England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) is a Forestry Commission-administered funding program in England aimed at supporting the establishment of new woodlands. It is part of the Nature for Climate Fund and open for applications year-round until 31 March 2026.

Objectives:

• Combat climate change by creating woodlands that store carbon.
• Contribute to nature recovery by providing habitat for native flora and fauna.
• Improve water quality and reduce flood risk.
• Provide climate change mitigation by cooling watercourses.
• Create woodlands close to people and increase recreational access.
• Encourage ammonia capture to protect sensitive sites.

Target Beneficiaries:

• Landowners, land managers, tenants, landlords, and public bodies with full management control of land in England.
• Eligible land must not already be woodland or under existing woodland creation obligations.
• Applications can be made for areas as small as 1 hectare.

Key Features:

• Payments up to £10,200 per hectare for capital costs of woodland creation.
• Up to 15 years of annual maintenance payments.
• Additional contributions up to £12,700 per hectare for delivering wider public benefits such as nature recovery, flood risk management, water quality, recreational access, and proximity to settlements.
• Low sensitivity land payment of £1,100 per hectare to encourage planting on less agriculturally valuable land.
• Biosecure Procurement Requirement pilot to ensure tree suppliers meet health standards.
• Support for infrastructure installation to enable woodland management and public access.
• Option to register with the Woodland Carbon Code for additional income from carbon credits.

Application Process:

• Applicants must register on the Rural Payments service and have a Single Business Identifier.
• Submit an application form with a map showing the proposed woodland location and capital works.
• Applications are competitive and scored; a threshold score of 10 points is required.
• Funding decisions take 12 to 20 weeks, including a 21-day public notice period.
• Contact local woodland creation officers for guidance and support.
• Applications can be emailed or sent by post to the Forestry Commission.

EWCO also plans a phased transition into Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) to maintain continuity of woodland creation support.

This program provides comprehensive financial and technical support to encourage sustainable woodland creation with multiple environmental and social benefits.