Farm Woodlands
The Forestry Commission administers three schemes that make annual payments to farmers to compensate for the agricultural income foregone as a result of planting woodlands.
Background
The administration of FWS and FWPS was transferred from Natural England to the Forestry Commission on 26 March 2007. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs authorised the FC to perform these functions in an agreement made under Part 8 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
The transfer involved the migration of over 10000 files into the Forestry Commission’s electronic administration system. A new IT system was required to keep the schemes compliant with the rules that enable the scheme to be funded by the EU. The first stage of the migration involved the cleansing of the data received from the previous IT system.
Farm Woodland Scheme and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
The Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS) and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS) are closed to new applicants. Existing agreements will however, continue until their expiry date.
English Woodland Grant Scheme - Farm Woodland Payments
The English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) opened in 2005. It replaced the Woodland Grant Scheme and Farm Woodland Premium Scheme. EWGS combines Woodland Creation Grants and Farm Woodland Payments in a single scheme. Details of current grants are available from the Woodland Creation Grant page.
