Guidance

Applicant's guide: Woodland Tree Health grants 2024

Published 3 January 2024

Applies to England

1. Important dates

Woodland Tree Health (WTH) grants are open for applications all year from 3 January 2024.

You can also apply for other capital grants, including other woodland capital grants, at any time of the year.

WTH grants are available to a wide range of farmers and land managers, particularly those who have (or are considering applying for) a Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreement. 

2. About the WTH grants

There are 2 WTH grants, the:

• WTH Restoration grant, which provides support for restocking woodland after felling due to a tree health issue
• WTH Improvement grant, which provides support for the removal of trees and rhododendron infected with either Phytophthora ramorum, Phytophthora pluvialis or Phytophthora kernoviae

You can apply for these grants individually or together. A Forestry Commission Woodland adviser will assess your site to make sure that the grant is appropriate.

Once you receive a grant, you will have 3 years to finish the work that is needed. We cannot pay you for any work that takes place after the 3-year period.

2.1 Capital items available

There are 19 capital items available through the WTH grants. The Grant finder gives a description and essential requirements for each capital item. You can find the payment rates and details about using supplements in section 5.

2.2 How applications the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) assesses your application

WTH grants are not competitive.

If you’re eligible for a grant and there is sufficient budget, RPA (supported by a Forestry Commission Woodland adviser) will approve your application.

2.3 What the grant cannot pay for

You cannot use WTH grants to pay for:

• any capital works done (or materials purchased) before your agreement starts
• planning application fees or other transactional fees
• agent fees or other advisory fees
• meeting legal requirements, including planning conditions and tenancy agreements

3. Who can apply and what land is eligible

WTH grants are open to land managers who are either:

• an owner occupier
• a tenant
• a landlord
• a licensor, if they have management control of the land and activities needed to meet the obligations of the grant for the full duration of the agreement

3.1 Land that is eligible for WTH grants

To be eligible for a WTH grant agreement, land parcels must be entirely within England.

Land must meet the definition of woodland. Woodland is defined as an area of land that:

• is at least 0.5 hectares
• has an average width of at least 20 metres
• is under groups or lines of trees that are, or will reach, at least 5 metres in height
• has a crown cover of more than 20% of the ground area

There is no minimum area of woodland for the WTH Improvement grant. Works carried out under the agreement must be worth at least £500.

Land you enter into the WTH Restoration grant must be a minimum of 0.25 hectares and a minimum woodland block size of 0.1 hectares.

3.2 Land that is not eligible

The following land is not eligible for a WTH grant:

• developed land and hard standing (including permanent caravan sites and areas used for permanent storage)
• land that is part of another obligation which is incompatible with the WTH grant
• land within the HS2 (High Speed Two) route safeguarding zone

3.3 Management control of land

Having management control means you’re the person actively farming the land and you’re either:

• the owner occupier
• a tenant with a Farm Business Tenancy (FBT) under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, or an Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 tenancy or equivalent

You must have management control of the land in an agreement for 5 years from the starting date of your agreement, or the countersignature of your landlord (see section 3.3.1).

This includes:

• all activities needed to meet the grant payment
• keeping all capital items funded through this scheme in the condition and to the specification set out in your agreement for the 5 years

If you do not meet these requirements, you must get the written consent of all other parties who have management control.

3.3.1 Tenants

If you occupy land under a tenancy you must have:

• a tenancy agreement for at least 3 years from the start of the WTH agreement (however, see the requirements in relation to a rolling tenancy below)
• the agreement of your landlord before you apply
• a countersignature from your landlord if you do not have management control for 5 years from the start of your agreement
• control of all the activities over the land to meet the scheme requirements for the chosen capital items

It is your responsibility to check when you apply for a WTH grant that you do not breach the terms of your tenancy agreement.

If your tenancy is renewed each year on a rolling basis, you must be certain your tenancy will extend to the length of your WTH grant agreement. You must check this with your landlord before you apply.

If your landlord takes over a WTH grant agreement from you once your tenancy has ended, they must be eligible to do so. For example, they must not be an ineligible public body.

3.3.2 Landlords

If you are a landlord and can show that you keep management control over the land and activities, you can apply for an agreement on land that you have leased to a tenant.

As the Agreement Holder, you must give your tenant a copy of the WTH grant agreement. We may ask you to provide evidence to show that you have done this. It is your responsibility to make sure that your tenant does not breach the terms of the agreement.

3.3.3 Partnerships

If you are in a business partnership, you can apply for a WTH grant. The person submitting the application must have the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service (see section 4.1 Register with the Rural Payments service for more information).

