All grant aid under the Better Woodlands for Wales scheme is based upon work agreed in a management plan prepared by a management planner on behalf of a woodland owner.
Management planners are responsible for advising you about the requirements and benefits of the BWW scheme and relating these to your woodland objectives. They also submit a BWW application on your behalf using our grant and licences online system. The preparation of a management plan requires specialist skills and experience of forestry and woodland management. Management planners who possess these skills can be found on our list of approved management planners. All management planners must abide by our Code of Practice. You will need to appoint a management planner from our approved list if you wish to make a BWW application.
The management plan preparation grant contributes towards the cost of employing a management planner and can also contribute towards costs which may be incurred if the services of a specialist assessor are required. Specialist assessors are experts capable of carrying out the type of specialist assessment work required, for example, a woodland ecology assessment. The management planner and FCW will decide together whether specialist assessors will need to be appointed during preparation of the management plan. Like management planners, specialist assessors have to be approved by ourselves and abide by our Code of Practice.
You do not have to apply for the management plan preparation grant yourself your management planner will do this as part of your BWW application.
Many factors may influence the actual costs of preparing a plan for particular woodland and we cannot guarantee that the grant will cover the full cost. When a management planner identifies that a management plan will cost more to prepare than the grant aid available, they need to bring this to your attention. You must then decide whether to cover the shortfall or withdraw.
When is grant paid?
Grant is paid after FCW approval of the management plan and the plan of operations AND after you have approved the management plan, signed the plan of operations contract and any associated felling licenses. There are no interim payments. You should specify where and to whom the management plan preparation grant will be paid.
Grant rates
Total grant that we pay for preparation of a management plan consists of a number of payments for the work of management planners and payments for the work of specialist assessors.
Severance Payments
A BWW application is a phased process ultimately concluding in the final preparation of a management plan and plan of operations agreed to by the woodland owner and the FCW. Part of this process involves the preparation of an initial foundation plan which sets out objectives for the next part of the process.
If you cannot agree to the FCW terms and conditions set out in the foundation plan report then the application process will stop and a management plan will NOT be prepared. In such cases we pay a severance fee directly to the management planner IF the foundation plan report meets FCW standards AND the management planner has made reasonable efforts to resolve your concerns.
