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Grants available to landowners
for tree planting and other rural activities . . .

Introduction
Government money is available for a wide variety of rural and urban tree planting activities. Nicholsons is able to advise on the full spectrum of grant schemes available to every type of land owner, both large and small. This leaflet is designed to cut through the layers of bureaucracy and give you an up-to-date review, not only of what is available, but also the recent changes to existing schemes. In the interests of simplicity each type of grant is summarised and this leaflet may not state absolutely all of the terms, conditions and rules.

Local Authority Grants
Most local authorities offer a grant scheme to help fund various projects with a public benefit. Funds are severely limited and therefore there is usually an application cut-off, so that worthwhile schemes can be considered along with less worthwhile schemes with the total budget in mind.
What for:
Tree and hedge planting, hedgerow restoration, willow pollarding, pond restoration, tree surgery and the restoration of historic features in the landscape. All of these must have a clear public benefit i.e. not in private gardens.
Who can apply:
Private Individuals, Parish Councils, Community groups, Schools etc.
How much:
Grants of up to 50% of the total estimated cost (two quotes are needed) are available up to a maximum of £500 for private individuals and £1,000 for public organizations.

Higher Level Scheme (Defra)
Eligible farms are able to enter the whole farm into the Higher Level Scheme (HLS) to achieve certain environmental benefits. Work which is grant aided is diverse and includes: hedge planting/restoration, fencing, tree planting, hedge laying, field headland seeding, meadow seeding and willow pollarding.
This scheme is now extremely complicated and requires a farm to be IACS registered and a management plan to be prepared for a ten-year period. A farm must also be a successful applicant in the Entry Level Scheme (ELS).
The Farm Woodland Advisory Group, FWAG, offer a cost effective service to write the plan and get the scheme approved. Once approved FWAG often recommends that Nicholsons take over the project and complete the work.
Figures for each operation vary but hedging, for example, will give you a grant of just over £5.00 per metre.

Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS)
This was once a straightforward grant scheme but it has grown steadily more complicated as the years have passed. The scheme is administered by the Forestry Commission (a part of Defra).
In basic terms, the landowner agrees to a five-year contract detailing when work is to be done and when payment will be received. It is split into four sections: Management, Establishment, Restocking and Woodland Improvement. This scheme has just been reintroduced but funds are limited. Therefore the scheme proposed will need to demonstrate a clear public benefit.
Applying is easy through the use of various application forms accompanied by maps to illustrate what is planned and where. A table is produced below showing the various grant rates that may apply in this area. Please note that figures are subject to change but were correct at the time of printing.
Management Grant
£35.00 per ha/yr of eligible land but a landowner must agree to do at least twice the total figure during the period of the plan. Woodlands must also now be certified under the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme (UKWAS) if the wooded land holding is larger than 35 hectares.
Woodland Creation Grant
This depends on the species planted and how extensive the total area of the woodland will be. For example; a plantation of native broadleaves up to 10 hectares in size will attract £1800 per hectare in two instalments of 70 and 30% over five years. Conifers attract £1200 per hectare, but it is never certain in this area that the grant scheme will be approved in the first place.
If the owner of the land is a farmer there is also an entitlement of up to £300/ha/yr for 15 years for broadleaved trees, reduced to 10 years for conifers. This is called the FWPS Grant.
Additional contributions are also available if the new wood is close to a large population (£500 per ha) or designed for public access (£500 per ha).
Restocking
This is more complicated because grant rates are designed to encourage native broadleaved planting through better funding. Rates are £1100 per hectare for restocking native species, £350 per hectare for conifers and £1700 if converting conifer woodland, planted on what was previously a native woodland site, back to native species.
Woodland Improvement Grants
These are now available and rates are set out on a list of standard operation prices provided by the Forestry Commission.
Carbon Sequestration Grants
These are available from ECCM, a private company that sells the environmental benefit of the trees’ ability at carbon fixing to multinational companies. They pay up to £700 per ha on newly established community woodlands with an agreement that the woodland stays in perpetuity, thereby ensuring that the carbon remains fixed rather than being lost to the environment.

The figures given above are guidelines only and may be subject to change

Contacts
If you have any questions relating to grant applications or eligibility, please contact Tim Shardlow or Mike Tustin, Forestry Consultants at Nicholson Nurseries, either by telephone or by using the email links on the Contacts page. You are welcome to call in on the Nursery to discuss your project, although our consultants are also happy to make site visits for appraisal and discussion anywhere within Oxfordshire and surrounding counties, including Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.