3.3.4 Licensors

If you are a licensor, you can apply for a WTH grant agreement. It is your responsibility to make sure that the licensee does not breach the terms of the agreement.

You must make sure that the licensee is aware of the requirements of the agreement, as relevant to the licence, and include these in the licence agreement.

3.3.5 Licensees

Licensees are usually not eligible for a WTH grant as a licence arrangement will not provide sufficient management control of the land to the licensee for the agreement period.

If in practice your licence agreement gives you wider land management responsibilities, this may mean you are a tenant and therefore may be eligible to apply for WTH grants. You must show that you have sufficient management control of the land and activities to be able to apply. See section 3.3.1 for more information about WTH grants for tenants.

3.3.6 Land owned by public bodies

Land is not eligible if it is owned or managed by:

• Crown bodies (including all government departments, executive agencies and trading funds)
• non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

See the list of all government departments, agencies and public bodies.

Land owned by some public bodies is eligible for WTH grants provided the work does not form part of their obligations as a public body.

This includes land owned by:

• local authorities
• national park authorities
• public corporations

Parish councils and former college farms are eligible to apply for WTH grants.

3.3.7 Tenants of land owned by public bodies

If you are a tenant of a public body, you will need to check if the land is eligible for WTH grants with your landlord. If it is, you must get the public body to countersign your application if you do not have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a WTH grant agreement.

If you do have a tenancy agreement for the full term of a WTH grant agreement, you are eligible to apply as a tenant with management control of the land. See section 3.3.1.

You cannot apply for a WTH grant for any work that is a requirement of your tenancy or any other legally binding obligation.

3.4 Land receiving other funding

You cannot use this grant for capital works:

• you are required to carry out under other legally binding obligations (including private contractual obligations)
• that are receiving (or have received) funding from other sources - for example, work that might be required as part of a tenancy agreement or other funding scheme

Funding schemes may include:

• Environmental Stewardship
• England Woodland Creation Offer
• other capital grants
• Farming Recovery Fund
• Heritage Lottery Fund
• Farming in Protected Landscapes
• HS2 Woodland Fund

This is not an exhaustive list.

You must make sure that any work proposed as part of this grant does not breach the conditions of any other agreement. We will carry out checks to make sure that capital works are not funded twice from public money.

Natural England, the Forestry Commission and RPA will check the work is compatible if your application is on land which is already in:

• Environmental Stewardship
• English Woodland Grant Scheme
• Farm Woodland scheme
• Farm Woodland Premium Scheme

3.4.1 Compatibility with other schemes

You can apply for a WTH grant on land parcels which already have an existing CS, ES or SFI agreement. You cannot include any work which is already required by the existing scheme or is a breach of the conditions of the existing agreement.

If you have discussed your plans with a Forestry Commission Woodland adviser or Natural England adviser, you may apply for:

• PA1: Implementation plan, PA2: Feasibility study, PA3: Woodland management plan or WTH grant agreement on the same land parcels
• a Higher Tier capital only agreement on parcels with woodland multi-year options in place
• Higher Tier WD2: Woodland improvement on parcels already in an agreement with woodland capital items

If you have an existing ES, CS or SFI agreement, you can also apply for a WTH grant on land parcels which aren’t in your existing agreement.

4. How to apply for a WTH grant

Find out how to apply for a WTH grant and what evidence and consents you’ll need.

4.1 Check you and your land are registered

To apply for WTH Grants you need to register or be registered on the Rural Payments service. Use the guidance on registering and updating your details to help you.

All land parcels listed on your application must be registered in the Rural Payments service and have a parcel reference number (in the format AA1234 5678). Check the Rural Payments service to find out if your land parcels are registered and up to date. You will be asked to provide your parcel reference numbers when you apply.

To include land parcels, they must be registered on the Rural Payments service. For more information on how to do this read the Make change to your rural land maps guidance. You must provide annotated maps to clearly show where the land parcels are on your holding and send this to RPA.

You can read more information about registering and updating your details at Rural Payments service: registering and updating your details.

If your land parcels are not registered, you must submit a rural land change request to register the land.

4.1.1 Authorise an agent

You can authorise an agent to fill in and submit your application for you. This also applies to payment claim forms for Agreement Holders.

For an agent to act for you, you must give them the appropriate permission levels in the Rural Payments service on GOV.UK. This applies even if you have previously authorised the agent using the paper agent authorisation form.

Read ‘Give someone else permission to act on your behalf ’ for more information on the different levels of permission. You should also read the information in the Permission levels screen in the Rural Payments service. This lists what is permitted at each level. You are responsible for making sure that permissions assigned on the Rural Payments service are made correctly and that all contact details are correct.

