South East Woodland and Timber Fund (SEWTF)

 

An Opportunity for supporting the timber supply chain in the South East

The SEWTF is a fund for the forestry and timber sector to secure the management of the South East’s woodland through strengthening the supply chain and products available from the region’s woodland. It is funded by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), but is managed by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the Forestry and Woodlands Partnership (FWP).   Applications for funding will be considered by an assessment panel who will then select the projects to receive funding.

The SEWTF will complement the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) support for primary woodland products, woodfuel and skills training.

What are the aims of this fund?

• to add value to timber products
• to improve linkages in the supply chain
• to build the market for local wood products
• to increase the skills of workers in the industry through training
• to improve the economic viability of forestry businesses
• to apply best practice across the region and, where appropriate, to encourage collaborative working

These objective of these aims is to increase the economic viability of woodland related businesses and therefore the amount of woodland being actively managed.

What kind of activities and projects will the SEWTF fund?

The assessment panel will be looking for projects that contribute towards the aims of the fund.  Both SEEDA and the FWP have objectives which they wish to see the fund support. 

The following are the types of projects that could be supported by the fund:

• Investment in processing equipment
• Work based training
• Marketing and Promotion of the use of timber
• Market research to widen the use of timber in the region
• Training in business and marketing skills

Who can apply for funding?

• Applicants must have their business based in South East England
• The Applicant’s business must be primarily concerned with using or promoting forestry and woodland products from the region
• The Applicant may be asked for a business plan to justify the expenditure for projects requesting funding greater than £10,000; all applicants should have a business case to support their request.

For more information on the SEWTF and for guidance for applications, please download the SEWTF Application Guide.

If you have a potential project in mind and would like to apply for funding please download and complete an application form:

• If you are able to open MS Word Documents and would like to complete the form on your computer please download the MS Word Application Form, (734kb) complete the form and email it to the email address below.
• If you want to fill out the form by hand or do not have MS Word on your computer, please download and print this Application Form.  Please send the completed form to the Alice Holt address below.

If you have difficulty with any of these forms, please contact the Forestry Framework Officer using the contact details below.

Closing dates for the next Applications is 17th October 2008.

If you would like further information please contact:
Melanie Wallis
Regional Forestry Framework Officer
Forestry Commission South East England Region
Alice Holt
Wrecclesham
Farnham
Surrey GU10 4LF