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Check that you have completed the necessary steps on our England Woodland Creation Offer guidance page before applying.

Read the EWCO grant manual and any relevant appendices to understand the requirements of the grant. These contain essential information about the EWCO agreement, how it works and how to apply.

What information do I need to apply?

Application form

You will need to complete the information on the EWCO application form to provide us with basic details about yourself and the site and its management. You will need to confirm you have spoken to nurseries to ensure planting stock you need will be available. You also need to read and accept a number of important declarations. You will need to provide information about the land you are planning to plant (location, area, soil type), the species you are planning to plant, capital items and any additional contributions you would like to apply for and information on how your application scores.

Declaration form

You also need to read and accept a number of important declarations and submit this alongside your application form.

Map

You will also need to submit a map showing the location of the proposed woodland and the capital items that will be undertaken.

You can use your own map as long as it meets the standards in the grant manual or you can use a base map requested through the Forestry Commissions Map Request Service. If you use this service, the Forestry Commission will supply a blank base map for you to mark up by hand to show your proposal.

Please take a look at our EWCO example map to help you in preparing a map that meets our minimum mapping standards.

Where to send your completed forms

Please send your completed forms by email to: EWCO@forestrycommission.gov.uk

Hard copies should be sent to:

How long does an application take?

The Forestry Commission aims to acknowledge your application and let you know if there is information missing from it within 3 working days. It may take longer during peak periods.

Funding decisions can take 12 to 20 weeks from receiving a valid application. This period includes a 21 day period where new planting proposals must be shared published on our public register of woodland creation and tree felling.

Timescales are likely to be shorter where applicants have already completed an approved Woodland Creation Design Plan through the Woodland Creation Planning Grant.

Where woodland creation proposals meet the eligibility criteria for the Woodland Creation Fast Track (WCFT) the Forestry Commission will aim to make regulatory decisions and grant offers in 12 weeks.

Application forms

• EWCO application form
• EWCO declaration form
• EWCO declaration form, countersignature continuation form

Application forms to use where applicable

• EWCO Common Land and Shared Grazing Supplementary Form: complete this form if the land in your application is common land or an area of shared grazing
• EWCO Natural Colonisation Initial Site Assessment Form: complete this form for each individual area in your application you intend to use natural colonisation as a method of woodland creation
• EWCO Public Access Non-spatial Eligibility Form: complete this form to propose your eligibility for the Public Access Additional Contribution (AC), where your scheme is outside of the NfC Social GIS spatial targeting layer
• EWCO Biosecure Procurement exception form: complete this form to apply for an exception to the Biosecure Procurement Requirement

Advice for completing the EWCO application form

You only need to complete the Woodland Creation Plan sections (WCP 1 - WCP 5) if you do not already have an approved plan through the Woodland Creation Planning Grant.

You can see specific instructions for completing each worksheet in the form. These are placed at the top of each worksheet, in a grey box. Read the instructions before scrolling down to complete the required fields in each worksheet.

If you are viewing the form in MS Excel, all mandatory fields are highlighted in yellow until they are completed. This functionality may not be available if opening the form in other software.

Fields filled in grey and locked for editing do not require input from you.

You need to use a particular format to enter data in some fields. You will see an error message if your entry does not match the required format. You will have to choose an answer from a dropdown list for several question fields this will be indicated in the question or column heading.

When to use the Biosecure Procurement exception form

If you are not purchasing your trees from a commercial supplier, use this form to request an exception from the Biosecure Procurement requirement.

Claims forms

If you have an agreement and need to make a claim, please use the forms on the England Woodland Creation Offer claim form page.

Amendment forms

If you have an agreement that you would like to amendment, please use the forms on the England Woodland Creation Offer amendment form page.

Contact the Forestry Commission

Contact the EWCO team for more information EWCO@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

If you have applied, you will receive an email from the following address: forestry@ukemail.icasework.com. Please check your junk folder and accept emails from this address, and reply directly.