As part of our plan to tackle the climate emergency, Wales needs to plant 43,000 hectares of new woodland by 2030. To help achieve this, the Welsh Government is introducing a new woodland creation offer.
The Woodland Creation Grant (WCG) offers funding for tree planting and fencing to farmers and land managers. There are also maintenance and premium payments to ensure the trees establish.
The first application window will open on 30 August 2022 and close on 14 October 2022 for selected planting and capital works to be completed and claimed by 31 March 2023.
The scheme will then open for applications every 3 months. The next window is anticipated to open in December 2022 for planting in the 2023/ 2024 planting season. There is no limit to the number of applications you may submit to the Woodland Creation Grant however you may only submit one application per application window
The minimum area for an application is 0.25ha of approved planting and there is no maximum area.
Funding is available for four woodland categories. You can also claim funding for fencing at an increased rate of £5.56/metre.
The indicative budget allocation for this application window is £1 million.
You will need to consider tree availability when deciding whether to submit an WCG Expression of Interest (EoI).
Those applying for funding in the first window will have to complete their new planting and capital works and claim for all capital works in the 2022/23 financial year i.e. by 31 March 2023. No extensions will be granted beyond 31 March 2023, except in very limited circumstances.
Further information and how to apply can be found in the two links below: