Countryside Stewardship (CS) is a national scheme in England that provides financial support to manage, restore, and enhance existing woodland, as well as to protect priority habitats and improve biodiversity. It offers a mix of revenue payments for annual management activities and capital grants for one-off infrastructure works to help land managers maintain woodlands to a high environmental standard.

Applications are open annually, and agreements run for five or ten years, depending on the options chosen. Landowners, tenants, and land managers can apply either as individuals or as part of a group agreement.

Funding is available for:

• Woodland Improvement (CWD2) at £127 per hectare per year for 10 years
• Grey squirrel control and management (CWS3) at £60 per hectare per year for 10 years
• Deer control and management (CWS1) at £105 per hectare per year for 10 years
• Restoring wood pasture and parkland (CWD21) at £371 per hectare per year for 10 years
• Veteran tree surgery (TE17) at £488 per tree per intervention (up to 2 per tree**, within a 3-year period**)
• Management and restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) supplement (CWS2) at £275 per hectare per year for 10 years(used in combination with CWD2)
• Management of native woodland including ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW) supplement (CWS8) at £144 per hectare per year for 10 years(used in combination with CWD2)
• Capital items such as fencing, gates, deer high seats, deer exclosures, and access tracks

CS agreements are typically delivered through the Higher Tier, and most woodland options require a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS)-compliant Woodland Management Plan (WMP) approved by the Forestry Commission.

The tree health pilot (THP) scheme is testing different ways of slowing the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. It expands on support available through the Woodland Tree Health grant.

There are grants available for:

• Larch trees with Phytophthora ramorum
• Spruce trees with a Statutory Plant Health Notice (SPHN) for Ips typographus or that are growing in the proactive spruce removal area
• Sweet chestnut trees with Phytophthora ramorum or sweet chestnut blight
• Oak trees with oak processionary moth (OPM)
• Ash trees with ash dieback

Note: the spruce grant is currently paused for new applications, though SPHN-related applications remain open.

The pilot scheme was initially intended as a 3-year scheme (August 2021 – August 2024). However, it has been extended until 31 March 2029, ensuring there is no gap in support as tree health funding transitions into environmental land management schemes.

Trees or woodlands eligible for this support must be in the following regions:

• North West
• West Midlands
• South East
• London

Spruce trees are also eligible anywhere in England where Ips typographus has been confirmed with an SPHN or within the proactive spruce removal area.

You can apply as an individual or on behalf of other people for a group grant for example, if you are from a local council, a charity, or a land agent. The minimum funding value of THP is £500.

Contact Mike Chapman and Peter Topham

The Woodland Management Plan (WMP) Grant is a capital grant under the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme. It provides a one-off payment to create a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant 10-year Woodland Management Plan.

This grant is available to land managers, including owner-occupiers, tenants, landlords, and licensors, who have management control of the land.

The payment rates are based on the total area of eligible woodland, with a flat rate of £1,500 for areas between 0.5 to 50 hectares, £1,500 plus £30 per additional hectare for areas between 51 to 100 hectares, and £3,000 plus £15 per additional hectare for areas over 100 hectares.

The WMP must cover all woodland on the holding and be approved by the Forestry Commission (FC). Applications are open year-round, subject to budget availability.

The Woodland Tree Health (WTH) grants are a family of capital grants that provide support for Woodland Tree Health Restoration and/or Woodland Tree Health Improvement. There are 18 capital grants available through the WTH scheme.

If you are a land manager, you can apply for a Woodland Tree Health grant to support one or both of the following:

• The restocking of trees after tree felling to manage infection from certain tree diseases or pests.
• The removal of diseased trees and rhododendron infected with either Phytophthora ramorum, Phytophthora pluvialis or Phytophthora kernoviae.
• Applications for the Woodland Tree Health Grant are open year-round.

Minimum application size is 0.5 ha, and land entered into the scheme must be registered to your RPA account. You can apply for a WTH grant on land parcels which already have an existing Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship or Sustainable Farming Incentive agreement, but may not include any work which is already required by the existing scheme or is a breach of the conditions of the existing agreement. There is a need for those applying for this grant to ensure their land is eligible and not in any schemes that would exclude applications. Information on specific requirements and exclusions to eligibility can be found here.