4.2 Ways to apply

You can apply by email or post using the WTH application form. Use the how to complete your WTH grant application by email or post guidance to help you.

If you are unable to get online, or cannot download the application form, you can also request a copy of the form by emailing ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk or calling 03000 200 301.

If you are eligible and we offer you an agreement, you will need to follow Annex 1: Terms and Conditions 2024.

4.3 Prepare a map to support your application

You must provide a map showing the area of the woodland you are including in your proposed WTH grant application and send this with your application form

Use the How to complete your WTH grant application by email or post to help you prepare your map

4.4 Business viability test

RPA will check all applicants against an insolvency register. If your application is not financially viable, they may not offer you an agreement.

For applications including capital expenditure of more than £50,000, you must submit a statement from a registered accountant (for example, a chartered or certified accountant). This is to confirm that the business or SBI has the resources from trading profits, reserves, or loans to carry out the work in the proposed agreement schedule.

The accountant will need to provide a letter on headed paper which confirms:

• they are a registered accountant
• they act as the accountant for the applicant or have been contracted to act on behalf of the applicant
• you as the applicant have sufficient finances to complete the capital works in your application and how these funds will be sourced (for example, savings or a loan)
• their understanding of the total value of the capital works in the application

If your application includes more than £500,000 of capital items, RPA will also review 3 years of your relevant business accounts or other evidence. This is to confirm that you have the administrative, financial and operational capacity to meet the agreement requirements.

4.5 Get consent

You must check each capital item you are applying for to see if any consents are needed.

You are responsible for arranging all relevant consents, permissions, exemptions and any written advice needed for your application. RPA may ask to see this evidence.

4.5.1 Planning consents

Your local planning authority can give you informal advice on whether a proposal needs planning consent. We will not pay you for any work you carry out unless you have all the necessary consents and permissions in place before you begin the work. There is also planning practice guidance available. In some cases, you will not be offered an agreement if these are not in place.

4.5.2 Felling licences

You may need permission from the Forestry Commission to fell growing trees (unless an exemption applies). Permission is given with a felling licence or with approval under a dedication scheme. In certain circumstances you may also need special permission from another organisation for any proposed felling. Read ‘When you need to apply for a felling licence’ for more information.

If you’re not sure if you need a licence for your WTH grant application, you can speak to your Forestry Commission Woodland adviser or the nearest Forestry Commission office for guidance. You can find details about offices and opening hours online.

4.5.3 Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs)

You mut get consent from Natural England to do work on land in an SSSI. You should contact Natural England as early as possible to avoid a delay to your application.

4.5.4 Scheduled monuments

Your local Historic England officer can provide advice on any management or changes needed to maintain or bring the monument into favourable condition. You will also need Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England for some work (such as fencing and gateways). You must speak to Historic England to see whether consent is needed, or how to go about works to avoid or reduce negative effects on the Scheduled Monument.

Historic England can advise if proposals affecting registered parks and gardens, or registered battlefields are likely to be accepted.

4.5.5 Other consents

You may need to apply for other consents or licences if work affects:

• protected species (as defined by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)
• a watercourse or highway
• areas subject to a Tree Preservation Order – a licence may be needed for any changes to trees and hedges

If you have protected species on your land, you must meet the requirements for their protection before carrying out any activities. For more information, read Managing wildlife on your land. If you have consent for work that affects protected species, you may need to plan around seasonal activity.

It’s important you arrange the consents well in advance.

If the work affects priority habitats (which may not be SSSIs), you should consider the effect on these even if you do not need consent. To find out more about how to avoid harming protected area and species read Construction near protected areas and wildlife.

4.5.6 Other considerations

When you carry out work under the agreement, you must not:

• break byelaws
• obstruct public rights of way
• block or restrict access to ‘open access’ land
• affect oil or gas pipelines

If required, you will need to have permission or consent in place before you carry out any work. You will need to submit this evidence when you make a claim for this work.

4.6 Submit your application and supporting documents

Submit your application by email or post. A complete application is made up of:

• an application form
• an application annex
• the application map
• a  land ownership and control form, if applicable
• any other supporting documents we ask for

Use the how to complete your WTH grant application by email or post guidance to help you submit your application.

RPA will only accept supporting documents, such as photos or forms, if they are either printed and sent by post or scanned and attached to an email. The maximum email size that we can accept is 32MB. For security reasons, we cannot accept discs, USB pen drives or other external storage media.

