan must be within one year of expiry and plans should not overlap. 

However, under the allowance for including up to 20% newly planted woodland in the WMP grant agreement, we will not accept any land that is also currently in: 

• an HS2 (High Speed Two) agreement 
• a Woodland Carbon Fund agreement 
• an England Woodland Creation Offer agreement 

Or either: 

• within the durability period under a Woodland Creation Grant agreement (5 years following the agreement end date) 
• currently in a Woodland Creation Maintenance grant agreement (10 years) 
• currently in an English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS), EWGS Farm Woodland Payment or Farm Woodland Premium Scheme agreement 

Land parcels already included in an existing CS agreement or in an ES Higher Level Stewardship agreement are also eligible for a WMP, provided the same WMP is not being funded twice, and the options and items are compatible.

3.2 Land that is not eligible

The following land is not eligible for a WMP grant:

• land that does not meet the definition of a woodland, as set out in section 3.1
• developed land and hard standing (including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage)
• land that is part of another obligation which is incompatible with the WMP grant, for example woodland that is already under an obligation to have a written management plan
• any land parcels which are not entirely within England – parcels that are either partly or entirely within Scotland or Wales are not eligible for a WMP grant
• land where you do not have management control for the period of the agreement and you are not able to have an application countersigned by the landowner (read section 3.3)
• land within the HS2 (High Speed Two) route safeguarding zone

3.3 Management control of land

Having management control means you’re the person actively farming the land and you’re either:

• the owner occupier
• a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy or equivalent

You must have management control of the land in an agreement for 5 years from the starting date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 3.3.1).

This includes:

• all activities needed to meet the grant payment
• keeping all capital items funded through this scheme in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement for the 5 years

If you do not meet these requirements, you must get the written consent of all other parties who have management control.

3.3.1 Tenants

If you occupy land under a tenancy, you must have:

• a tenancy agreement for at least 3 years from the start of the WMP grant agreement (however, please see the requirements in relation to a rolling tenancy below)
• the agreement of your landlord before you apply
• a countersignature from your landlord if you do not have management control for 5 years from the start of your agreement
• control of all the activities over the land to meet the scheme requirements for the chosen capital items

It is your responsibility to check when you apply for a WMP grant that you do not breach the terms of your tenancy agreement.

If your tenancy is renewed each year on a rolling basis, you must be certain your tenancy will extend to the length of your WMP grant agreement. You must check this with your landlord before you apply. If your landlord takes over a WMP grant agreement from you once your tenancy has ended, they must be eligible to do so. For example, they must not be a public body, which is not eligible for a WMP grant.

3.3.2 Landlords

If you are a landlord and can show that you keep management control over the land and activities, you can apply for an agreement on land you have leased to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the WMP grant agreement. We may ask you to provide evidence to show that you have done this. It is your responsibility to make sure that your tenant does not breach the terms of the agreement.

3.3.3 Partnerships

If you are in a business partnership, you can apply for a WMP grant. The person submitting the application must have the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service.

3.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a WMP grant agreement. It is your responsibility to make sure that the licensee does not breach the terms of the agreement.

You must make sure that the licensee is aware of the requirements of the agreement, as relevant to the licence, and include these in the licence agreement.

3.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for a WMP grant as a licence arrangement will not provide sufficient management control of the land to the licensee for the agreement period.

If in practice your licence agreement gives you wider land management responsibilities, this may mean you are a tenant and therefore may be eligible for a WMP grant. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 3.3.1 for more information about WMP grants for tenants.

3.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

Land is not eligible if it is owned or managed by:

• Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
• non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

See a list of all government departments, agencies and public bodies.

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for a WMP grant provided the work does not form part of their obligations as a public body.

This includes land owned by:

• local authorities
• national park authorities
• public corporations

Parish councils and former college farms are not considered to be public bodies and so are eligible to apply for a WMP grant.

3.3.7 Tenants of land owned by public bodies

If you are a tenant of a public body, you will need to check if the land is eligible for WMP grant with your landlord. If it is, you must get the public body to countersign your application if you do not have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a WMP grant agreement.

If you have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a WMP grant agreement, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 3.3.1.

You cannot apply for a WMP grant for any work that is a requirement of your tenancy or any other legally binding obligation.

3.4 Land receiving other funding

You cannot:

• combine the WMP grant with other sources of public funding to provide the same plan on the same land
• use the grant to produce a WMP which you are required to carry out under other agreements

Other funding includes:

• Environmental Stewardship
• other capital grants
• EWGS
• Farming Recovery Fund
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• Farming in Protected Landscapes
• Woodland Carbon Fund
• HS2 Woodland Fund

This is not an exhaustive list.

