Forestry Commission
Trees have far-reaching benefits for you, your land, the environment and for future generations. By planting trees to the UK Forest standard (UKFS) coupled with financial support and expert advice, woodlands can help you diversify, generate reliable income streams and deliver environmental benefits that support your wider land management goals. Read our joint statement with Natural England on our position on woodland creation.
Get support to plan a woodland creation project
If you plan to create woodland in England you may be eligible for a grant from the Forestry Commission. We can also provide advice and guidance on the legal regulations youll need to follow and how to establish your woodland sustainably. Grants may also be available for planting trees outside of woodland.
Planning a woodland creation project
The Forestry Commission can support you to develop the documents youll need to plan a woodland creation project.
Landscape and woodland design
For new woodlands in England, you need to carefully design the site to fit within the landscape and accommodate features of interest. The following guidelines for landscape and woodland design for woodland creation can help you plan the design of your new woodland.
To get regulatory approval and grant funding for your project, your woodland creation design plan must comply with the UK Forestry Standard.
You need to develop a written plan supported by a:
- landscape context plan
- site appraisal plan
- design concept plan
- final woodland creation design plan
Read more about what these plans need to show, and see examples, in our Guide to Planning New Woodland in England.
Find out more about the forest design process in the UK Forestry Standard and the practice guide on Design techniques for forest management planning.
Woodland Creation Planning Grant
The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) provides funding to help cover the costs of producing a UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant woodland creation design plan. You can apply for up to 150 per hectare, plus a 70% contribution to any specialist surveys that are needed, capped at 30,000 per project.
WCPG is for planning only and does not provide approval to plant. Proposals with a woodland creation design plan that has been approved for payment through WCPG are still subject to Environmental Impact Assessment regulations.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
The EIA process involves two stages, but most projects only need to undergo the first stage.
If you want to create a new woodland without grant support from the Forestry Commission you may, depending on the size and location of the proposed project, need to submit a stage 1Forestry Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application.
If your proposal has been through the Woodland Creation Planning Grant and we have approved your woodland creation design plan for grant payment, you can submit the plan alongside your stage 1 EIA application and you will not need to complete all sections of the application form.
If you are applying for grant support from the Forestry Commission (for example, through the England Woodland Creation Offer), there is no need to engage separately with the EIA process your grant application to us will be sufficient for us to carry out the EIA process as long as you have included all of the detail asked for in the application. Alternatively, if you have completed the Woodland Creation Planning Grant for your proposal, your approved woodland creation design plan will be used for the EIA process and you dont need to complete all of the England Woodland Creation Offer application form either.
For more information on the EIA process, visit our EIA overview page.
Funding and grants for woodland creation
You may be eligible for funding and grants to create woodland or plant trees. The Forestry Commission offers a range of funding schemes for woodland creation and tree planting, planning, maintenance, and tree health in England.
England Woodland Creation Offer
Landowners, land managers and public bodies can receive over 10,000 per hectare to create new woodland on areas as small as one hectare.
Funding and grants for non-woodland trees
Local Authority Treescapes Fund
Available to local authorities to support the establishment of trees in non-woodland settings. Find out more about the Local Authority Treescapes Fund.
Urban Tree Challenge Fund
The fund provides 50% of published standard costs for planting and establishment of trees in urban or peri-urban areas, especially in areas of low canopy cover and high social deprivation. Find out more about the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
Other funding opportunities
Earn extra income from selling carbon
If your project is not cost-effective with a woodland creation grant alone, you might be able to earn further income by selling carbon credits from your project. To do this you need to register with the Woodland Carbon Code within 2 years from the start of planting. Validation/verification to this standard provides assurance of the carbon savings and access to the voluntary carbon market. Find out more about the Woodland Carbon Code scheme for buyers and landowners and read our The benefits of woodland creation Woods and Carbon.
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee provides you with the option to sell your captured carbon in the form of verified carbon credits, called Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs), to the government for a guaranteed price. You must first be registered with the Woodland Carbon Code to be eligible, and planting must not have happened yet. We run multiple auctions per year to allocate Woodland Carbon Guarantee funding, and only those who have already applied are able to take part in future auctions.
You can also read our The benefits of woodland creation Woods and Carbon for more information on how woodland creation can help tackle climate change.
Funding from our partners
We work with a number of partners wh