How to apply
This chapter gives the information you need to apply for support to create a Woodland Management Plan through Countryside Stewardship.
You must be registered on the Rural Payments service before you can apply for a CS agreement. Once you’re registered you will receive a Customer Registration Number (CRN) and a Single Business Identifier (SBI). If you use an agent to apply for you, they must also be registered on Rural Payments and you must give them the appropriate permissions in the Rural Payments Service.
All land parcels listed on your application must be registered on the Rural Payments service, and have a parcel reference number (in the format AA12345678). You will be asked to provide your parcel reference numbers when you apply. To register land, you must complete a Rural Land and Entitlements (RLE1) form and provide annotated maps to clearly show where the land parcels are on your holding and send this to RPA. You can find more information about this on GOV.UK.
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 (SM) we may need to see your consents before we can approve the WMP. You can find more details about this at Create a woodland management plan
You should include all woodland on your holding when you apply for a WMP grant. However, if your business manages a number of woodlands in different locations, it may not be appropriate to produce a single WMP that covers all of them. In this situation you can apply to create a plan that covers part of your holding. The Forestry Commission will provide technical advice that will help to decide what forms a holding in a given case. See section 3.1 for more information.
There are two ways that you can submit a WMP application:
- online using the Rural Payments service
- using a paper application form.
You must not submit a draft WMP with your CS application. You can only start work on producing the draft WMP once you have signed the agreement (returned it to us, accepting the offer) and the agreement start date has passed.
If you are eligible and we offer you an agreement, you will need to follow the Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions as set out in Annex 1.
4.4.1 Online application
You can apply for a WMP grant online. You can do this through the Rural Payments service. The online system already includes the following information, so you do not need to re-enter these details, but you should check them to make sure the information is up to date:
- your personal details of the applicant (name, address, and so on)
- your CRN and SBI
- the land parcels registered to the SBI.
You will need to answer initial eligibility questions and select the land parcels that you would like to include in your WMP application. You will also need to enter the total area of the woodland that needs support.
You then click the ‘submit’ button - which is the same as signing an application form. After submitting your application, download the covering letter from your online account and follow the instructions which tell you how to submit the supporting information needed.
Supporting information
You must send us the following documents to support your online application before we will consider it. If you email them to us, as long as they are sent by someone with the correct permissions (and an email address that is registered on Rural Payments for that person) you do not need to print the relevant section(s) and form(s), sign and scan the documents back into your computer. Title your email ‘Countryside Stewardship, document type, year, SBI number’, for example Countryside Stewardship, Woodland Management Plan grant application, 2019, [SBI]:
- a completed WMP Annex 3b (part of annex 3). If you are applying online you do not need to fill in worksheet 3a of Annex 3, 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 outlined in section 4.4.3.
We must receive any supporting documents within 30 days of the date of the cover letter. If we do not, we will reject your application.
You can find more details about how to apply online in the WMP apply online document . There is also an onscreen instructions document available which gives a step by step guide on how to apply.
4.4.2 By email or post
If you cannot apply online, you can use a paper application form and send it to us by email or post. These application forms are available online. You must download one and fill it in, then send it by email or post to RPA. If you choose to email it to us, as long as the application form is sent by someone with the correct permissions (and an email address that is registered on Rural Payments for that person) you do not need to print the relevant section(s) and form(s), sign and scan the documents back into your computer.
If you cannot download the application form, you can contact us and we will send you one.
A complete WMP grant application is made up of the following documents:
- The Countryside Stewardship capital application form
- The WMP Annex 3 (incorporating all information required to apply for the WMP)
- An application map, created according to the standards set out in section 4.4.3.
Send your email, remembering to attach all application documents to us. Put ‘CS Woodland Management Plan Grant – SBI’ as the email subject, for example. ‘CS Woodland Management Plan Grant – 123456789.
There is a 10mb file size limit for attachments. When you send your application by email make sure it’s not over this limit, or we will not receive it. If it is over 10mb, send more than one email, each less than 10mb.
If you cannot email your application, you can post it to us (see Annex 2 for address details). We recommended that you get proof of postage for any applications or any other documents you send to us by post.
It’s a good idea to keep a copy of your completed application form. Either a paper copy or an electronic version of your WMP Annex 3 so that you have a self-calculating version of this document.
