Rural Payments and Services

This option provides support to prevent the spread of:

• Chalara ash dieback
• Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum)

This option helps with the restoration of forests affected by the above tree diseases by supporting the work to remove infected trees and carry out subsequent replanting.

Grant support consists of a number of standard cost capital items. These are available for work to help prevent the spread of disease and restore affected woodlands. The eligible items are listed below in the table under eligible operations.

Your application and proposed work must comply with the UK Forestry Standard.

If you are a tenant then a Landlord’s Declaration must be provided with your application. The control of the land must extend for the duration of the proposed contract.

If you are a contractual licensee then the Contractual License must be provided with your application. The control of the land must extend for the duration of the proposed contract.

If you are a crofter you may have to notify the Crofting Commission of your application. See the Crofting Commission website for further details.

Your site must have a Statutory Plant Health Notice served on it that specifically requires the site to be cleared within a defined timescale.

The Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands grant is also available on land within the designated management zone for P. ramorum. This grant will be paid on the infected land within the management zone and any other areas that are required for reasonable access as agreed with your local conservancy office. If you receive the grant for Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands then you are not eligible for the Woodland Improvement Grant – Restructuring Regeneration grant.

We will only approve your application if you agree to replant any area of woodland that you clear.

You must be or have a Forestry Commission Scotland approved agent to qualify for the Agent Services capital items marked with an asterisk.

If you need to fell trees that are not included in the Statutory Plant Health Notice area, such as for access or adjacent areas, you must get an approved felling licence or Forest Plan amendment before you start to fell.

• Felling licences
• Long-term Forest Plan technical guidance

Capital grant operations that can be applied for under this option are listed in the table below.

'Per hectare of infected land' refers to the net area of the required operation (e.g. tree clearance, rhododendron control, cut, spray and burn) within the Statutory Plan Health Notice area boundary.

Capital grant operations
Phytophthora ramorum
Agent Services – Advisory *	£200
Agent Services – Compliance *	£500
Agent Services – Harvesting and Marketing *	£1000
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Clearing Saw – First 5 Hectares	£600/hectare of infected land
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Clearing Saw – Hectares Above 5 Hectares up to 10 Hectares	£450/hectare of infected land
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Clearing Saw – Hectares in Excess of 10 Hectares	£300/hectare of infected land
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Other Mechanised Equipment – First 5 Hectares	£1200/hectare of infected land
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Other Mechanised Equipment – Hectares Above 5 Hectares up to 10 Hectares	£900/hectare of infected land
Tree Clearance – Larch Younger Than 26 Years – Other Mechanised Equipment – Hectares in Excess of 10 Hectares	£600/hectare of infected land
Uneconomic Felling – Larch 26 Years or Older – First 5 Hectares	£1200/hectare of infected land
Uneconomic Felling – Larch 26 Years or Older – Hectares Above 5 Hectares up to 10 Hectares	£900/hectare of infected land
Uneconomic Felling – Larch 26 Years or Older – Hectares in Excess of 10 Hectares	£600/hectare of infected land
Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands	£1400/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Manual – Light	£3500/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Manual – Medium	£5500/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Manual – Difficult	£7300/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Mechanised – Light	£2200/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Mechanised – Medium	£3400/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Mechanised – Difficult	£5600/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Foliar Spray Treatment	£200/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Follow-up	£200/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Stem Injection – Medium	£3000/hectare of infected land
Rhododendron Eradication – Stem Injection – Difficult	£4500/hectare ovf infected land
Chalara ash dieback
Pull and Burn / Deep Bury (Tree Under 3 Years Old)	£550/hectare of infected land
Cut, Spray and Burn / Bury (Trees 3 to 9 Years Old)	£1000/hectare of infected land
Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands	£1400/hectare of infected land

We need supporting information to help assess your application.

You must give the details listed below:

• a copy of your Statutory Plant Health Notice, where required
• provide maps that show the following information:
  - perimeter of the affected area
  - the individual associated capital elements
  - restocking plans, where relevant

General mapping guidance for the Forestry Grant Scheme

We have set agreed financial budgets for each of the options under the Forestry Grant Scheme. In order to ensure that we make the most cost-effective use of the money available and to meet Scottish Government objectives, we will assess each application using scoring criteria.

The criteria will be written as appropriate to each Forestry Grant Scheme option. We will set a minimum score that an application for any particular option must achieve to be considered for approval.

Threshold score = 2 points

Each option within your application must meet the threshold score to be considered for approval. In achieving the threshold score, your option must score against each criterion except for additional benefit.

The scores will then be used as the basis for allocating funding on a competitive basis through the Forestry Grant Scheme clearing process.

Delivery of option benefits

1 POINT – for applications that meet the eligibility requirements but do not deliver any of the benefits detailed below.

3 POINTS – for applications that provide one or more of the following in addition to meeting the eligibility requirements:

• applications for the management of woodlands affected by Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum) which are located within either P. ramorum risk zone 2 or 3. Refer to the P. ramorum risks zones in the 'Plant Health' folder of the Forestry Commission Scotland Map Viewer to confirm your application meets this requirement

Or

• applications for the management of woodlands affected by Chalara ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) which are located within either the 'Chalara sheltered zone' or the 'Chalara buffer zone'. Refer to the ‘Chalara mgmt zone’ map in the in the ‘Plant Health’ folder of the Forestry Commission Scotland Map Viewer to confirm your application meets this requirement.

5 POINTS – for applications that meet one of the three-point criteria above and the criteria below:

• applications for the management of woodlands affected by P. ramorum which are located in ‘Phytophthora zone 3’

Or

• applications for the management of woodlands affected by Chalara ash dieback which are located in the 'Chalara sheltered zone'.

Supplementary point – additional benefit

1 POINT – will be awarded, as an additional point, where:

• applications for woodlands affected by P. ramorum clearly demonstrate a commitment to remove the infected trees before the next period of sporulation (formation of spores) begins on the needles

Or

• applications for woodlands affected by Chalara ash dieback are within the ‘Chalara sheltered zone’, and are located adjacent (or in very close proximity) to an existing ash woodland which has been unaffected by Chalara ash dieback

The grant for Tree Health is based on a number of capital grant operations. We will pay capital grants once you have satisfactorily completed the proposed work. We may inspect the capital grant operations you are claiming to ensure that the work has been carried out to the correct specification.

Please refer to the capital grant operations minimum specification guidance to find out what supporting documentation and maps you need to supply with your capital claim.

• Felling licences
• Long-term Forest Plan technical guidance
• Forestry Commission Scotland approved agent
• UK Forestry Standard
• General mapping guidance for the Forestry Grant Scheme
• Chalara Action Plan for Scotland
• Phytophthora ramorum

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