Presentation given at the CLA's Woodfuel Conference at Doddington Hall on Wednesday 30 October by Steve Scott, Forestry Commission - East and East Midlands.

1. Forestry grants update
Steve Scott

2. I plan to cover…..
• EWGS grants under the existing programme
and transition arrangements
• The closure of Woodfuel East and the Wild
Venison Project in the East of England
• A glimpse at the new RDP

3. Current Rural Development Programme

4. RDPE Transition – overall picture v3.1
2013
2014
2015
EWGS – All schemes except WMG
New Applications must be Submitted by
31/08/2013
(to maximise likelihood of approval by
31/12/2013, pending EU/Defra confirmation of
2014 applications)
EWGS – WMG Biodiversity
New Applications Submitted by 31/12/2013
Must be
Approved by
15/05/2014
EWGS – WAG – WPG – WIG - WRG
New Applications continue Approving up to 31/12/2013
Planning for applications
continuing into 2014,
to be confirmed by EU/Defra
EWGS – Woodfuel WIG
New applications continue Approving up to 31/12/2013
Planning for applications
continuing into 2014,
EWGS – WCG & FWP
New applications Submitted by 30/08/2013,
must be approved by 31/12/2013
First claim year available:
13/14: WAG, WPG, Woodfuel WIG, Plant Health WIG, Plant Health WRG
14/15: All other grant types, except WMG Access which is CLOSED
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Must be Claimed by
30/09/2015
To receive FWP must be claimed by
30/09/2015

5. RDPE Transition – claims and Management Plan requirement
2013
2014
2015
2016 on…
WMG
Automatic first claim Oct 2014
Mgt Plan req’d: Depends on size
and whether certified – see
EWGS6 Guide
Woodfuel WIG
Must be claimed by 30/09/2015. Mgt Plan req’d: YES
WIG/WRG/WAG*
First claim before 01/04/2015:
Mgt Plan req’d: NO
WIG/WRG/WAG*
Note: if first claim is before 01/04/2015
any further claims up to 31/12/2015
do not need a management plan either
WIG/WRG/WAG*
First claim after 31/03/2015:
Mgt Plan req’d: YES
WCG
Mgt Plan req’d: NO – the planting plan is taken as a management plan
FWP
Note: in order to claim FWP claims must be made by 30/09/2015
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*WAG: Note that if a WAG is in support of
a WPG application then it obviously won‟t
need an existing management plan
WIG/WRG/WAG*
Any claim on or after
01/01/2016:
Mgt Plan req’d: YES
(regardless of when first claim
made)

6. Woodfuel East and the Wild Venison Project

7. WFE and WVP
•
•
•
•
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Applied only to the East of England
EU projects bringing in c £5m funding since 2009
Extremely successful
Now closed –all money spent and final paperwork being
tidied

8. Support to the Forestry Sector in the
Next Rural Development Programme

9. Two types of grant
1. Similar suite of in-forest grants to EWGS anticipated
(albeit delivered through a joint Environment land
Management Scheme)
2. “Forest Productivity” grants available through Defra
•
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Consultation due shortly!

10. It’s the supply chain…
• Series of (locally-) targeted projects on two themes:
• Woodland Enterprise and Supply Chain
• Deer Management and Venison Supply Chain
• Use the positive interaction between
• land-based grants (NELMS)
• measures to support economic growth, competiveness and
skills
• to use collaboration and innovation
• to make a step-change in the viability and impact of
local supply chains
• will need a „critical mass‟ of participating
businesses/landowners, resources with sufficient focus
• aim for there to be greater market (and smaller
government) support in the future
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11. Woodland enterprise and supply chain
• Need to increase area of actively managed woodland
• Market failure
• Collaboration to work across fragmented resource
• Complement the demand from Grown in Britain

12. Objectives
m1
• Promote resource efficiency within the
sector
• Shorten supply chains
• Support economic growth
• Improve the resilience of woodlands

13. Possible support
• Preparatory stage: a national framework –
establishing and sharing data on the resource and
markets
• Supply chain clusters – networks to share
processes, facilities and resources; collaboration in
support of efficiencies; development of new products
and markets
• Training and skills – developing a customer focus
amongst growers and managers; business planning
and development skills, mentoring
• Capital equipment – for harvesting, extraction and
storage

14. Delivery
• Landscape-scale approach
• Groups of contractors, forest
managers, woodland
initiatives and other
interested parties bid to put
together a package of local
activities
• Local steering group or
board

15. Forestry Support - activity
Forestry support
New Environmental
Land Management
Scheme (part)
Forestry Productivity
(deer and wood)
Business Development
Management Planning
Training and skills
In-wood infrastructure
Collaboration
Deer Management
Capital equipment processing
Monitoring
Out of wood infrastructure
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16. Possible architecture for delivery
For simplicity excludes role of growth programme and LEPS.
Defra
Sector & FC
National Framework
Productivity
(Delivery Body e.g.
RDT)
New Environmental
Land Management
Scheme (NELMS)
(Delivery Body – NE &
FC)
Individual
wood or
landholding
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Individual
wood or
enterprise
Sector &
FC area teams
Enabling
(Local)
Collaborative
Partnerships
Individual
wood or
enterprise
Individual
wood or
enterprise
Individual
wood or
enterprise
Individual
wood or
enterprise

17. How it might work
• Periodic call for proposals
• Appraised nationally and awards made to successful
bids
• Up to 6 years‟ funding for a projects
• At this (early) stage indicative scale for the lifecycle of a
„typical‟ project would be:
Project Type
Woodland enterprise
and supply chain
Deer management and
venison supply chain
Productivity
NELMS *
£5m
£3m
£0.5m
£ 3m
* Not allocated to a given project but through individual land-based applications
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18. Questions?