Guidance

Manage your England Woodland Creation Offer agreement

What you need to do to manage your England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) agreement, meet the requirements and claim payments.

From:
Forestry Commission
Published
8 June 2021

Applies to England

All agreement holders must read this guidance and meet its requirements.

You must also meet the requirements set out in your EWCO agreement, including the EWCO grant funding agreement terms and conditions.

1. Understand your agreement 

Your agreement consists of the:  

The duration of your agreement includes: 

  • a 3-year Grant Funding Period for capital payments 

  • a further 15-year Obligation Period (this coincides with the annual maintenance payments which are available) 

  •  where the agreement includes the additional contribution for recreational access, permissive access must be maintained with associated signage for 30 years, starting from the date that the final capital claim is paid 

You can find the start date and end of capital funding date of your agreement in your Grant Offer letter.

The capital element of your EWCO grant includes the payments for standard cost items and actual cost items, such as infrastructure. 

The final version of the EWCO application form we agree with you, will be part of your agreement. It will set out the work you need to do and payments you will receive. 

You must not begin capital works before you have formally accepted your EWCO agreement offer. 

The Grant Funding Period may not run for the full 3-year period if you finish the work sooner. However, you must complete all the capital works funded under the agreement within this period.

1.1. Maintenance element of the EWCO agreement 

To support the successful establishment and ongoing maintenance of the new woodland you must: 

  • replace any trees that die, to ensure required stocking density is maintained by year 5 and canopy closure will be obtained by year 20 after planting  

  • ensure all planted trees are kept free from competing vegetation and herbivores 

  • maintain tree protection (fencing, shelters, spiral guards) 

  • maintain planned temporary open space 

  • remove and dispose of tree guards in an appropriate manner (for example, recycling) when no longer required, and by year 15 in all cases 

  • avoid using any herbicides if trees are being planted on land next to a watercourse

2. Change your agreement 

To request an amendment to your EWCO agreement, you must: 

You must notify us of any amendments including a change of management control or succession, no later than 3 months from the date of the change.  

If we find your amendment is a succession, we will send you a succession form to fill in. You must submit the form within 12 months from the date of sale or transfer.

The decision on your amendment request will be based on available budget where relevant and entirely at our discretion. 

We may terminate the agreement, reclaim or reduce payments, if we consider the change will not deliver the objectives of the EWCO agreement. 

You must only carry out work related to your amendment request when you have received the formal amended Grant Offer and signed the Acceptance of Grant Offer. Work carried out outside a formal agreement will not be funded.

3. Use suppliers that meet biosecurity requirements  

Make sure you can source plants and trees that are free from pests and diseases. Your plants must come from suppliers who meet the Plant Health Management Standard and evidence of this must be supplied when you claim for your trees. 

This is part of the Forestry Commission’s Biosecurity Procurement Pilot for Plants and Trees. 

Read how to comply with UK Forestry Standard and source biosecure trees in the guidance on how to apply for EWCO. It also includes information about using donated trees. 

The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) will contact a selection of grant recipients for a post-planting inspection approximately 18 months after the trees have been planted. If APHA issues a notice to remove the trees, the grant recipient will be expected to claim force majeure under the terms of their grant agreement.  

Read Forest Research’s pest and disease resources for information on control measures.

4. Keep evidence and records to support claims  

You must keep relevant evidence and records that show how the grant was spent.

You must:

  • keep the evidence and records for 7 years from the date your agreement ends
  • provide this information, if requested

This is to show that public money is being spent effectively and is delivering the intended results.

4.1. Keep evidence of your tree supplier 

If you submitted your application from 22 June 2022 onwards, when you claim you will be asked to provide both: 

  • details of the tree supplier 
  • evidence your supplier meets the biosecure procurement requirement 

You will also be asked to provide one or more of the following references as evidence that your supplier meets the biosecure procurement requirement: 

  • Plant Healthy certification number 
  • Plant Healthy application number 
  • Ready to Plant assessment voucher reference number 

4.2. Keep evidence of expenditure  

When you claim for capital items, they must have been installed and paid for.

You must submit evidence of expenditure to support claims for actual cost capital items (infrastructure). We will retain the evidence for our records until your obligations under your grant agreement expire. 

Examples of evidence include, but are not limited to: 

  • invoices
  • till receipts
  • bank statements
  • delivery notes
  • evidence of using your own labour 

You do not need to routinely submit evidence of expenditure to support claims for the standard cost items. However, you must provide it if requested. If you do not have evidence of expenditure, you must provide a signed EWCO evidence declaration form explaining why it’s not available. 

We will accept claims for capital items purchased prior to the Agreement Commencement Date. Any final ordering and payment of materials prior to the Agreement Commencement Date is done so at the sole risk of the applicant. We will not accept liability for these items. 

Where required, invoices should clearly show: 

  • name and contact details of the supplier 

  • information to identify the payee, such as their name and address 

  • date when the document was issued 

  • product or service name or description 

  • quantity of products (including the number of trees according to species) or services sold 

Where the work has been undertaken by you (for example, growing your own trees or supplying own labour), it must be clearly stated on your claim. 

You must have evidence to support this, showing the costs incurred (for example, timesheets for labour). If this information is not available, you must fill in, sign and submit a EWCO evidence declaration form to explain why.

4.3. Keep evidence of eligibility: public bodies 

Public bodies must keep evidence to show: 

  • the decision to put land into a EWCO agreement is in line with managing public money

  • the land put forward for EWCO does not compromise other departmental outcomes and delivery of wider public benefits 

We may ask to see this evidence during processing of your application or at any time during the agreement period. 

