Funding and other support towards the cost of creating new woodland in England on areas as small as 1 hectare.
Landowners, land managers and public bodies can apply to the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) for support to create new woodland, including through natural colonisation, on areas as small as 1 hectare (1 hectare is equivalent to 10,000 square metres, 2.47 acres or about 1.5 full-size football pitches)
EWCO opened for applications on 9 June 2021 and replaces the Woodland Carbon Fund, which closed for applications in March 2021. The grant is administered by the Forestry Commission and is funded through the Nature for Climate Fund.
EWCO is open to owner occupiers, tenants, landlords and licensors who have full management control of the land in the application (or consent from those who do). On tenanted land, for example, both tenants and landlords must confirm their consent and sign the application. Joint applications and applications on common land and areas of shared grazing are eligible.
Land is eligible if it is:
- In England.
- Within the full management control of the applicant (and any counter-signatories, where applicable).
- Not already classified as woodland.
- Not subject to any existing legal requirement or obligation to create woodland.
- Not subject to a dispute between landlords and tenants, and
- Not currently within an existing grant agreement that has more than five months left to run at the time the EWCO application is submitted (see How do I transition my woodland creation scheme into the England Woodland Creation Offer for more information).
The minimum total size of woodland included in a EWCO application is 1 hectare. All woodland blocks within a EWCO application must be 0.1 hectare or more in size. Blocks must have a minimum width of 20 metres (except for riparian buffers and shelterbelts, where the minimum width is 10 metres).
All proposals funded by EWCO must comply with the UK Forestry Standard.
4 types of payments are available under EWCO:
- Support for the capital items and activities to establish new woodland, at 100% of standard costs.
- 10 years of annual Maintenance Payments to help establish the young trees once the capital works are complete.
- Contribution towards the actual cost of installing infrastructure to either enable the current and future management of the woodland, or to provide recreational access, and
- Optional Additional Contributions where the location of the woodland and its design will deliver public benefits. You can apply for multiple Additional Contributions on the same land where it touches the right spatial layer and the design is compatible.
Applicants can check the location of their proposed new woodland in relation to these layers on the Forestry Commission map browser and Land Information Search.
Applications may be made all year-round. The Forestry Commission aims to acknowledge applications and let applicants know if there any additional information is required within 3 working days. This may take longer during peak periods.
Funding decisions can take 12 to 20 weeks from receiving a valid application. Timescales are likely to be shorter where applicants have already completed an approved Woodland Creation Design Plan through the Woodland Creation Planning Grant.
Applicants are advised to contact their contact their Forestry Commission Woodland Officer as early as possible in the first instance to discuss their project/application.
Please note that B&NES has an online tool to help plan where woodlands might be planted in the district.