Grants for the West Midlands
Welcome to the West Midlands Region grants page. Our Woodland Officers are here to advise you on forestry issues and opportunities of the day, and with their administration support officers, will deliver all aspects of Grants and Regulations within the forestry sector in your part of the West Midlands Region. English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) is the Forestry Commission's programme to support forestry and woodland projects in England. The objectives of EWGS are to sustainably create and manage woodlands, and to maintain and increase delivery of public benefits within woodland. The main grant projects that are available to woodland owners and managers are detailed on the English Woodland Grant Scheme pages. EWGS is supported via the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and grants are paid as a contribution towards the cost of providing appropriate public benefit through woodlands. Work carried out with EWGS grant support must meet the criteria set out in the UK Forestry Standard (PDF 974kb), the national guide to the practice of sustainable forestry. West Midlands - Grants Prospectus
The Forestry Commission is waiting for Defra and RDPE budget confirmation for financial year 2009/2010 and beyond, so the national and regional EWGS budget allocations have not been finalised. Despite this, we opened for EWGS applications in May 2008 to retain industry confidence and business continuity. This webpage will be updated when budget settlements have been confirmed. Please refer to the England Prospectuses and Grant Availability webpage for further information. Please Note: For enquiries relating to the Peak District National Park (Staffs) or The National Forest (Staffs), grant availability is supported through the East Midlands Regional Prospectus, and follows East Midlands regional prospectus rules, terms and conditions and is subject to East Midlands Region grant availability. Application enquiries should be made to the local Woodland Officer. Challenge Grant opportunities (2008) in the West Midlands Region
Forest School Challenge WIG - West Midlands Forest School is an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning experiences in a local woodland environment.
A £180,000 grant fund has been secured by the Forestry Commission to support the concept of Forest Schools in the West Midlands region. This Challenge WIG fund will be disbursed through annual competition by the end of Financial Year 2010 - 11, in line with the Regional Prospectus. For each year of the project, applications must be received by the closing date indicated on the Forest Schools page, and will be judged against the criteria laid out in the Challenge Guidance Notes. Recreating the Wyre Forest Landscape WIG (PDF 1190K)
Wyre Forest is one of the largest continuous blocks of semi-natural ancient woodland in the country, and as such is defined as a high priority area for nature conservation. Over 60% of the forest area is designated as an SSSI, and 50% is National Nature Reserve due to the presence of a diverse range of rare flora and fauna. The Grow with Wyre Scheme is a £3.8m Landscape Partnership project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and partners, that aims to restore this special forest area. A £180,000 grant fund has been developed by the Forestry Commission to support the Grow with Wyre project. This WIG fund will be disbursed through annual grant allocations by the end of Financial Year 2010 - 11, in line with the Regional Prospectus. Previous Challenge Grant opportunities in the West Midlands Region Woodlands and Health Challenge WIG (pilot)
West Midlands Region was the first to pilot the Woodlands and Health Challenge grant in England in 2004-2005. The pilot project aimed to encourage more people to become active and use local woodlands to help improve their health through exercise, and centred on proposals that linked with the Walking for Health Initiative. The pilot, now complete, was targeted at four areas in the West Midlands that ranked poorly for general health in the National Census 2001. This Grant is now closed for new applications. Evaluation of this Pilot can be found on the Forest Research web page
Customer and Land Registration
EU regulations that came into force in 2007 have introduced new requirements for applications and payments made under the Rural Development Plan for England (RDPE). In England the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) maintain the customer and land register. From 1st April 2008, all applicants and the land being entered into England Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) during 2008 should be registered on the Rural Land Register (RLR) and have a Single Business Identifier number (SBI) for each 'beneficiary' prior to entering the application. The Forestry Commission will continue to accept applications but will not be able to process these applications until registration with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is completed. Other funding sources
In addition to EWGS, there are other funding sources: Environmental Stewardship is an agri-environment scheme that provides funding to farmers and other land managers in England who deliver effective environmental management on their land. It is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE). Its primary objectives are to conserve wildlife (biodiversity), maintain and enhance landscape quality and character, protect the historic environment and natural resources and promote public access and understanding of the countryside. The FC has produced further guidance available from the Funding for Farm Woodland in England page. The Energy Crops Scheme offers grants to farmers in England for the establishment of miscanthus and short rotation coppice. It is part of the Rural Development Programme for England. Funding for social and economic investment in woodland will be available from Regional Development Agencies in due course, under Axis 1 & 3 of the Rural Development Plan for England (RDPE). There are a variety of other funding sources available for woodland creation and management. The Royal Forestry Society has produced a guide called Grants for Trees that lists over 50 funding sources Legacy Schemes
There is information about the Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) if you need to make a claim or an amendment. This scheme is now closed so new applicants should follow the EWGS link.
Details on Farm Woodland Premium Schemes (FWPS) and Farm Woodland Schemes (FWS) are available via the Farm Woodlands section.
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