The England Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS):

The English Woodland Grant Scheme has now fully replaced the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) and, operated by the Forestry Commission, comprises six grants for the stewardship of existing woodlands and the creation of new woodlands.

In brief, the six grants are as follows:

• Woodland Planning Grant (WPG) – a contribution towards the cost of the preparation of a long-term management plan, using the FC template, which is designed to meet UK Woodland Assurance Scheme (UKWAS) requirements.
• Woodland Assessment Grant (WAG) – available at the FC’s discretion to help meet the costs of the gathering of specific information concerning the sensitivity of a site in relation to proposed work.
• Woodland Regeneration Grant (WRG) – restocking grants, at various rates, the highest level being for the restocking of former Planted Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) with native species.
• Woodland Management Grant (WMG) – eligibility is restricted, UKWAS-certified ancient woodlands being the most likely to benefit.
• Woodland Improvement Grant (WIG) – 50% or 80% contribution to the costs of specific works such as would contribute to UK Biodiversity Action Plan targets or public access needs.
• Woodland Creation Grant (WCG) – subject to the FC’s regional budgets and being able to reach the annually set scoring threshold, WCG provides grant aid at various levels and remains the key to access to annual Farm Woodlands payments.

The Forestry Commission’s funding is now managed on a regional basis. Some grants are intended to meet the priorities set out in Regional Forestry Frameworks and, in a given financial year, grants are only offered where there is money available.

The Forestry Commission’s website – www.forestry.gov.uk/england provides further information.

Woodland Grant Scheme in Wales

Better Woodlands for Wales is the new Forestry Commission grant scheme that has replaced, for the purposes of all new applications, the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS).

The basis of Better Woodlands for Wales is a Management Plan setting out the owner’s objectives and the proposed operations. Management Plans must be prepared by an FC?trained and approved Management Planner and grant aid is available towards the cost of preparing the plan.

Once the Management Plan and Plan of Operations are formally approved by the FC, grants will be available for a wide range of operations including restocking, improvement of infrastructure, uneconomic harvesting, protection measures, environmental improvements, public access and woodland creation.

Pryor & Rickett Silviculture currently have two managers / consultants fully trained and approved by FC Wales as Management Planners, one of whom is also an approved Specialist Assessor for Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) and also for Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) assessment.

The Forestry Commission’s website www.forestry.gov.uk/wales provides further information.