The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) is Forestry Commission funding that supports landowners, land managers and public bodies (excluding Forestry England) to prepare a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS), compliant woodland creation design plan for new woodland in England. Tenants may apply with landowner consent, and landscape scale applications across multiple holdings are eligible with written landowner support. Applications are open year round.

Eligible proposals must be located in England and cover a minimum of 5 hectares in total. Where sites are split into blocks, each block must meet the National Forest Inventory definition of woodland (minimum 0.5 ha and 20 m width). For cross border schemes, Stage 2 funding is only paid on land in England. Applicants are not eligible where they have already applied for the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) or submitted an EIA enquiry for woodland creation on the same site. As of 11 February 2026, previous applications under Countryside Stewardship, the Woodland Carbon Fund or the HS2 Woodland Fund no longer exclude applicants.

WCPG is paid in two stages, with total funding capped at £30,500 per project:

• Stage 1: £1,500 fixed payment for a desk based assessment of constraints and opportunities.
• Stage 2: £150 per hectare, minus the £1,500 paid at Stage 1, to produce the site appraisal, design concept and final UKFS compliant woodland creation design plan. Stage 2 is only offered where Stage 1 confirms scheme potential.

Designs may include more than 20% open space where required, but Stage 2 funding is capped at the net planting area plus 20%; additional open space is not funded.

Supplementary payments are available where Stage 1 identifies the need for specialist surveys, including peat depth, breeding birds, vegetation/habitats, deer impact assessment, and archaeological (analytical and geophysical) surveys. Work must not start until a signed Stage 1 or Stage 2 agreement is in place.

For applications submitted, consultation and EIA screening are incorporated into Stage 2, with proposals published on the Consultation Public Register for 21 days and reviewed by a County Archaeologist. Where the proposal does not materially change and the EIA decision remains valid, this decision can be carried forward into a subsequent EWCO application without being repeated.

The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) is the Forestry Commission's principal grant for the creation of new woodland in England. It supports landowners, farmers and managers to establish new woodland of at least 1.0 hectare (with a minimum block size of 0.1 ha) that meets the UK Forestry Standard, contributing to Defra's wider environmental priorities including carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery, flood mitigation and water quality. EWCO is delivered as a year-round, rolling offer, with future funding continuing to be subject to government decisions as part of Defra's Environmental Improvement Plan delivery.

EWCO agreements run for 15 years and provide three layers of funding. First, a capital contribution of up to £10,200/ha towards establishment costs, including site preparation, tree supply, planting and protection (e.g. tree guards, fencing), paid as two milestone payments during the establishment phase. Second, annual maintenance payments of £400/ha for 15 years to support woodland through to canopy closure. Third, a menu of Additional Contributions totalling £12,700/ha that can be stacked where eligible to reward higher public benefit outcomes:

• Nature Recovery: between £1,100 and £3,300/ha, with different rates depending on location for woodlands designed to deliver high biodiversity outcomes.
• Low-sensitivity land: £1,100/ha for planting on lower-sensitivity agricultural land.
• Flood risk management: £1000/ha for planting that helps reduce downstream flood risk.
• Water quality: £500/ha for planting that protects watercourses.
• Riparian buffers: £2,500/ha for woodland creation alongside watercourses.
• Close to settlements: £600/ha for woodland created near towns and cities to support access and wellbeing.
• Recreational access: £3,700/ha for permissive access provision, with a separate higher recreational access infrastructure contribution of up to £15,000 per project for additional access infrastructure such as signage, paths and parking.

EWCO also pays Annual Maintenance Payments linked to the supplements claimed, paid for 15 years following the establishment period (for example, £400/ha/year for Nature Recovery sites), providing a long-term income profile alongside the carbon and wider environmental benefits of the new woodland.

Larger schemes can be supported through the WCPG, which provides £1,500 at Stage 1 and, where the site has potential, £150/ha at Stage 2 minus the Stage 1 payment, with total funding capped at £30,500 per project. EWCO is also compatible with the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) and Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG), allowing carbon revenue to be layered on top of grant income, provided supplements are not double-funded.