You may be able to apply for a WMP grant agreement in addition to an existing CS, ES or SFI agreement, if the:

• same action is not being funded twice
• actions required in your existing agreement and your WMP grant agreement are compatible

You must make sure that any work proposed for this grant does not breach the conditions of any other agreement. We will carry out checks to make sure that capital works are not funded twice from public money.

4. How to apply for a Woodland Management Plan grant

This section gives the information you need to apply for support when creating a WMP.

4.1 Check you and your land are registered

To apply for a WMP grant you need to register or be registered on the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details to help you.

All land parcels listed on your application must be registered in the Rural Payments service and have a parcel reference number (in the format AA1234 5678). Check the Rural Payments service to find out if your land parcels are registered and up to date.

If your land parcels are not registered, you must submit a rural land change request to register the land.

4.1.1 Authorise an agent

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. This also applies to payment claim forms for Agreement Holders.

For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.

Read ‘Give someone else permission to act on your behalf ’ for more information on the different levels of permission. You should also read the information in the Permission levels screen in the Rural Payments service. This lists what is permitted at each level. You are responsible for ensuring that permissions assigned on the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

4.2 Make sure the proposed WMP covers all woodland on the holding

You should include all woodland on your holding when you apply for a WMP grant. However, if your business manages several woodlands in different geographical locations, it may not be appropriate to produce a single WMP to cover them all.

In this situation, you can apply to create a plan that covers part of your holding. Forestry Commission will provide technical advice that will help to decide what forms a holding in each case. Read section 3.1 for more information.

4.3 Ways to apply

You should submit your application online if you can. If you are unable to apply online, you can apply by email or by post.

 A complete WMP grant application is made up of:

• the WMP grant application form (either submitted online or sent by email or post)
• the WMP annex – if you are applying online, you do not need to fill in the land summary tab in the WMP annex, as you will have already selected your land parcels as part of the online application
• a map of the land to be included in the application – this must meet the minimum mapping standards (see section 4.4)

You must not submit a draft WMP with this application. You can only start work on the draft WMP once you have:

• accepted the offer, by signing the agreement
• returned it to us
• reached the agreement start date

If you are eligible and we offer you an agreement, you will need to follow  Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions 2024

4.3.1 Apply online

You can apply for a WMP grant online through the Rural Payments service. Use the how to complete your online Woodland Management Plan grant application guidance to help you.

You cannot submit the WMP annex online, even if you are applying online. You must send us the annex by email or post. To request an annex, email ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or call 03000 200 301.

4.3.2 Apply by email or post

If you cannot apply online, you can send us a WMP grant application form by email or post. Use the how to complete your Woodland Management Plan grant application by email or post guidance to help you.

If you are unable to get online, or cannot download the application form, you can also request a copy of the form by emailing ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or calling 03000 200 301.

4.4 Prepare a map to support your application

You must provide a map (or maps) showing the full area of the woodland you are including in your proposed WMP and send this with your WMP grant application.

To help you prepare your map, use guidance on:

• how to complete your online Woodland Management Plan grant application
• how to complete your Woodland Management Plan grant application by email or post

4.5 Business viability test

We will check all applicants against an insolvency register. If your application is not financially viable, we may not offer you an agreement.

For applications including capital expenditure of more than £50,000, you must submit a statement from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered accountant or certified accountant). This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to carry out the work in the proposed agreement schedule.

The accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms:

• they are a registered accountant
• they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
• that you as the applicant have sufficient finances to complete the capital works in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings or loan)
• their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application

If your application includes more than £500,000 of capital items, we will also review 3 years of your relevant business accounts or other evidence. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the agreement requirements.

4.6 Get consent

You do not need to provide any consent when you make your WMP grant application.

However, if the work proposed affects certain designated sites, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or Scheduled Monuments, we may need to see your consents before we can approve your WMP. Read create a woodland management plan for more information.

4.6.1 Sites of Special Scientific Interest

You must get consent from Natural England if your application includes land in a SSSI.

You must have an approved WMP for the 5-year period of your Higher Tier agreement. If you have a WMP that ends before your Higher Tier agreement, you will need approval of a new WMP for the remainder of your Higher Tier agreement.

You can submit a draft for a new WMP at any point, but it must be before your existing WMP ends.

