Kevin Lindegaard with a stand of 2 year old poplar planted as single stem trees.

If you are thinking of planting a woodland then you should get ready to apply for the Countryside Stewardship Woodland Creation Grant in 2018. The scheme is very generous ans pays up to a maximum of £6,800 per planted hectare! The grant is competitive and applications need to score sufficient points relating to the schemes priorities on biodiversity, water (quality and flood mitigation) and climate change in order to be successful.

In addition, applicants can apply for a Woodland Creation Maintenance payments of £200 per hectare per year to support the successful establishment and on-going maintenance of new woodland.

It’s a 10 year scheme and the application window is between 2 January and 16 February 2018. Following the application being made a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer will make a site visit and agree any subsequent changes to proposals (if needed) before the final deadline of 31 May 2018. Woodland Creation agreements will be offered to successful applicants from July 2018 onwards. Afforestation can then take place within 2 years of the agreement date.

The minimum area per application is 3 hectares with a minimum block size 0.5 hectares. In order for a species to be eligible under Woodland Creation, the plants chosen must have at least one woody stem that is capable of achieving a total height of five metres on a given site. This means that fast growing trees such as willow, poplar and eucalyptus are eligible as long as they are managed as a single stem.

The majority of new woodland should be made up of native species but can include a proportion of non-native and/or advancing/honorary species as follows:

• up to 20% of the species mix can be non-native
• up to 20% of the native species can be ‘advancing’ or ‘honorary’ natives

There’s no time to lose as application forms and guidance are already available allowing applicants to have sufficient time to find out all the information they need to make a good application.

If you would like to apply but have a phobia of form filling then we can help!

We will take care of the application in its entirety and do the following:

• Obtain relevant land map(s) from Natural England map request service
• Annotate the land map(s) according to the required protocols
• Complete agent authorisation form
• Complete main capital grant application form
• Complete capital grant application form Annex 2
• Work with the client to assemble relevant evidence pertinent to the application
• Liaise with the client to ensure that the application can achieve maximum number of points relating to the positive impact on biodiversity, water (quality and flooding) and climate change
• Submit the application by 16 February 2018
• Liaise with Natural England and Forestry Commission officials and make necessary changes to the proposal in advance of the final deadline (31 May 2018)

Our budget quote for this service is £850 plus VAT and transport costs to site. Please contact us to arrange a site visit and to get the ball rolling.