4.4.3 Prepare a map to accompany 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. The map needs to be clear, readable and meet the standards set out below.
How to create a map
You can create the map associated with a WMP application yourself, as long as it meets the standards set out below, or you can request one through the Forestry Commission map request service.
Maps you supply should be based on OS maps and/or Geographical Information System (GIS) generated digital maps. Maps must be based on a scale of 1:2500 or 1:5000 or for large schemes 1:10000. You should mark the land parcel references and the SBI clearly on the map.
If you’re sending your supporting documents to us by email, send us your map as a PDF file.
Minimum mapping standards
If you create your own agreement map, or are marking up a map you’ve received from the Forestry Commission map request service, you must make sure they meet the following rules:
- the map (or maps) must show whole land parcels with land parcel references and a clear boundary for the extent of the WMP
- the map should have a number (1, 2, 3, and so on). Include this map number and also the total number of maps for example, 1 of 3
- write your Single Business Identifier (SBI) – consisting of 9 digits, the application year and agreement title (as detailed on the application form) on the top right of the map
- write the name of business or applicant – this should be the name (beneficiary) that is registered with us for the SBI, on the right hand side of the map
- if there are no numbered OS grid lines write a 6 figure OS grid reference for the centre of the map on the bottom left of the map
- if you make a mistake strike through it. Do not use correction fluid on your map.
4.4.4 Business viability test
For applications including capital expenditure of over £50,000, you must submit a statement from a chartered accountant. This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves or loans to undertake the work in the proposed agreement schedule. Where confirmation from an accountant is needed, the accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms at least the following:
- they are a chartered accountant
- they act as the accountant for the applicant
- they can confirm 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, loan and so on)
- 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.
You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application and payment claim forms for you. For an agent to act for you they must be registered on the Rural Payments service and you must give them the appropriate permission levels. You need to do this even if you have already filled in a paper agent authorisation form allowing the agent to act on your behalf.
4.6.1 Missing information and rejection
Once we receive your application we will carry out a number of checks on it and 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 would then need to resubmit your application, making sure you provide all the information we need and that you meet all of the eligibility requirements. You must not start to create a WMP until you have an agreement.
4.6.2 Eligible applicants being offered an agreement/agreement acceptance
If you apply online (outlined in section 4.4.1), you will only be able to submit your application if you have met all of the eligibility requirements. The online system will reject your application immediately if it fails any of the eligibility requirements. The system 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 4.4.2), 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. You can find more information about this at section 4.6.1.
If you are eligible, we will send you an agreement offer by post. You must accept or decline the offer signing and dating the declaration and returning it to us. You can ask us for an acknowledgement that we have received your signed agreement. You cannot modify, extend or amend the WMP agreement.
The agreement start date will be shown on your agreement and is usually the first day of the month after you receive your agreement offer.
4.6.3 Creating a draft Woodland Management Plan
You can 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 (see Annex 2 for details).
Do not send your draft WMP to RPA. You must send it to the Forestry Commission.
Remember, there is a 10mb file size limit for attachments. When you send your draft WMP by email make sure it’s not over this limit, otherwise the Forestry Commission will not receive it. If it is over 10mb, send more than one email, each less than 10mb.
A FCWO 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 the Forestry Commission before the agreement end date (see section 2.6 for agreement duration).
You must have a WMP approved by the Forestry Commission before you can apply for woodland support under the Higher Tier element of Countryside Stewardship. This is the case whether the CS Higher Tier application is for woodland only or woodland in a ‘mixed’ agreement (an agreement that includes woodland and agri-environment land).
The WMP must be approved (or approved in principle) on or before the deadline for initial CS Higher Tier applications.
If the WMP is only approved in principle at the time the initial CS Higher Tier application is made, the plan must be fully approved (including felling licence in place) by the deadline for final CS Higher Tier applications.
‘Approved in principle’ means that approval of the plan 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.
To make sure there is opportunity for a WMP to be at least approved in principle in time for an initial Higher Tier application, you should submit your draft WMP to the Forestry Commission by 31 December of the year before the Higher Tier application will be made.
You can make a WMP grant application on land that is already included in an existing Environmental Stewardship agreement as long as preparation of a WMP is not a requirement of the Environmental Stewardship agreement. However, you cannot enter land in an existing Environmental Stewardship agreement into a CS Higher Tier agreement.