New Environment Secretary Announces Commitments to Woodland Creation and Management Grants
On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) welcomed the commitments made by the new Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, to include the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) and the Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) in the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) Schemes.
The RFS also expressed their approval for the increase in grants to support woodland management and hopes that this will encourage more woods to be managed.
Christopher Williams, Chief Executive of RFS, stated, “We are pleased to see that EWCO and WCPG will be included in the ELMs, providing certainty for woodland managers. However, there is still more work to be done to ensure that woodland managers receive the same level of support as farmers from these grant schemes. We are encouraged to see more grants being allocated for woodland management and agroforestry, and we hope that these will be enough to incentivize land managers to implement best practices in managing their trees and woods.”
Williams also emphasized the need for further commitments to develop and support training and upskilling in the forestry sector to ensure that there is a skilled workforce available to manage woodlands now and in the future. He believes that these skills are essential in addressing challenges such as climate change.
During his speech at the Oxford Farming Conference, Steve Barclay announced several upgrades to the schemes. He said, “We will take a phased approach to the transition of EWCO and WCPG into ELM schemes, to ensure a smooth transition with no gap in offering grants to applicants for woodland creation. The future ELM woodland creation offer will be similar to the EWCO offer.”
Barclay also revealed plans to expand tree health support in Countryside Stewardship, drawing from the Tree Health Pilot. He assured that the current Tree Health Pilot grants will continue until the transition into ELM, to avoid any gaps in support.
The Environment Secretary also promised to review the rates for the England Woodland Creation Offer and other related forestry grants alongside the new ELM.
The new woodland management offer will include actions to improve resilience, flood and drought mitigation, manage precious woodland habitats, control wildfire, and provide educational and public access. There will also be new capital items for restocking, coppicing, and ride creation.
In addition, Mr. Barclay announced a suite of in-field actions to encourage more trees in the farmed landscape and support agricultural production through agroforestry.
Some improvements, such as increased payment rates in Countryside Stewardship, have already been announced. There are also plans to enhance offers for wood pasture and species management, including addressing the impacts of deer and grey squirrels.
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