by Neville Elstone (Director)
Santa has promised EWCO tree planting grants and his DEFRA Elves are working on the woodland management ones...
I know I’m biased but we do need more trees in the county and country so it's really great to see that the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) uptake has grown year on year nationally. EWCO also has avoided the pause in new capital land management payments announced earlier this week which is a huge relief as momentum around creation builds. I do have a nagging doubt in my head around both payment rates and budgets for creation beyond March 2025 as we reach the end of the Nature for Climate Fund and enter a new spending round, the details of which are yet to be shared.
Last week I was one of a lucky few to get an early view of the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier Notebook, essentially the guidance document for all land management incentives for England including woodland management in the future. This is due to be published in December.
We were part of a joint national response with Confor and the Woodland Trust which got across some powerful messages. In the main we were supportive as there were no major surprises, we did express frustration about the long delays in any offer of support for existing woodlands, highlighting missed opportunities and the lack of engagement with DEFRA in the last year on the detail within the scheme.
The support for Plantations on Ancient (PAWS) looks to have moved on and developed but we think there is more to do in this space with incentives and have been bringing together Forest Services and the Woodland Trust folk over the last couple of years to discuss and consider what incentives are needed to help gently restore more of these precious woodlands.
I do have a strong personal concern about the targeting of the new Higher Tier scheme. The country won’t be able to do everything, and how a rationing system which delivers maximum benefit for the country is to be rolled out will be tricky.
Given the awful flooding in the last ten days both in this country and beyond combined with future predictions for the climate, I have real worries about targeting of payments for land use change and management to reduce flooding. The scheme details don’t seem to engage and utilise all the Risk Management Authorities for flood management.
As it stands I can’t see how these grants will be used to maximise and encouraged creation and other positive land uses changes to protect homes and businesses downstream. We will continue to work with DEFRA and the Forestry Commission to hone, develop and shape incentives to best harness woodlands and their potential for the county and country.
Read more about the updates here - https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2024/11/27/an-update-on-capital-grants/
