Increased grants for new woodlands

Woodland near Winsford. Photo by Ben Tottterdell/ENPA

There’s some good news for prospective woodland owners - the grant rates for planting new woodlands through the England Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) have recently increased.  The basic Woodland Creation Grant now stands at £2800 per hectare for planting broadleaved woodland and there are extra payments which could add another £1000 or £2000 to the basic grant if the scheme fits certain criteria.

Loren Eldred, Exmoor National Park Authority woodland projects officer,  said, “This is great news for anyone who is considering planting a block of woodland because they could be entitled to up to £4800 per hectare of grant aid, which could really help with getting their new woodland established.”

Exmoor National Park Authority can help landowners with putting together EWGS applications and guiding them through the grant application process.  All applications are welcome, but particularly from people wishing to create schemes next to watercourses and where existing woodlands can be joined up with new planting to create larger woodland areas.

For instance, a well-located new woodland near to a watercourse can introduce a variety of benefits such as helping to reduce flooding, creating some shade for aquatic life and capturing some pollutants in runoff. And by linking up existing woodlands with new ones, woodland habitats will be better connected which will help woodland species to colonise these areas, as well as effectively creating larger, more robust woodlands in the landscape for the future.

Loren can be contacted at his office in Dulverton on 01398 322 268.

Published: 3 July 2012