Woodland grants

[livestock 1]

Had a few figures banded about in the pub regarding Scottish Woodland and the government for tree planting grants. The figures sound good for poor land especially the way the sheep job is at the moment. Does anyone know anything about it? Roughly 6.5k a hectare for 120 hectares + 26k anually after that for a good few years were the figures.

 

[renewablejohn]

Had a few figures banded about in the pub regarding Scottish Woodland and the government for tree planting grants. The figures sound good for poor land especially the way the sheep job is at the moment. Does anyone know anything about it? Roughly 6.5k a hectare for 120 hectares + 26k anually after that for a good few years were the figures.

Great if they actually pay out. My payments stopped in 2015 due to recent changes in EU legislation. Original contract signed in 2005 is not worth the paper it is written on. New contracts even worse according to CLA as the presumption is a rolling contract where the terms can be amended by the government and may be totally different to what was originally signed. The old adage of Buyer beware but I certainly will not be getting my fingers burnt again.

 

[Timmy_45]

Spot on John. There was a scheme in Wales with very similar figures to what the OP is talking about, the whole thing ended up a fiasco, and I'm glad in the end I got bored with trying to follow it up.

 

[livestock 1]

Great if they actually pay out. My payments stopped in 2015 due to recent changes in EU legislation. Original contract signed in 2005 is not worth the paper it is written on. New contracts even worse according to CLA as the presumption is a rolling contract where the terms can be amended by the government and may be totally different to what was originally signed. The old adage of Buyer beware but I certainly will not be getting my fingers burnt again.

Yes I did wonder about the money rolling in or not as your case may be with a long term agreement. This was quoted to plant farmland not replanting woodland. NE aren’t very reliable for cash if that’s any comparison.

 

[livestock 1]

Spot on John. There was a scheme in Wales with very similar figures to what the OP is talking about, the whole thing ended up a fiasco, and I'm glad in the end I got bored with trying to follow it up.

So it might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Also once farmland is planted the job is a big commitment then.

 

[renewablejohn]

Yes I did wonder about the money rolling in or not as your case may be with a long term agreement. This was quoted to plant farmland not replanting woodland. NE aren’t very reliable for cash if that’s any comparison.

Mine was actually shelter belts on farmland. Also included pockets of ash which I have been forced to replace at my own expense.

 

[livestock 1]

Mine was actually shelter belts on farmland

This was 120 hectares of farmland to be potentially planted so pretty big risk if the money doesn’t come

 

[brigadoon]

Are you in Scotland? www.forestry.gov.uk should lead you to the info you want - never heard of any issues with Scotland honouring forestry contracts.

 

[livestock 1]

Are you in Scotland? www.forestry.gov.uk should lead you to the info you want - never heard of any issues with Scotland honouring forestry contracts.

No not in Scotland. This was for north of England

 

[Hesston4860s]

Personality wouldn’t bother, I’ve 36ac of fwps planted in late 90’s. The money stopped along time ago and yet they still cost me a small fortune each year, there was a light at the end of the tunnel in 2015 when RPA said I could claim BPS on them which would pay the costs and left a small amount. That didn’t work out and cost me another 2k in losing the entitlements I’d bought, seriously thinking of packing the job in at my year end in April !.

 

[brigadoon]

No not in Scotland. This was for north of England

Then I think you will find the info you are looking for here:-
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/woodland-carbon-fund

In general you woodland planting grants are there to help with establishing woodland - you are unlikely to be in pocket on the woodland grant alone.

 

[livestock 1]

Then I think you will find the info you are looking for here:-
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/woodland-carbon-fund

In general you woodland planting grants are there to help with establishing woodland - you are unlikely to be in pocket on the woodland grant alone.

Thanks so you can get £6800 per ha max but you still need to plant it in at that. Wonder what planting would cost?

 

[brigadoon]

Thanks so you can get £6800 per ha max but you still need to plant it in at that. Wonder what planting would cost?

Your best bet on that is to make contact with some of the forestry companies round you and get some indicative pricing at least. Treat the figures with a pinch of salt and do some research yourself - the companies make money out of establishing and harvesting trees - they are not your agents.

Your biggest cost will be ground preparation followed by tubing and staking of the hardwoods etc.

Its quite unlikely that you will be left with much in the way of change but you should get the plants in the ground without much changing hands.

However without wishing to be pedantic - you don't get a grant for planting trees (unless things have changed) - the grant is for establishing them - which normally means a minimum number of stems / hectare growing at year 10.

 

[renewablejohn]

Personality wouldn’t bother, I’ve 36ac of fwps planted in late 90’s. The money stopped along time ago and yet they still cost me a small fortune each year, there was a light at the end of the tunnel in 2015 when RPA said I could claim BPS on them which would pay the costs and left a small amount. That didn’t work out and cost me another 2k in losing the entitlements I’d bought, seriously thinking of packing the job in at my year end in April !.

I was also duped with the woodland grant scheme with the promise that it would not affect my other entitlements. Well it did the area of woodland under the scheme was deducted off my eligible area bringing my eligible area below the English minimum threshold of 5 hectares making me ineligible for any area payments whatsoever. Since then I have never trusted anything the Forestry Commission say as they make the rules up as they go along.

 

[renewablejohn]

Your best bet on that is to make contact with some of the forestry companies round you and get some indicative pricing at least. Treat the figures with a pinch of salt and do some research yourself - the companies make money out of establishing and harvesting trees - they are not your agents.

Your biggest cost will be ground preparation followed by tubing and staking of the hardwoods etc.

Its quite unlikely that you will be left with much in the way of change but you should get the plants in the ground without much changing hands.

However without wishing to be pedantic - you don't get a grant for planting trees (unless things have changed) - the grant is for establishing them - which normally means a minimum number of stems / hectare growing at year 10.

If you dont manage to establish then the options are to repay back the grant in full or plant more trees at your own expense.

 

[Hesston4860s]

I was also duped with the woodland grant scheme with the promise that it would not affect my other entitlements. Well it did the area of woodland under the scheme was deducted off my eligible area bringing my eligible area below the English minimum threshold of 5 hectares making me ineligible for any area payments whatsoever. Since then I have never trusted anything the Forestry Commission say as they make the rules up as they go along.

I know what your saying, in 2005 we never had entitlements issued on the woodland schemes and since the whole farm was on countryside stewardship we didn’t get any set aside entitlements either as didn’t need set aside !. But it was the RPA that told me in 2015 that I could claim BPS, and then 2 years later when trying to sort my 15/16 claims out said I couldn’t !. I’ve been fighting this decision ever since !, I’ll be going to York for an appeal in November and then the parliamentary ombudsman if that fails.

 

[renewablejohn]

I know what your saying, in 2005 we never had entitlements issued on the woodland schemes and since the whole farm was on countryside stewardship we didn’t get any set aside entitlements either as didn’t need set aside !. But it was the RPA that told me in 2015 that I could claim BPS, and then 2 years later when trying to sort my 15/16 claims out said I couldn’t !. I’ve been fighting this decision ever since !, I’ll be going to York for an appeal in November and then the parliamentary ombudsman if that fails.

Best of luck with your appeal you have done well even to get an appeal.