Better Woodlands for Wales (BWW) - How to apply
Only management planners, approved by FC Wales, can make BWW applications. The management planner will, with your agreement, create a management plan for your woodland. This will allow you to claim financial help for the work required. Customer Reference Number (CRN)
Before we can approve your BWW management plan and issue you with a grant contract, you will need to provide us with a Customer Reference Number (CRN), issued by the Rural Payments Division of the Welsh Assembly Government. This is because BWW grants will be partly funded by the European Union through the 2007-2013 Rural Development Plan for Wales and will be subject to some new rules. One of these is that all beneficiaries of grants, funded through the Rural Development Plan in Wales, must have a unique Customer Reference Number (CRN.) Each CRN will be linked to a set of payee details to which all grant payments will be directed. If you do not have a CRN you will need to register for one before we are able to approve your BWW management plan and issue you with a grant contract. To register, you will need to contact your local Welsh Assembly Divisional Office and request a copy of the relevant forms. The Forestry Commission cannot undertake registration on your behalf. The first step is in this process is to complete the application form and provide maps so you can be issued with a County Parish Holding Number (CPH) for your woodlands. Following this you will then be issued with a CRN and be required to complete a Customer Details form - CD(W). If you are a farmer receiving the single farm payment or if you take part in an agri-environment scheme, such as Tir Gofal, you will already have a CRN. (The number starts with the letter A and is followed by seven digits: e.g. A0044267). For further details, please see the CRN letter to applicants (Adobe Acrobat™ PDF - 132k) To make an application for a BWW grant you will need to do the following: Step 1 - Employ the services of a FCW approved management planner.
If you already have a woodland manager or agent, they may be one of our approved management planners. If they are not, you will need to appoint one from our list. Management planners are woodland managers and agents that have the necessary specialist knowledge and IT skills required to prepare a BWW management plan using our grants and licences online service. They can also provide you with advice on BWW grants that are available, including grants to pay for their services. You may wish to employ a management planner only to prepare the BWW management plan and employ your current agent or woodland manager to carry out the work to implement it, or alternatively the management planner may do this work for you too. Step 2 - The management planner works out woodland proposals with you and starts work on your BWW grant application to create and submit a foundation plan. BWW grants are awarded after the successful creation of a management plan approved by the FCW and the woodland owner. Creating a BWW grant application is a phased process, with each phase building more information into the management plan. The first part of this process involves creating a foundation plan to see if initial woodland proposals are viable. The foundation plan covers issues such: - Finding out about and checking the woodland to see whether it contains ancient monuments or Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). As part of this process we request information from other organisations.
- Key objectives – setting out what your plans are for the management of your woodland.
- Key issues – factors or points of significant interest.
- Stakeholders and Consultees – identifying others who might have an interest in your woodland proposals.
(see BWW Consultation Procedures) - Details the amount of Management Plan Preparation Grant available and states how much the management planner will charge and what costs this grant will cover.
Step 3 - Decide if you want to proceed to the next phase or not. At this point you can decide whether to proceed or not with your application. If you don't want to proceed we pay the management planner a severance fee. There is no obligation upon you to do anything further. If you decide to proceed then you must enter into a contract with the management planner. We have certain clauses that must be included but you can also add your own specific arrangements including to whom we should pay the management plan preparation grant. Step 4 - Approval and assessment of the management plan. The management planner proceeds through the remaining phases building more detail into the management plan. During this time your management planner will liase with you to ensure your proposals are being correctly represented and with others who have a valid interest in your work proposals. When the final version of the management plan is ready you must approve it BEFORE it is submitted to us for consideration. We then assess the submitted management plan for compliance to UKWAS standards and other forestry regulations. We check costs and ensure that work proposals provide good value for grant aid and adhere to sound working practices. If necessary we will also confirm any operations or conditions that we consider mandatory. If we approve your application we sign the management plan and your management planner submits it to you for your signature. Step 5 – Signature of the management plan and issue of the plan of operations. If you are happy with the management plan once it has been assessed you must sign it and let us know to whom we need to pay the management plan preparation grant. Finally we will issue you with a plan of operations contract that sets out all the operations, grants and licences for the following five years that we have agreed so that you can implement the management plan. You do not need to rewrite the management plan at the end of five years, but you must review and update the plan of operations. You can get more detailed information about this process in the Guide for Woodland Owners.
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