Land must be in England, and applicants must own the land or have management control for the full 15-year agreement. Schemes must meet the UK Forestry Standard, with restrictions on planting on deep peat, priority habitats and designated archaeological features, and consultation requirements for schemes within or affecting SSSIs, SPAs, SACs, Ramsar sites and Ancient Woodland. EWCO sits alongside the Tree Health Pilot for pest and disease management and Woodland Management Plan / Woodland Improvement Grants for post-establishment management of the new woodland.

For more details and advice, please contact Mark Townsend or Mark Gordon

The Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) will support the creation of new woodlands, contributing towards the Scottish Government target of 18,000 hectares of new woodlands per year from 2024/25, and the sustainable management of existing woodlands.

The indicative budget for 2026/27 is £58.65m, an increase of £5.65m on the previous year. The additional funding has been directed towards Woodland Creation budgets to deliver up to 12,000 hectares of new woodland in 2026/27. The Woodland Creation budget categories have also been simplified, with the "50ha and above (Reduced Grant Requirement)" category merged into the standard "50ha and above" category, although Reduced Grant Requirement applications continue to be welcomed. A further £300,000 has been reallocated to support woodland expansion through natural regeneration, and £100,000 to expand support for native woodland management under the Sustainable Management of Forests category.

There are eight categories to claim under:

• Woodland Creation – support for new woodland.
• Agroforestry – creation of small-scale woodlands to allow for an integrated approach between trees and agricultural land use.
• Woodland Improvement Grant – supports a range of activities in existing woodland including natural regeneration, forest plans and deer management plans.
• Sustainable Management of Forests – payments available for improving public access, woodland grazing, livestock exclusion, native woodland management and animal control in existing woodlands.
• Tree Health – provides support to prevent the spread of Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum).
• Harvesting and Processing – supports investment in harvesting equipment, specialist equipment for forest tree nurseries and mobile timber processing. An additional application round has been introduced for 2026, with applications invited by 31 July 2026 for projects that can be completed by 31 March 2027.
• Forest Infrastructure – capital grant operations for the construction of new forest infrastructure for existing woodlands.
• Forestry Co-operation – grant support of £250 per day is available for up to 40 days, or up to 10 days for small-scale (<10ha) woodland creation schemes, to support the cost of a project co-ordinator for the feasibility and consolidation stages.

Please contact Andy Greathead

There are five options:

1. Planning

This covers Long Term Forest Plans, Forest Plan Renewal, Woodlands In and Around Towns (WIAT), Urban Woodland Management Plans, Woodland Grazing Plans, Deer Management Plans.

2. Habitats and Species 

This provides support for capital work that will benefit a range of priority habitats and species, as defined in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and European Directives. It is aimed at improving the condition of native woodlands and restoring Plantations on Ancient Woodland sites to native woodland.

3. Restructuring Regeneration

This is for restocking and improving diversity in existing woodland.

4. Low Impact Silvicultural Systems (LISS)

This aims to facilitate the transformation of forest stands to low impact silvicultural systems (LISS). A low impact silvicultural system is a type of woodland management that helps to increase species and structural diversity. It normally causes less rapid change to the landscape and to the physical environment than clear felling systems and so can help the landowner meet multi-purpose objectives. In the context of climate change, varied silvicultural systems will increase the resilience of forests and may limit the damage caused by extreme events such as gales or pest outbreaks.

5. Woodlands In and Around Towns (WIAT)

This option aims to provide support for operations that will contribute to the sustainable management of urban woodlands and provide a range of public benefits. Urban woodlands are those located within one kilometre of settlements with a population of over 2,000 people. Grant support is provided for applications that can: 

• Bring neglected woodlands into management.
• Develop opportunities to use and enjoy existing and newly created woodlands.
• Enhance woodland sites supported under previous programmes.

More information on grant payments available here.

Sustainability underpins modern forestry. It means more than just replanting trees to replace those that we harvest. It also means thinking about the long-term impact of altering an area of forest and responsibly producing a valuable resource whilst preserving forests for future generations.

This option is designed to support a range of activities in existing forests and woodlands with a high environmental value. There are nine options in this category and each has a specific rate associated with it. From 2026, holders of certain options, including LISS, Native Woodland, Woodland Grazing, and Species Conservation options, must submit annual monitoring evidence to their local Scottish Forestry Conservancy office in order to receive payment.

