Woodland Grant Schemes

The Government is committed to increasing woodland cover and has established 2 national grant schemes in order to encourage woodland establishment.

• The Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) - offers grants towards the cost of establishing and maintaining woodlands through good management and regeneration practices. Grants are paid as part of a contract in which you are bound to look after the woodlands and do any approved work to reasonable satisfaction.

For further information and application details visit the Forestry Commission website

• Farm Woodlands Premium Scheme (FWPS) - offers grants to encourage farmers to convert productive agricultural land to woodland. The land to be planted must have been in agricultural use for 3 years. Payments are made for 10 years in the case of predominantly coniferous woodland and 15 years for predominantly broadleaved woodland.

For further information and application details visit the DEFRA website

Dependent on individual circumstances you may either apply for only the WGS or make a joint application for both the WGS and FWPS. It is not possible to apply for only the FWPS as environmental and silvicultural standards of the WGS must be met before a FWPS application can be approved.

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