4.7 How RPA checks your application

RPA will check that your application:

• meets the eligibility requirements
• is complete
• includes an annotated map

After the initial checks are complete, they will forward it to a Forestry Commission Woodland adviser to work through your application with you.

You can find more information about entering into an agreement at section 6.1 of the Agreement Holder guide.

4.7.1 Assessment

A Forestry Commission adviser will assess your site to make sure that the grant is appropriate.

RPA strongly recommend that you have a woodland management plan for the affected woodland.

You can apply for the PA3: Woodland management plan grant to support you with the plan.

4.7.2 WTH Restoration

A WTH Restoration grant will help to pay for restocking tress if you have a confirmed tree health issue on your land.

Support is available if the trees to be felled have been infected with:

• Phytophthora ramorum on either larch or sweet chestnut (the infection must be confirmed by statutory plant health notice (SPHN)
• Phytopthora pluvialis on either Douglas fir or Western hemlock (the infection must be confirmed by SPHN)
• Chalara (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) dieback of ash (Forestry Commission or the Animal and Plant Health Agency must confirm the infection)
• Sweet chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) (the infection must be confirmed by SPHN)

For more information about these diseases and pests, see the Forest Research website and information about tree pests and diseases.

For information about how to confirm a suspected infection contact your Forestry Commission woodland adviser.

4.7.3 Seasonal applications

If you submit your application in autumn or winter, we may need to wait until spring to process it so that the infection can be confirmed. We may ask you to submit photographs showing signs of the infection following budbreak to support this.

4.7.4 UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliance

You must make sure any proposed restocking under a WTH grant meets with the UKFS. Forestry Commission Woodland advisers can advise on suitable restocking for specific sites, in line with the UKFS and applicable felling licence conditions. Read more about replacing trees after felling due to pests and diseases.

5. Capital items

Capital items are available to support the restoration of woodland. The primary item is tree planting TE4: Supply and plant tree. To reduce the risk of introducing or spreading harmful plant pests and diseases it’s important to source bio secure planting stock (preferably grown in the UK).

We would encourage the use of plants from Plant Healthy certified nurseries where possible. Plant Healthy is a certification scheme designed to make sure that people who grow and handle plants have suitable biosecurity standards in place.

Tree planting TE4: Supply and plant tree, is supported by a range of secondary items as detailed in table 1.

Table 1

Code	Capital items for use in WTH Restoration	Payment rate	Aim	Additional notes	Mandatory or optional
TE4	Tree planting	£1.72/tree	To supply, plant and weed young trees and protect with a 0.6m spiral guard	Spiral not needed in some circumstances – this needs to be agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Mandatory in order to apply for WTH Restoration grant
TE5	Supplement for use of individual tree shelters	£2.43/unit	To protect young trees with a tree shelter	This supplement can only be used with TE4. Shelter height to be agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG1	Fencing	£6.34/m	Method of stock control, to help habitat management or protect environmental features	This item can be used with the item TE5 where appropriate and agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG2	Sheep netting	£7.47/m	Exclude sheep to protect environmental features	This item can be used with the item TE5 where appropriate and agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG4	Rabbit fencing supplement	£5.65/m	Supplement to fencing (FG1) or sheep netting (FG2), or deer fence (FG9) to exclude rabbits to help protect environmental features	This supplement can only be used alongside one of the following capital items; FG1 (Fencing), FG2 (Sheep netting), FG9 (Deer fencing). This item can be used with the item TE5 where appropriate and agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG5	Fencing supplement – difficult sites	£3.98/m	Supplement to fencing (FG1) to cover the extra costs of fencing on a difficult site	This supplement can only be used alongside one of the following capital items; FG1 (Fencing), FG2 (Sheep netting), FG9 (Deer fencing). This item can be used with the item TE5 where appropriate and agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG9	Deer fencing	£10.27/m	To protect newly created woodland from deer browsing	This item can be used with the item TE5 where appropriate and agreed with your Forestry Commission adviser	Optional
FG10	Temporary deer fencing	£8.09/m	To protect newly created or existing woodland from deer browsing as part of a wider woodland creation or woodland management project.	When used in combination with the item FG9, the temporary fencing (FG10) must be deer proof	Optional
FG14	Badger gate	£61.81/gate	Provide badgers unrestricted access either side of a newly erected fence, which crosses known badger routes	This supplement can only be used alongside one of the following capital items; FG1 (Fencing), FG2 (Sheep netting), FG4 (Rabbit fencing supplement), FG5 (Fencing supplement difficult sites), FG9 (Deer fencing)	Optional
FG15	Water gates	£532.80/gate	Use across streams in conjunction with other stock control  items to keep livestock and deer out of new planting	This item can only be used on fence lines across streams, with other stock or deer control items	Optional
FG16	Deer pedestrian gate	£475.44/gate	To install a deer proof pedestrian gate within the deer fence to allow access and/or enable woodland management	When used in combination with the item FG9, the pedestrian gate (FG16) must be deer proof	Optional
FG17	Deer vehicle gate	£749.63/gate	To install a deer proof vehicle gate within the deer fence to allow access and/or enable woodland management	When used in combination with the item FG9, the vehicle gate (FG17) must be deer proof	Optional
FY1	Deer high seat	£265.00/unit	To provide a safe, temporary vantage point from which to cull deer to relieve browsing pressure	Not applicable	Optional
BN12	Stone wall restoration	£31.91/m	Re-build stone walls to make them stock-proof and restore their landscape value	Not applicable	Optional
BN13	Top wiring - stone wall	£5.54/m	To control stock by adding a top wire onto a stone wall	Not applicable	Optional
BN14	Stone wall supplement – stone from quarry	£164.50/m	To make sure that wall restoration can be finished where there isn’t enough re-usable stone on-farm, and stone has to be sourced from an off-site quarry	Not applicable	Optional