For information on grant payments, please visit: 

https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/forestry-grant-scheme/

This option provides support for new access infrastructure that will bring small scale, undermanaged or inaccessible existing woodlands back into active management with the following aims:

• To improve the economic value of forest and woodland through timber production.
• To increase the area of woodland in Scotland that is in sustainable management.
• To improve the environmental and social benefits of woodland.

This option is limited to existing woodlands of up to 50 hectares in size. Woodlands over 50 hectares that include areas of native woodland (as shown on the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland) not producing timber may still be eligible, as long as the productive woodland area is less than 50 hectares. One off capital payments are available through this option to pay for operations associated with creating new forest infrastructure. For information on payments, please visit:

https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/forestry-grant-scheme/

This option supports the development of the small-scale premium softwood and hardwood harvesting and processing sector. It supports investment in new specialised equipment with the aim of:

• Helping to bring woodlands into management.
• Promoting the economic and sustainable production of timber and timber products through processing.
• Adding value to local economies on a non-industrial scale.
• Providing support to facilitate and support diversification and to assist with the creation of new small enterprises and related employment.

The scheme also supports investment in new specialised equipment for forest tree nurseries and seed supply businesses, afforestation ground preparation and forestry fencing projects, and deer management in Scotland's rainforest and Caledonian pinewoods.

Grant support is based on actual cost with a maximum contribution of 40 per cent. In any single application, the minimum grant award will be £2,500 and the maximum will be £50,000. For secondary processing equipment, the minimum is £1,000 and the maximum is £6,000.

The Scottish Tree health option provides support to prevent the spread of Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum). This option helps with the restoration of forests affected by P. ramorum by supporting the work to remove affected trees and carry out subsequent replanting. Grant support consists of a number of standard cost capital items. These are available for work to help prevent the spread of disease and restore affected woodlands. Your site must have a Statutory Plant Health Notice served on it that specifically requires the site to be cleared within a defined timescale.

There are nine grant support options for woodland creation, each with specific requirements for composition and stocking densities. These are:

• Conifer (predominantly Sitka spruce)
• Diverse conifer (species other than Sitka)
• Broadleaves (productive species at high stocking)
• Native Scots pine
• Native upland birch
• Native broadleaves
• Native low density
• Small or Farm woodland (mixed woodlands less than 10ha)
• Northern & Western Isles

For further information, please visit:

https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/forestry-grant-scheme/

Sheep and Trees is an initiative aimed at identifying and raising awareness of the many opportunities woodland can bring to farmers and land managers.

This initiative is not aimed at a target area but is available to upland livestock farmers where sheep are a major component and who will continue to farm. The new woodland must be between 10 hectares and 50 hectares of productive conifer woodland using the ‘Conifer’ or ‘Diverse Conifer’ options. This package is therefore limited to 50 hectares per application.

The Sheep and Trees grant package brings together two different elements of the Forestry Grant Scheme and so enables applications for both woodland creation and forest infrastructure. Planting woodland on eligible land will not impact the applicant’s Basic Payments.

Applicants will also be able to graze the new woodland once the trees are mature enough to avoid browsing damage.

The Small Woodlands Loan Scheme (SWLS) is aimed at small farmers, crofters and other small landowners to assist with the costs of implementing new Woodland Creation schemes.

The loan provides 50% of the value of the capital items for the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) contracts (not including The Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) supplement values where this is present) that contain up to 50 hectares of woodland creation, rounded up to the nearest £100, up to a maximum value of £40,000 per application.

This loan is effectively an advance on your approved FGS woodland creation capital grant and repayment is netted off from your subsequent FGS grant payment when claimed. Where a loan is taken, applicants will generally be required to claim Forestry Grant Scheme capital items in a single claim.

Agroforestry is an integrated approach to land management where trees and agriculture co-exist to provide multiple benefits. This option provides grant support to help create agroforestry systems within grazing pasture land (silvopastoral) or on arable land (silvoarable).

The trees can:

• Provide shelter and shade for livestock
• Provide timber (where timber broadleaves are chosen)
• Increase biodiversity
• Enhance the landscape
• Sequester carbon
• Reduce soil erosion and wind speed
• Mitigate flooding
• Improve soil infiltration rates
• Produce fruit or nuts to diversify farm income (where fruit/nut trees are chosen)

Grant structure: this option offers (i) an initial capital payment and (ii) an annual maintenance payment for five years.

