Grants for the forestry sector.
The Forestry Commission in the South East Region is responsible for administering and involved in the awarding of a variety of grants for the forestry and timber sector.
They include:
The Forestry Commission’s English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS)
This is a suite of grants that are available for the management and planting of woodland. Some are target based for specific important and rare species (e.g. Small-leaved Lime) or important areas (e.g. Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and others are more general and apply throughout the South East Region. Details of the EWGS can be found on the Forestry Commission England website English Woodland Grant Scheme.
Grant rates changed in 2009 giving financial improvements to grants including Woodland Imrovement Grant (WIG) and Woodland Planning Grant (WPG). The ewgs grants offer :
- improved standard costs, used to calculate WIG, on average UP BY 20%;
- 80% WIG's in priority areas to improve management access to your wood/s;
- enhanced planning grants to encourage owners to employ a woodland manager to evaluate their woodland;
- up to £3,800 per ha capital grant PLUS annual payments for Farm Woodland and from the Single Payment Scheme for creating new woods near towns and on the Isle of Wight.
For details of the South East Regional targeted grants please refer to 80% WIG Targeted grants for woodland biodiversity.
A regional prospectus has been produced which sets out the budget for the year for each grant type. As each grant has a limited funding level within the region’s budget there is also a Regional Grant Availability page that shows the current status and funds remaining for each grant type.
The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is the current source of funding for farmers, growers and foresters. The grants are administered by South East England Development Agency (SEEDA); the forestry element is delivered in partnership with the Forestry Commission.
There are 3 elements of RDPE that can be accessed:
- Funded training courses are available to the forestry sector
- LEADER provides funding for projects where the grant amount required is less than £50,000. Applicants need to have their business based within a LEADER area, see the map on the SEEDA website or use the SEEDA postcode tool on the same web page.
- Forestry and woodfuel projects for businesses not in a LEADER area or where the grant requested is greater than £50,000 – these applications are dealt with by the Forestry Commission in partnership with SEEDA. Projects may involve the purchase of capital items for woodland management or adding value, or relate to business development, e.g. product development and marketing costs.
For further details please see our page on RDPE Funding
To detemine which fund to apply to please download our Funding Opportunities for Forestry in the South East (pdf:782kb), which contains a flowchart directing you to the appropriate fund.
The South East Woodland and Timber Fund (SEWTF) is Closed
RDPE is an important opportunity for woodland owners, contractors and micro-enterprises to receive up to 50% funding for their projects. There are various rules and guidelines regarding the eligibility of the applicant and the project activity.
