Grants

 

Grants for the forestry sector.
The Forestry Commission in the South East Region is responsible for administering and awarding 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.   

For details of the South East Regional targeted grants please refer to 80% WIG Targeted grants for woodland biodiversity.

A regional prospectus will be produced soon which will set  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 grant availability page that shows the current status of each grant type within the region.  This can be viewed at Prospectus SE 2008

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is a new source of funding for farmers, growers and foresters.  The grants are administered by South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) although the Forestry Commission can provide support and guidance to applicants where proposals are for forestry or woodfuel related projects.  For further details please see our page on RDPE Funding 

The South East Woodland and Timber Fund (SEWTF) is a further grant stream that is administered by the Forestry Commission.  The funding is provided by SEEDA and aims to compliment activity that is not eligible under RDPE.  The fund is mainly aimed at helping to add value to woodland products beyond the forest gate.  Further details of this grant can be found at South East Woodland and Timber Fund (SEWTF)

Both RDPE and SEWTF offer an opportunity to woodland owners, contractors and micro-enterprises to receive up to 50% funding for their projects.  There are various rules and guidelines regarding eligibility of applicant and activity.