£25m available for farmers to create new woodlands

• Grants for well-designed proposals

• More money available for planting

• Proper funding needed for targets

Farmers and landowners are being encouraged to apply for a share of £25m in funding to support woodland creation and tree planting.

The money is available in the year ahead after it was announced the England Woodland Creation Offer will become part of Defra’s Local Nature Recovery scheme – one of the new environmental land management schemes – from 2025.

More than £25m is available in 2022/23 as continued funding to support well-designed woodland creation proposals through the England Woodland Creation Offer. This builds upon the £15m which was available last year. 

Payment rates

This means farmers could get a one-off payment of £8,500/ha followed by annual maintenance payments of £300/ha for 10 years. Higher payment rates are available offering more money for schemes that provide additional public benefits.

The design of Local Nature Recovery – part of Defra’s Environmental Land Management scheme – and payment rates for planting trees will largely mirror those within the England Woodland Creation Offer.

Defra says this means there is no reason to delay tree planting. Forestry Commission chief executive Richard Stanford said: ”Trees play an important role in providing shade and shelter for livestock, and reducing soil and nutrient loss.”

Well-designed and managed woodlands can support food production – boosting productivity through healthy soil and water by reducing erosion and nutrient loss from surface run-off while improving drought and flood resilience, said Mr Stanford.

Building resilience

Woodlands also support biodiverse ecosystems through habitat creation and can benefit animal welfare by providing shelter in adverse weather and additional fodder for livestock, as well as diversification opportunities through firewood and timber. 

Mr Stanford said: “Given the recent hot dry weather it’s vital our farmers and land managers plan for the future to build in resilience to climate change and take advantage of the woodland creation incentives available today.”

Farmers could be confident that they can grow trees under the EWCO, safe in the knowledge that they will be able to transition into the Local Nature Recovery scheme –without the worry that future schemes will be significantly different.

Most new applications for woodland creation payments from 2025 will be made through the Local Nature Recovery scheme. Existing England Woodland Creation Offer agreement holders will be able to transition their maintenance payments from 2026.

Industry reaction

Country Land and Business Association president Mark Tufnell said he was pleased to learn that the England Woodland Creation Offer would continue as part of the Environmental Land Management scheme.

But he added: “Moving this initiative to be incorporated into ELM seems to be the sensible approach. It will, however, be vital that the scheme receives the proper funding required to be effective.

“As the £500m Nature for Climate allocation for trees recognises, the costs of planting and management on the scale the government is seeking will require sustained resources, especially when cumulative management costs are considered. 

“These measures should not be at the expense of equally important priorities and targets under the Environment Act, so the CLA is calling on the government to maintain a separate funding stream for trees.”

Elsoms Trees to unlock woodland potential

A new company aims to increase the supply of broadleaf seedlings to the UK market – boosting the supply of in-demand tree species.

Independent seed breeder Elsoms Seeds has invested in Proven Plants to create Elsoms Trees – a jointly-owned business with the Shearer family. The company brings together the knowledge of Proven Plants with the support and structure of Elsoms.

Under the direction of managing director Rodney Shearer, Elsoms Trees will produce seedlings of harder-to-grow tree species – contributing to the government’s ambitious goal to plant 30,000ha of new woodlands and forests annually by 2025.

Mr Shearer said: “With Elsoms’ strong heritage working with seeds and Proven Plant’s knowledge and experience of the woodland and forestry industries, I know Elsoms Trees will become the go-to supplier for trees where provenance matters.”

The woodland industry has increased its focus on the tree provenance in recent years -– including the challenges arising from the determination of successive governments to increase native woodland planting.

As demand for native trees with UK provenance increases, so does pressure on the supply chain. Elsoms Trees says it will ease this pressure by increasing the quantity of broadleaf trees and increasing the range of UK provenances.