Rural Payments and Services

Rural Scotland is an integral part of the country’s economy, environment and culture. However, for many landowners and communities, issues such as cash-flow, economies of scale, fragmentation and finding common consensus can be barriers to delivering meaningful projects.

This option aims to encourage co-operation between different parties, such as neighbours and communities. Providing support for project facilitation and co-ordination so as to deliver collaborative projects. The subsequent management activity can be supported through other options within the Forestry Grant Scheme, where applicable.

This option has three aims:

Aim 1 – Landscape Scale Projects

Supporting project facilitation and co-ordination over a landscape scale involving two or more adjoining or nearby land ownerships (incl. Common Grazings).

Please note that at least 4 participating owners are required for any woodland creation projects under this aim.

Aim 2 – Small scale Woodland Creation Projects

Supporting small-scale woodland creation (<10ha) involving two or more participants with adjoining or nearby land ownerships (incl. Common Grazings).

Aim 3 – Community-led Projects

Supporting fully constituted local community groups, including Community Councils to develop forestry projects which will support a range of activities that underpins sustainable forest management and adds value to the local area.

Under Aim 1 grant support of £250 per day is available for up to 40 days, to support the cost of a project co-ordinator.

Under Aim 2 grant support of £250 per day is available for up to 10 days.

Under Aim 3 grant support of £250 per day is available for up to 40 days per BRN, per year.

Please note under this aim, the maximum of 40 days can be split over multiple applications per year, but only where they relate to the planning of distinct and separate forestry activities, for example felling, woodland creation or woodland improvement.

The stages of a project cover:

Feasibility – this stage is the initial exploratory phase and focuses on areas such as:

• communication/consultation between interested parties and/or the wider community
• engagement with stakeholders including local communities, local authorities and community councils
• obtaining any necessary permissions or agreements, in particular where land is leased or under management agreements
• identifying and resolving issues around tenancy, land ownership and eligibility
• agreeing objectives
• discussing and setting outputs, costs, cash flow, commitments and risks
• providing an outline of the project

Consolidation – this stage focuses on the detail of the project and can include:

• ensuring that potential applications for management plans, felling permissions or forestry grants are consistent with the detailed project plan and reflect landscape scale planning and/or stakeholder feedback
• applying for felling permissions or grant funding if required
• preparing and submitting a detailed project plan to Scottish Forestry

Support will be provided for a range of eligible project types such as:

Aim 1 – Landscape Scale Projects

• woodland creation projects that improve water quality and/or mitigate against flooding (identified through the Woodlands for Water Target Area on the Scottish Forestry Map Viewer)
• woodland creation projects which deliver landscape-scale expansion of forest habitat networks
• woodland projects to enhance the survival and expansion of black grouse / capercaillie
• native woodland restoration including removal of rhododendron in priority areas identified within the national rhododendron strategy
• landscape-scale woodland deer management
• woodland projects that bring farm / croft woodlands into active management
• tree health projects which support efforts in dealing with P. ramorum outbreaks across communities

Aim 2 – Small Scale Woodland Creation Projects

• woodland creation projects that encourage the planting of farm / croft woodlands

Aim 3 – Community-led Projects

• community-focused forestry projects which add value to the local area and deliver community benefits
• sustainable forest management planning (e.g. felling, thinning, fencing, path creation/maintenance etc) (This list is not exhaustive)

General Eligibility

• activities must relate to sustainable forest management and must comply with the UK Forestry Standard
• for new projects only – no double funding or overlap with existing paid work. A declaration from landowners/facilitators is required to confirm this
• a final project plan with maps must be submitted and approved by Scottish Forestry
• if a landowner in the project area opts out, the project can still proceed but the proposal must explain how this affects the project’s objectives

Aim 1: Landscape-Scale Projects

• supporting project facilitation and co-ordination over a landscape scale involving two or more adjoining or nearby land ownerships (incl. Common Grazings)
• please note that at least 4 participating owners are required for any woodland creation projects under this aim

Aim 2: Small scale Woodland Creation projects

• for small-scale woodland creation (<10ha) there must be two or more participants

Aim 3: Community-Led Projects

• only open to fully constituted local community groups including Community Councils
• if the land is not owned by the group:
  • then they must have a lease or management agreement for the full FGS contract duration (i.e. 20 years for woodland creation)
  • show evidence of future ownership (e.g. plans for asset transfer or purchase)

Applications can be submitted by either a facilitator on behalf of a group or a group of landowners / organisation that wishes to appoint a facilitator, such as:

• woodland owners
• farmers
• crofters
• other land managers
• fully constituted community groups
• community councils*
• non-government organisations
• private companies and organisations

*As Community Councils (CC) cannot own land they are not be eligible for grants relating to capital work, for example woodland creation or path building. Therefore any applications from CC’s must demonstrate how the project plan will be delivered by an alternative constituted community group that is eligible to receive those grants.

