Grant support
We will pay this grant after we have approved the completed plan.
Allof the relevant woodland area must be included in the plan, including openground up to 20 per cent of the total woodland.
The grant rate for a Woodland Grazing Management Plan is £1200 per plan.
Application eligibility criteria
Please check that you are eligible to apply for Forestry Grant Scheme funding before you begin your application.
Woodland Improvement Grant
Please see the Supporting information section below for the information you need to supply us when applying for this option.
The woodland must be at least five hectares, with the exception of designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Woodlands are eligible if they appear on the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland. They can be native woodland (including native woodland scrub communities) or they can be near native sites or other Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites if you intend to restore these sites to native woodland.
Open ground that is integral to the woodland up to a maximum limit of 20 per cent of the total management plan area is allowed within the payment area.
If you intend to expand your woodland by natural regeneration, do not include areas of open hillside or farmland. Include these areas in the detail of the management plan but they will not receive payment.
You must have prior agreement with Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage that your woodland is appropriate for this option.
Woodland Grazing Management Plans must comply with the UK Forestry Standard.
You must carry out the plan as outlined in the Woodland Grazing Toolbox.
Other eligibility criteria
Woodlands not included in the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland
Native woodlands that were not included in the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland can also be eligible. You must give evidence for their area and condition. The woodland must be above the minimum size (0.5 hectares).
You can also include riparian woodlands which were too narrow to map in the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland if these are locally important in landscapes with no woodlands.
Natural regeneration
If you intend to expand the woodland using natural regeneration you can include areas around the woodland edge, but only where natural regeneration is likely to occur.
The outer boundary of the proposed new naturally regenerated woodland must not be beyond 50 metres from the woodland edge and a viable seed source.
In exceptional circumstances, and where there are good prospects of regeneration occurring, we may agree to an outer boundary further than 50 metres from seed trees (for example if there is favourable topography and wind direction, or evidence of suppressed natural regeneration).
The minimum width of woodland for natural regeneration is 15 metres. You should check the New Natural Regeneration Establishmentcapital item specification for the minimum requirements you must meet to be eligible for natural regeneration funding. Include this area in your management plan.
Dealing with individual woodlands
You should tailor the Woodland Grazing Management Plan to individual woodlands to reflect woodland type, grazing history, and site-specific management objectives. Describe the expected environmental impact of the livestock grazing. Take account of the impact of grazing by wild deer.
Supporting information
To help us assess your application, you must provide us with supporting information including:
- evidence to support the adoption of a grazing management regime must accompany the application for grant aid, for example a letter or support from, or a reference to advisory material produced by a recognised conservation organisation
- a map that shows the perimeter of the plan area
General mapping guidance for the Forestry Grant Scheme
Selection criteria
To make sure we achieve the best value for money and to ensure we meet the scheme’s objectives, we assess each application using scoring criteria. These criteria differ depending on the option.
We will set a minimum score that an application for any particular option must achieve to be considered for approval. We will make details available before the start of the scheme.
How to claim
You should only submit a capital claim once we have approved your completed plan.
You cannot make a claim for an area that exceeds that agreed in your contract. You must claim for the areas as detailed in your schedule of works, for example you cannot make an interim claim for part of the area shown on a single line of your schedule of works.