You must keep this evidence for at least 7 years after the final payment of your grant (or if post payment obligations apply, until your obligations under the EWCO agreement expire).  

4.4. Keep evidence of eligibility: central government departments  

When central government departments or their arm’s length bodies apply for EWCO they must:  

  • provide evidence that they have notified His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) spending team about their intention to make a permanent land use change 

  • retain the evidence in accordance with the public body’s record retention policy

4.5. Keep photographs of infrastructure for woodland management or recreational access 

You must provide photographs showing the installation of infrastructure, to support your claims. Failure to provide this may result in your claim being delayed or withheld. 

4.6. Keep photographs of standard cost items and work 

You may be asked to provide photo evidence of standard cost items or activities. If requested, you must provide us with the photos within 15 days. Failure to provide this may result in your claim being delayed or withheld. 

4.7. How to meet the required quality standard for digital photographic evidence  

Requirements apply to digital photographs or those supplied as paper photographs. All photographs must meet the following standards: 

  1. Photographs must be in focus and clearly show the relevant capital item or environmental feature.

  2. Photograph to identify the environmental feature or capital item(s) concerned. It is your responsibility to have sufficient evidence that the investment or required management has taken place. For example, more than one photograph may be needed where the work exceeds the frame, or is not clear from a single photograph.

  3. Where possible, include a significant feature to provide authenticity. For example, ditch, fence, farm building, road, telegraph poles.

  4. Mark the photographed feature’s location, and direction from which the photograph has been taken. Put an ‘X’ and an arrow on a copy of a map (or map extract) of the agreement area.

  5. Where scale or continuity is important, include a feature, or introduce one. For example, include a quad bike or vehicle, or use a sighting pole – 2 metres high with 50cm intervals marked in red and white. Take pictures consistently from the same spot for before and after photographs of the capital item. 

Any photographs you send to us must be in the following sizes and formats: 

  • if you send your images by email, send JPEG files 

  • digital images should not be smaller than 600 x 400 pixels and ideally the image file size should be no larger than 400KB 

  • printed photographs must be no smaller than 15cm x 10cm 

4.8. How to label photographs 

Label photographs with the Ordnance Survey (OS) National Grid reference and compartment number (or land parcel reference if you use these to manage your land) for the field parcel where the works are taking place. Give the EWCO agreement reference, the name of the capital work the photo is showing, and the date. If you are sending more than one image, also include the image number.

5. Make a claim 

You must read the guidance on claiming your EWCO payments before you make a claim.  

It includes what you need to do to claim for: 

  • capital works payments
  • additional contributions
  • annual maintenance payments 

You can check the latest payment rates.

6. Prepare for inspection 

Your agreement may be selected for inspection. This is to verify that the requirements, including completion of the capital and maintenance work, have been met. This will include inspections during the Obligation Period. 

Your claim may also be selected for inspection. You will find out if it has been selected for inspection when we confirm your claim has been accepted. You must allow authorised inspectors to access the land, under the terms and conditions of your agreement. 

You will be invited to attend the inspection, but this is not required. We will not change our inspection date if you cannot attend. This is to make sure your claim can be processed as quickly as possible. You will be asked to sign the inspection report to confirm you have seen the results. 

7. Report a problem affecting your agreement 

Exceptional circumstances or force majeure may mean you’re unable to meet your requirements under the agreement. 

Exceptional circumstances may include, but are not limited to the following: 

  • the death or long-term professional incapacity of the grant recipient 

  • a severe natural disaster seriously affecting the holding 

  • a plant disease affecting part or all of the grant recipient’s trees 

  • expropriation of all or a large part of the holding (provided that the expropriation could not have been anticipated at the time the application) 

Email EWCO@forestrycommission.gov.uk if you have a different issue outside of your control. 

You must write to tell us about your circumstances within 40 working days from the date on which you (or any person authorised to act for you) is in a position to do so. 

You will need to provide evidence in writing or by using the force majeure form, to show what has happened, and how the event meant you were unable to meet the rules. 

We will consider the facts to decide whether: 

  • you are relieved of all or part of their obligations under the agreement 

  • all or part of the grant should be withheld or repaid 

If you are aware of the issue when entering into your agreement, then it is unlikely to fall under force majeure or exceptional circumstance. 

7.1. Temporary support for trees and woodland  

The Forestry Commission may make funds available to help replant trees and woodland in exceptional circumstances, for example after: 

  • an extended period of hot and dry weather 
  • flooding in your area 

The provision of additional support will be communicated to agreement holders as it becomes available. 

8. End your agreement early 

If you have not claimed any grant payments, your agreement can be closed. 

If you’ve started work and claimed grant payments, we will make further checks. You may have to repay the grant in part or in full. We will contact you to discuss any reclaim action, if needed. This will depend on the extent to which the agreement objectives have been met. The default position is that the grant will be reclaimed. 

You can close your agreement early to transfer into a future environmental scheme, without penalty at agreed points if: 

  • the scheme has the equivalent or increased environmental benefits  
  • you have secured your place in the scheme 

To request closure of your agreement, use the amendment request form. 

9. Appeal a decision 

You can make an appeal against a Forestry Commission decision, if you disagree. 

10. Get help or more information

Contact the EWCO team for advice or more information. 

Email: EWCO@forestrycommission.gov.uk

Updates to this page

Published 8 June 2021

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