We need supporting information to help us assess your application and this should be submitted using the template provided.

This must include:

• aims and rationale for the project and how this will support delivery of Scotland's Forestry and Land Use strategies
• summary of project implementation including a breakdown of the activities with clear milestones, outputs and timescale
• justification for the days to be used for both the 'feasibility' and 'consolidation' stages
• an estimate of the social, environmental and economic benefits of the project
• details of the project facilitator
• a signed letter of support for the project from at least the required minimum number of participating landowners in the proposed project area
• a map showing the location and scale of the proposed project. Individual property boundaries should also be mapped. For advice on how to mark up your map please use the general mapping guidance
• SPHN information for all areas included in this option application, if for P. Ramorum projects
• for community groups, you must submit a copy of your constitution or articles of association and an up-to-date list of your directors

General mapping guidance for the Forestry Grant Scheme

Project co-ordinator – it is important that the facilitator has relevant knowledge and experience of forestry and rural land use, and can preferably demonstrate experience of managing woodland management and / or woodland creation projects.

To make sure we achieve the best value for money and to ensure we meet the scheme's objectives we will assess each application using scoring criteria.

The criteria will be written as appropriate to each Forestry Grant Scheme option; please refer to Scoring criteria and clearing process for details.

Delivery of option benefits

1 POINT – applications that meet the eligibility requirements but do not deliver any of the benefits detailed below.

3 POINTS – for applications that provide one or more of the following in addition to meeting the eligibility requirements:

• for applications that will help bring forward landscape-scale proposals that will contribute towards native woodland restoration on Scottish Forestry priority designated woodland sites or in priority areas identified within the national rhododendron strategy

Or

• for applications that will help bring forward landscape-scale proposals that will clearly contribute towards sustainable natural flood management in areas, identified in the Flood Risk Management Strategy (available from December 2015), as being at greatest risk

Or

• for applications that will support landscape-scale woodland creation in the target areas identified for Forestry Grant Scheme woodland creation grants

Or

• for applications that will bring forward landscape-scale proposals for appropriate habitat management and predator control in black grouse and capercaillie core areas

Or

• for applications that will encourage landowners to bring forward proposals for appropriate deer management over a landscape scale that will help protect or improve the condition of designated woodlands

Or

• for applications that encourage landowners to bring forward landscape-scale proposals to plant or manage farm / croft woodlands

Or

• for Aim 3 applications where it can be demonstrated that the proposal will deliver against the aims and objectives of relevant community-led and/or supported plans e.g. Local Place Plan

5 POINTS – for applications that meet one of the 3 point criteria above and the criteria below:

• for applications that will help to bring forward applications that will provide significant benefits to the local community

Scale of delivery

1 POINT – will be awarded where:

• applications under Aim 1 or 2 which include a letter of support that is supported and signed by two landowners in the project area who will contribute towards the delivery of the landscape-scale project

Or

• applications under Aim 3 which meet the minimum option guidance

3 POINTS – for applications that include a letter of support which is supported and signed by a significant number of landowners in the project area who will contribute towards the delivery of the landscape-scale project.

5 POINTS – for applications that include a letter of support which is supported and signed by the majority of landowners in the project area who will contribute towards the delivery of the landscape-scale project.

Value for money

Applications that deliver value for money based on the ratio of grant value sought versus the total costs which are eligible for grant support. That is where the grant sought is:

1 POINT – up to 100 per cent of the total capital cost.

3 POINTS – less than 75 per cent of the total capital cost.

5 POINTS – less than 50 per cent of the total capital cost.

Supplementary point – additional benefit

1 POINT – will be awarded, as an additional point, where:

• an application brings forward proposals in the areas where there has been little or no activity in the past

Or

• you can demonstrate the outcomes in the project plan will partially be delivered by community resources

Applications for the Forestry Grant Scheme are online only. If you haven’t applied for funding before, you must first set up an account with Rural Payments and Services and register for a Business Reference Number (BRN).

The Business Registration and Maintenance page has information on how to set up an online account and how to register your business, as well as information on how to link Advisory Firms to your account, should you wish to have a third party act on your behalf.

Once you have an online account and BRN you will need to register the land for which you wish to apply for grant. The Land registration page has further information on this.

Once you have completed the above steps, you can then submit a grant application. More information can be found at How to apply.

If your project involves multiple landowners or parties, only one business should apply on behalf of the group.

The key requirements are:

• the applying business must have a BRN
• a written agreement should be in place specifying which BRN will be used and how the grant will be redistributed among participants if needed

You can submit a capital claim once we have approved the final project plan.

• UK Forestry Standard

Section	Change
Grant support	Extra bullet point added regarding tree health projects
Supporting information	Supporting information template has been updated
Whole page	Addition of Aim 3 to support Community led projects

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