We are open for EWGS Applications
Please refer to the England Prospectuses and Grant Availability webpage for further information.
The Region’s grant availability for 2010-2011 is £5,200,000. This is a significant improvement on the early years of EWGS for the Region. This improvement has occurred firstly because we in the Region had locked up a lot of the Region’s annual budget allocated from the central England budget as approved Woodland Grants Schemes. These are now tailing off as each contract ends releasing new funds for new applications. Secondly the funding agreed between the FC and Defra allowed for funding to rise year-on-year within the current spending round.
In the Region we allocate a budget for each type of grant we offer. This information is displayed on our grant availability page. We do this so that we can target our grants to a range of options and woodlands rather than allowing any one grant type to soak up all the available funding for the Region. However if uptake is poor in any one grant type we have the flexibility to move funds around and regularly do so towards the end of a year. So keep checking the availability page.
The only grants that are constrained within fixed budget limits are the Woodland Regeneration Grant and the Woodland Management Grant for Public Access.
Target Landscapes
This year we have extended our target landscapes funding within the prospectus. We are offering higher levels of grant in the target areas, which can be viewed here, for specific actions in woodland to promote rare or endangered species and habitats.
Target Woods
Creation grant this year has also been targeted within the Region. We have the usual grants available for planting new woods that provide a range of benefits. In addition this year and for the next two we are targeting new woodland planting around areas in the Region where there is a lack of available green space for permissive access. A map of the areas can be found here. In these areas provided informal access is provided an additional £2000 per hectare can be claimed as a top up grant (Additional Contribution) on top of the usual funding level offer for the type of woodland being planted, for providing a good woodland experience for local people.
As well as these areas on the Isle of Wight there is a new planting additional contribution grant of £2000 per hectare for two target areas where woodland links are needed for the red squirrel. Further information is available here.
Improved Grant Levels
To reflect the increase in cost for a lot of activities that are funded through EWGS, this year our Standard Costs have increased by as much as 20% in most cases. You can view Operational Note 009: Standard Costs for the costs we use here. Standard Costs are used to set the level of grant for both Woodland Improvement and Management operations. They are reviewed centrally and applied to England as a whole.
