Urban Tree Challenge Fund

The Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) is open for new applications until 23:59 on 31 May 2022. To apply applicants will need to register with Rural Payments to obtain a Single Business Identifier (SBI). The fund re-opens with a planting budget of £3.8 million (excluding establishment payments) for the coming planting season 2022/23.

UTCF supports both block bids and individual applications. A block bid is designed for organisations to apply for funding for multiple projects that can be geographically dispersed or focused in one area but submitted under one application.

The guideline for block bids is a minimum UTCF funding requirement of £125,000. Individual applications are for smaller, focused areas of planting undertaken by small organisations or community groups. These individual applications will need a minimum UTCF funding requirement of £10,000 up to a maximum of £30,000.

The fund provides 50% of published standard costs for planting and establishment. The remaining costs of planting and establishing trees supported under the UTCF must be met through match funding, either in the form of money or labour. Agreement holders can complete tree planting over two planting seasons: winter 2022/2023 and winter 2023/24. However, applications must have at least 50% of tree planting scheduled in 2022/23.

The UTCF is a competitive fund and your application will be scored and ranked to identify projects that will provide the greatest environmental and social benefits to an area. Value for money may also be considered, with additional points being awarded where applications demonstrate this (for example, by containing a higher number of trees relative to competing applications).

Find out if you’re eligible

Who can apply?

Anyone can apply for the Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF), if you either have full management control over the land or signed consent from those with management control over the land for the duration of the Agreement. Agents are also able to apply on behalf of an organisation or landowner. Any individual or organisation can submit up to 2 distinct applications to the UTCF. Multiple applications from the same applicant will be ranked and scored independently from one another.

Where the applicant does not have full management control over the land in the application (for example, the applicant is a tenant, trustee, joint owner or representative of a group of adjoining owners), we will require written permission from all parties with management control over the land before an agreement can be issued. This should come in the form of countersignatures on the application form.

Land submitted in an UTCF application does not need to be registered on the Rural Land Register, but applicants will need to register with Rural Payments to obtain a Single Business Identifier (SBI) and a Customer Reference Number (CRN). This must be provided on the application form.

Eligible land

Land included in a UTCF application must fall within an urban area. An urban area, as defined for the purposes of the UTCF, is a built-up area (based on Office of National Statistics data) with a population of at least 2,000 people, and a buffer of 1km to account for peri-urban planting. This can be identified on the Forestry Commission map browser using the ‘UTCF Trees Close to People’ layer located in the Targeting and Scoring list of map layers. You must confirm in your application that your land falls entirely within this map layer.

How to apply

Submit an application

Maps

You must submit a map with your application, identifying the areas proposed for planting. Maps should be produced at a scale of 1:1,250. Where application areas are in more than one geographical area, a map for each will be required. For further information about mapping standards please refer to the UTCF grant manual.

Terms and conditions

Read the Round 4 Terms and Conditions (PDF, 471 KB, 43 pages)

How it works

What is funded

The Urban Tree Challenge Fund provides 50% funding of standard costs (see ‘Table 1 - Standard cost’ below) for planting large trees and their establishment costs for 3 years following planting. The funding supports the cost of buying a tree, planting in grass, the cost of basic protection and the labour required to plant it.

Establishment payments support the cost of weeding, watering and checking trees during multiple visits over a 3 year period.

The grant rate available per tree is 50% of standard costs and we will not fund anything above this value.

Table 1 - Standard Costs

Description	100% Standard Cost (£) (planting and 3 years of establishment)	Funding rate - 50% of Standard Cost (£)
Supply a standard tree, with a clear stem up to 1.8m from ground level with a head of branches. Standards come in a range of sizes and age is dependent on species and growth rate. Funding is based on a 14-16cm standard. Prepare a tree pit in a grass verge (other planting surfaces are acceptable, but the payment rate is fixed), with local authority approved pit edging. Plant tree with twin stakes, watering tube and mulch. Supply a lightweight steel mesh tree guard (the protection must be suitable for the planting location).	£270.45	£135.23
Water young tree in pit via tube applying a minimum of 60 litres per visit, 14 visits per year. Weed and check stake and ties, 7 visits per season.	£189 per year for three years	£94.50 per year for three years

Protection measures including the type of guard used must be appropriate for the planting location, but anything above those listed in the standard costs table will have to be funded separately as part of the match funding. You will be required to detail this information in the application form annex.

Payments will be made in 4 instalments. The first instalment will cover the supply and planting of the tree. This will be followed by 3 further annual claims for the remaining establishment costs.

Match funding

Fund recipients must provide 50% match funding in the form of money or labour. The funding rate has been calculated based on paying a 50% contribution towards the standard cost of a given item and the cost of establishment, such as weeding and watering. Where labour is used as match funding, this must be converted into a monetary value to be included in your application. You will be required to confirm that you have adequate match funding in place to deliver the project. Sources of grant funding that are part of the Nature for Climate Fund, for example the Local Authority Treescape Fund and Trees Call to Action Fund cannot be used as match funding. Please refer to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund terms and conditions, for further details on what can be included in match funding.

Advice and best practice

The Forestry Commission will not provide technical advice for your application. It is up to you to source expert advice from a competent person to ensure your planting proposal meets best practice. We suggest you follow the best practice advice found in the Urban Tree Manual.

We consider experts to include persons with membership to a professional body. Examples of this can include, but are not limited to:

• Institute of Chartered Foresters
• Arboricultural Association
• London Tree Officer’s Association
• Municipal Tree Officers Association
• National Association of Tree Officers

Contact the Forestry Commission

You can get help from the Forestry Commission by emailing UTCF@forestrycommission.gov.uk

Make an appeal

Find out how to make a complaint or appeal.