Create a lasting legacy that benefits you and future generations. You could get up to £13,000 for every hectare of new woodland you plant in England. Tree planting offers opportunities to diversify, generate extra income, increase farm productivity, and enhance your land – while complementing food production.
Are you looking to diversify your business with new land uses? Why not create woodland on your marginal or unproductive land?
Our grants can help you with the cost of planting and managing trees. Whatever your plans, we can help you grow and manage trees in a way that meets your needs.
There are longer-term payments to help you maintain your new woodland too. In future, you could transfer to an environmental land management scheme. When you do, you won’t need to repay the current funding. There’s no need to delay planting trees.
The Forestry Commission offers a range of grants for woodland creation. The grants cover tree planting, planning, maintenance, and tree health. They are available for farmers, landowners, public bodies, local authorities and environmental groups.
The England Woodland Creation Offer recognises the social and environmental benefits of woodlands. It offers financial incentives to help you plant the right tree, in the right place, for the right reason.
From creating large mixed woodlands, to a strip of trees along a riverbank, you just need a hectare of land. And that can be made up of smaller plots – from 10m wide and 0.1 hectares for some projects.
The grant covers standard capital costs up to £10,200 per hectare for tree planting. This includes buying saplings and installing fences or other protection. It could also cover costs associated with natural colonisation. That’s where you encourage trees to establish from naturally dispersed seeds.
Get extra money for woodland creation that benefits people. You could get paid to increase public access to your land or to plant trees close to communities.
And there’s more money for woodland creation that benefits wildlife and improves nature recovery. You can also get funding to grow trees that help reduce flood risk or improve water quality.
Each of the extra payments could be worth from £400 to £2,800 per hectare.
We’ll also contribute £350 per hectare towards maintenance costs for up to 10 years. And you could generate extra, long-term income through carbon credits. That’s a way to sell the carbon that gets locked up by your trees.
Combine any of these extra payments and you could get up to £13,000 for every hectare of new woodland you plant.
You can apply at any time of the year.
Whatever your plans, we can help you plant and manage trees in a way that meets your needs.
Regional organisations also offer funding, grants and advice to support tree planting and management. They all work to get more trees in the ground across England. If you prefer a local approach then contact one of our partners:
If you have land in one of the areas covered by these partners, you could get local funding and support with tree planting.
Woodlands on your farmland can:
By planting trees on your land, you can help to change England’s landscapes and treescapes for the better. Trees can generate revenue to help improve your land and business. And your business will be better equipped to meet future environmental challenges.
John and Tom Anderson have planted trees on their family farm – along the bank of the River Wansbeck. The trees soak up excess nutrients before they run into the river.
Steve Ramshaw planted trees – in small blocks of the least productive land around his farm. The trees offer shelter to his sheep during lambing season. And he makes a substantial income from selling the timber.
The Forestry Commission, England’s Community Forests and other partners are all specialists. We’ll make sure you plant the right trees in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons. And we can help you to decide which grant is right for you.
Our support and advice can help you make the right decisions for you and your land.
Our local woodland creation officers and other specialists will help you with your application and at every step of the way.
And they’ll guide you through the Forestry Commission’s regulatory processes.
There’s online guidance about tree planting and woodland creation too.
