The Forestry Commission administers three grant schemes that make annual payments to farmers to compensate for the agricultural income foregone as a result of planting new woodlands on their land. See details of these below.
The West Midlands Region has recently assumed management of the East England Farm Woodland Schemes. The areas affected are:
- Norfolk CPH Prefix 28
- Suffolk CPH Prefix 38
- Essex CPH Prefix 13
- Cambridgeshire CPH Prefix 5
- Hertfordshire CPH Prefix 18
- Bedfordshire CPH Prefix 1
If you have a scheme in any of these areas, please be aware that all correspondence should now be forwarded to: West Midlands Regional Office, Forestry Commission, Block B Government Buildings, Whittington Road, Worcester, WR5 2FR
If you require any assistance with any FWS or FWPS in the West Midlands or East England please contact your local Farm Woodlands team
Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS)
This scheme is closed to new applicants. Existing agreements will however, continue until their expiry date.
Farm Woodland Premium Scheme (FWPS) FWPS is part of Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) Mk II & Mk III schemes. This scheme is closed to new applicants. Existing agreements will however, continue until their expiry date.
Farm Woodland Payments (FWP) is part of Woodland Creation Grant, contained within England Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS). This replaces the Woodland Grant Scheme - Farm Woodland Premium Scheme and The Farm Woodland Scheme. EWGS combines Woodland Creation Grants and Farm Woodland Payments in a single scheme.
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 01 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.
For assistance with any EWGS scheme please contact your Local Woodland Officer