See Grant finder  for full details on each capital item.

5.1 Payment caps

Payments under the WTH Restoration are subject to a cap that limits the amount that can be paid. The cap is based on the average grant per hectare and includes the cost of trees and additional capital items.

The cap depends on the type of trees planted and if the site is an ancient woodland. The native tree species cap applies where over 80% of restocked trees are native tree species. If over 20% of restocked trees are non-native species, the non-native cap applies.

For native tree species the cap is:

• £6,000 per hectare for ancient woodland
• £4,720 per hectare for other woodland

For non-native tree species the cap is:

• £3,000 per hectare for ancient woodland
• £3,850 per hectare for other woodland

For confirmation on which tree species are classed as native or non-native, please check with your Forestry Commission adviser.

5.2 WTH Improvement 5.2 WTH Improvement

This element of the grant is for the removal of trees or rhododendron infected with:

• Phytophthora ramorum
• Phytopthora pluvialis
• Phytophthora kernoviae

It is not available for the removal of trees infected with the Chalara dieback of ash.

The tree health issue needs to be verified to confirm eligibility for the grant. An infection must be confirmed by SPHN for:

• the removal of immature larch (up to 25 years old) infected with Phytophthora ramorum
• the removal of Douglas fir or Western hemlock infected with Phytophthora pluvialis

These activities fall under capital item SB1: Scrub control and felling diseased trees.

For the removal of rhododendron that is either infected with Phytophthora ramorum or Phytophthora kernoviae or at high risk to infection, the site must be subject to an SPHN or within 3 kilometres of a site with an SPHN.

This activity falls under capital item SB6: Rhododendron control.

For more information about these diseases and pests, see the Forest Research website and information about tree pests and diseases.

For information about how to confirm a suspected infection contact your Forestry Commission adviser.

5.3 Capital items

The capital items in table 2 are available under this grant.

Table 2

Code	Capital items for use in WTH Improvement	Payment rate	Aim	Additional notes
SB1	Scrub control and felling diseased trees	Between £375 and £2,424.20/ha  depending on method of removal, stem diameter and % ground cover. See item guide for more information.	To remove immature trees that could spread diseases and cannot be economically felled	Applicants can cut trees manually or with a machine. Manual removal is carried out on foot, with a clearing saw or chainsaw, and machine cutting from a cab, by a tractor fitted with a flail
SB6	Rhododendron Control	Between £3,500 and £5,500/ha  depending on  slope of site and rhododendron height. See item guide for more information.	To support rhododendron control, reducing the amount of host species and the negative effect this can have on a site	Not applicable

Annex 1: Terms and Conditions

See the Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions 2024

Annex 2: Contact details

Contact RPA

You can contact RPA by email, phone or post.

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges

For Higher Tier only: To request pre-populated applications forms:

• use the Rural Payments service
• email or call us

Please quote your single business identifier (SBI) and agreement number in all enquiries.

Contact Forestry Commission

You can contact the Forestry Commission by email, phone or post.

Go to contact Forestry Commission for more details.

Contact Natural England

You can contact Natural England by email, phone or post.

Natural England
County Hall
Spetchley Road
Worcester
WR5 2NP

Email: enquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 060 3900
March to September: Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, except bank holidays
October to February: Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges.

Contact other organisations

You may also need to:

• contact Historic England
• contact Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF)