Woodland Creation Offer: Farmers could receive £10k for planting one hectare of trees

The Forestry Commissions' Woodland Creation Offer will see the cash given to those who grow woodland on areas as small as one hectare – and that can be made up of smaller plots. 

The Offer supports the creation of a range of woodland types and sizes, including: along rivers to improve the water environment; through natural colonisation; for sustainable forestry and where their location and design will provide public benefits including greater access to nature. 

Victoria Prentis

Farming Minister Victoria Prentis said: “Our new schemes are about supporting the choices that individual farmers and landowners make for their own holdings. 

"These grants are available to help farmers and landowners grow and manage more trees as a profitable part of their overall business model, and I would encourage them to look at that support where they feel that it is the right choice for their business.”

Launched with DEFRA, the new scheme is part of a bid to meet government targets of planting at least 7,000 hectares of tree each year in the country by the end of the current parliamentary term. 

Officials say this equates to just 0.08 per cent of the 9.3 million hectares of farmland changing to woodland every 12 months and the drive follows publication of the England Trees Action Plan in 2021. 

Tenant farmers can receive England Woodland Creation Offer funding if both they and their landlord are content with the tree planting proposals.

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Forestry Commission chief executive, Richard Stanford, said: "Creating woods can be an excellent way to diversify farms, especially on marginal land – and there are exciting opportunities to grow and manage trees in a way that maximises the benefits they provide for climate, nature, people and the economy." 

To get involved in the campaign, you can email contactputdownroots@defra.gov.uk.