LAND OWNERS SUBMIT PLANS FOR NEW WOODLANDS FOR THE NATIONAL FOREST (11/05/06)

The National Forest is set to benefit this year as significant areas of land have been submitted to the National Forest Tender Scheme, the woodland creation grant scheme, unique to the Forest.

Year on year, it is the Tender Scheme that is the main method of turning what was once one of the least wooded areas of England into The National Forest, a multi-purpose mosaic of woodland covering one third of the Forest’s 200 square miles.

More shelter and space for wildlife; greater opportunities for people to enjoy walking, cycling, horse riding, fishing; landscape improvements through partnerships and joint enthusiasm for this unique environmental initiative.

This year’s Tender Scheme closed on 31 March 2006, with a total of 20 applications from landowners keen to incorporate tree planting with a range of nature conservation, leisure and recreation features on their land.
In all, 307 hectares (760 acres) of land have been put forward for selection in a competitive bidding process. The schemes vary in size from 4 hectares (9.90 acres) to nearly 57 hectares (140 acres), with an average of just over 15.4 hectares (38 acres) per scheme.

All the applications are on farmland and all but two have been submitted by farmers.
“This number of applications is excellent news,” commented Dr Hugh Williams, Incentives and Land Management Officer for the National Forest Company (NFC).

“It demonstrates continuing support for the Tender Scheme amongst landowners, who can clearly see the advantages that the scheme has to offer. The number and quality of the applications mean that the NFC’s Board will have some difficult decisions to make and the selection process will be very competitive.”

The NFC Board will meet on 18 July to assess the applications.
The winning schemes will be publicly announced in October 2006.

Members of the public are able to view the applications through the Public Register on the Forestry Commission website: www.forestry.gov.uk from the beginning of May.
The National Forest Tender Scheme is jointly administered by the NFC and the Forestry Commission. Since 1995, over 64% of land being converted into woodland in the Forest has been achieved through the Tender Scheme.
Over this time an impressive 175 Tender Schemes have been awarded covering more than 3,209 hectares (7,930 acres). Over the last three years the average cost of the winning schemes was £8,650/ha (£3,500/acre).

For further information on the Tender Scheme please contact Dr Hugh Williams at the National Forest Company, Enterprise Glade, Bath Lane, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 6BD. Tel: 01283 551211.