How it works
This section provides information about the main elements of the CS Woodland Management Plan (WMP) grant.
The CS WMP grant is a capital grant under which you can apply for a one-off payment to create a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant 10 year woodland management plan.
You must have a binding CS agreement (which means you’ve applied, been offered and accepted an agreement) before you can start work on your WMP.
The list below shows the process from applying to claiming payment:
- Applicant wants to manage their woodland so talks to Forestry Commission (FC)
- Applicant (or agent) registers the woodland on the Rural Payments service
- Applicant (or agent) submits WMP application (online/paper) to RPA (with annex 3 and maps)
- If the applicant is eligible, RPA offer a grant agreement
- Applicant accepts the grant agreement offer
- Applicant (or agent) talks to FC Woodland Officer, produces a draft WMP and submits to FC Admin Hub for a Woodland Officer to check it meets with the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS)
- The draft WMP is either approved in principle or reasons given why it fails to meet the UKFS. Aim for a maximum of 2 iterations of the WMP
- Any felling proposals included in the draft WMP are placed on the Public Register and any statutory consultation is undertaken by the Forestry Commission
- Felling licence approved and WMP is approved by the Forestry Commission
- Applicant (or their agent) submits a claim to RPA which is then paid
| Acronym | Explanation |
|---|---|
| RPA | Rural Payments Agency – administers scheme, processes applications and offers grant agreements and pays claims |
| FCWO | Forestry Commission Woodland Officer – works with the applicant or their agent to develop a WMP that complies with the UK Forestry Standard and approves it |
| FC Admin Hub | Forestry Commission Admin Hub – processes any felling licence associated with the Woodland Management Plan once the plan has been approved |
| UKFS | UK Forestry Standard – The standard for sustainable forest management in the UK. The WMP must meet the relevant requirements and guidelines in the Standard to be approved |
You can apply for a WMP grant using the Countryside Stewardship capital item PA3
The WMP must cover all woodland on your holding (see section 4.3 for more information) and you must use the Forestry Commission WMP template to create it.
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. You can find technical guidance on the production and content of a WMP on GOV.UK.
Your plan must be approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for support under the Higher Tier element of Countryside Stewardship. You can find more information on this in section 4.7.
Grant applications for the creation of WMPs are not competitive so we do not score applications. As long as you are eligible to apply for this grant (see section 3) and subject to the budget approval, we will offer you an agreement.
The payment rates for the capital item WMP (PA3) are shown in the following table. The payment rates and conditions help to make sure that the plans we approve provide value for money.
| 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 |
We calculate the amount to be paid using the entire eligible area of woodland on the holding. This can include a maximum of 20% newly planted woodland (this is woodland that is under ten years old at the time of application). However, the WMP must cover all the woodland on the holding (including all newly planted woodland) even if this is more than 20% of the total woodland on the holding.
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 Woodland Officer about whether you are eligible. You can find contact details at Forestry.gov.uk.
You can submit an application at any time of the year. See section 4.4 for information on how to submit an application.
If you accept an agreement we’ve offered you, you will then need to produce a draft WMP. The standards and procedures the plan must follow are set out on GOV.UK.
Once you accept an agreement, you have 2 years from the start of the agreement to create the WMP and get approval (including any associated felling approval) from the Forestry Commission. You then have a further three months to submit your payment claim.
For example, if your agreement starts on 1 June 2019, the end date of the agreement would be 31 May 2021. Your plan would need to be complete and approved by then. You would then have until 31 August 2021 to submit your payment claim.
We’d recommend that you send your draft WMP to the Forestry Commission within the first year of your agreement. If they receive your WMP after this time, they cannot guarantee that they will approve it within the two year period. You’ll get more information about this in the agreement offer letter.
The two year duration of your agreement is for the submission and approval of a WMP. It is not for the duration of the work detailed in the WMP itself.
You must claim payment for your WMP in a single claim, once your WMP has been approved by the Forestry Commission, and within three months following the agreement end date. You can find more information on payment claims in section 5.
The WMP grant cannot be used to pay for the cost of any of the following:
- planning application fees or other transactional fees
- meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions.