England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

There has been increased interest from clients looking at woodland grants over the last year, whether that be for their own enjoyment, to meet buyers demands or to boost biodiversity and wildlife on their land. The Woodland Creation Grant was always discussed but regularly deemed unachievable, with a minimum area of 5 ha (12.355 acres) for application required.

On the 9^th June 2021, the RPA released the new England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO), a grant available for creating new woodland on areas as small as 1 ha (2.471 acres). This grant is administered by the Forestry Commission and funded through the Nature for Climate Fund.
Open to land owners, tenants, landlords and licensors (those who have management control over the application land), land is eligible if it is in England, is not already classified as woodland, not currently under an existing grant agreement (with more than 5 months left to run at time of EWCO application).

The minimum total area of woodland to be included in EWCO application is 1ha, blocks must be 0.1ha or more in size, with a minimum width of 20m. Funding is available for 100% of standard capital item costs, with the opportunity to receive 10 years of annual Maintenance Payments following completion of the woodland creation, contribution towards actual cost of installing infrastructure and additional contributions when the woodland will deliver public benefits.

Funding is also available to support the costs of designing your woodland creation proposal through the Woodland Planning Grant (WCPG).

Funding decisions can take between 12-20 weeks from the RPA receiving an agreement.

For more information on how the England Woodland Creation Offer could be integrated into your farming business, contact Emily on 07944 680469 or e-mail  emilywynder@fcgagric.com