If your Higher Tier application relates to a woodland SSSI, you also need Natural England to give their consent on your new WMP. You will be able to submit a SSSI management notice for Natural England consent if you have WMPs in place for the duration of your woodland agreement. If you intend to include historic environment multi-year options or capital items within the woodland in your application for Higher Tier, the work required should be declared in your WMP.

For any work related to Scheduled Monuments you may need to contact Historic England for consent. This can either be obtained separately or in parallel with  Forestry Commission’s approval of your WMP.

4.7 How we check your application

We will check that your application:

• meets the eligibility requirements
• is complete
• includes an annotated map

We will contact you if there is any missing information. You must send us the missing information we ask for within the timescales we give you. If you do not, we may reject your application.

If this happens, you will then need to resubmit your application, making sure you provide all the information we need and that you have met all the eligibility requirements. You must not start to create a WMP until you have an agreement.

4.7.1 Receiving an offer and accepting an agreement

If you apply online (outlined in section 4.3.1), you will only be able to submit your application if you have met all the eligibility requirements. The Rural Payments service will reject your application if it fails any of the eligibility requirements. The service gives onscreen feedback to explain why this has happened. If this happens, you can edit and resubmit your application.

If you apply using a paper form (outlined in section 4.3.2), we will need to manually carry out eligibility checks. We will contact you if you fail any of the checks and explain how you can correct them.

If you are eligible, we will send you an agreement offer by post. You must accept or decline the offer, sign and date the declaration and return it to us. You can ask us for an acknowledgement that we have received your signed agreement.

The agreement start date will be shown on your agreement and will usually be 3 to 6 weeks after you receive your agreement offer. The agreement start date cannot be amended.

4.7.2 Creating and submitting a draft WMP

You can only start work creating a WMP after the agreement start date. You must follow the technical guidance outlined in create a woodland management plan and submit the WMP to the Forestry Commission (read annex 2 for contact details).

You can find information on biodiversity and woodland management intended to benefit rare and declining woodland wildlife in the Woodland Wildlife Toolkit.

Send your draft WMP to Forestry Commission.

Forestry Commission will only accept supporting documents, such as photos or forms, if they are either printed and sent by post or scanned and attached to an email. The maximum email size that they can accept is 32MB. For security reasons, they cannot accept discs, USB pen drives or other external storage media.

A Forestry Commission Woodland Officer will contact you and help you to develop the plan for final approval. The final WMP (including any associated felling permissions) needs to be approved by Forestry Commission before the agreement end date (read section 2.6 for agreement duration).

4.8 Woodland Management Plan (WMP) application process (through capital item PA3)

The list below shows the process from applying to claiming payment:

1. Applicant wants to manage their woodland so contacts Forestry Commission.
2. Applicant (or agent) registers the woodland on the Rural Payments service.
3. Applicant (or agent) submits WMP application (online or paper) to RPA (with WMP annex and maps).
4. If the applicant is eligible, RPA offer a grant agreement.
5. Applicant accepts the grant agreement offer.
6. Applicant (or agent) talks to Forestry Commission Woodland Officer, produces a draft WMP and submits to Forestry Commission Administrative Hub for a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer to check it meets with the UKFS.
7. The draft WMP is approved or reasons given why it fails to meet the UKFS. Aim for a maximum of 2 versions of the draft WMP.
8. Any felling proposals included in the draft WMP are placed on the Public Register and any statutory consultation is undertaken by Forestry Commission.
9. Felling licence and WMP are approved by Forestry Commission.
10. Applicant (or their agent) submits a claim to RPA which is then paid.

You can apply for a WMP grant using the Woodland Management Plan grant Application form.

You can read about PA3 at PA3: Woodland management plan.

The WMP must cover all woodland on your holding (read section 3.1 for more information) and you must use the Forestry Commission WMP template to create it – see create a woodland management plan for more information.

Annex 1 - Contact details

Contact Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

You can contact RPA by email, phone or post.

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

For Higher Tier only: To request pre-populated applications forms:

• use the Rural Payments service
• email or call us

Please quote your single business identifier (SBI) and agreement number in all enquiries.

Contact Forestry Commission

You can contact the Forestry Commission by email, phone or post.

Go to contact Forestry Commission for more details.

Contact Natural England

You can contact Natural England by email, phone or post.

Natural England
County Hall
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

Email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 060 3900
March to September: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, except bank holidays
October to February: Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

Contact other organisations

You may also need to:

• contact Historic England
• contact Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)