Two planting densities (and rates) apply:

• 300–400 trees/ha: £5,400/ha initial + £126/ha/year maintenance
• 150–200 trees/ha: £2,790/ha initial + £72/ha/year maintenance

The Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) is a development within the National Planning Framework. It aims to restore and transform the landscape, whilst making a significant contribution to Scotland’s sustainable economic development.

If successful in applying for a woodland creation grant, you could also receive an additional grant called the CSGN Contribution. The CSGN Contribution is a capital item paid in addition to the woodland creation initial planting payment.

Grant rates :

• CSGN Core Area Contribution: £2,500/ha, available to woodland creation proposals within the CSGN Contribution Area, eligible on up to 40 hectares per application.
• CSGN Outer Core Area Contribution: £1,500/ha, now available throughout the rest of Scotland on eligible Woodland Creation options (i.e., not limited to the CSGN area).

For further information, please click here or contact Andy Greathead

The Woodland Creation Grant supports the creation or expansion of new woodlands. It covers costs for tree planting, fencing, and maintenance. Payment rates include:

• £3,302 per hectare for Native Biodiversity (1,100 trees/ha).
• £4,550 per hectare for Native Biodiversity (1,600 trees/ha).
• £5,146 per hectare for Enhanced Mixture (2,500 trees/ha).
• £6,170 per hectare for Native Carbon (2,500 trees/ha).
• £2,500 per hectare for upland Agroforestry (80 trees/ha).
• £2,000 per hectare for lowland Agroforestry (50 trees/ha).
• £4,000 per hectare for fruit and nut (800 trees/ha).

Fencing costs: £8.32/m for standard fencing and £11.93/m for deer fencing.

Maintenance payments: £400 in year 1, £300 in year 2, £250 in year 3, and £70/year from years 4–12.

Premium payments: £350 per hectare annually (except for agroforestry).

Landowners and farmers can apply for an additional £825 per hectare incentive payment for native broadleaf woodland creation, on top of the Woodland Creation Grant rates (up to £13,294/ha including 12-year maintenance and premium payments, depending on planting option).

To qualify, planting must be predominantly native broadleaf, contain no more than 20% conifers, and deliver a minimum of 800 stems per hectare.

This grant is open to farmers, land managers, and landowners with a Woodland Creation Plan.

The Woodland Creation Grant (window 6) opens 4 March 2026 and closes 20 November 2026.

The Small Grants – Environment scheme provides a financial contribution towards small-scale capital works projects on eligible agricultural land in Wales that deliver environmental outcomes.

Purpose: to fund capital works that improve environmental performance, delivered through four themed rounds: Carbon, Water, Landscape and Pollinators, and Hedgerow Creation. Typical eligible works include hedge laying, hedge coppicing and gapping up, new hedge planting, tree planting, pond restoration, dry stone wall restoration, cross drains, and earth bank restoration.

Funding: this is a standalone capital scheme, with a maximum of £7,500 per application window, based on set lists of eligible capital works for each theme. Indicative budgets have been around £1.5 million per themed window.

Eligibility: open to land managers and farming businesses registered with Welsh Government (CRN) with eligible agricultural land in Wales and management control through the end of contract; common land is not eligible.

Application process: applications are submitted via RPW Online through an Expression of Interest (EoI) process. EoIs are scored and selected based on how well they deliver the objectives of the specific theme.

Claims and evidence: all capital works claims must be supported by geotagged 'before' and 'after' photographic evidence, and payments may be reduced (with penalties) where works are incomplete or not to specification. All capital works must be claimed by the deadline in the contract, with no extensions granted beyond 31 March 2027. Applicants who fail to complete at least 80% of the total value of capital works across a theme, or who accept a contract and subsequently withdraw, may be excluded from the next available window for all Small Grants – Environment themes.

Current status: the most recent windows, Landscape and Pollinators (closed 19 February 2026) and Carbon (closed 12 December 2025), have now closed, and no further Small Grants – Environment windows have been announced for 2026 to date. Future themed window dates are published on GOV.WALES under Rural schemes: application dates.