About the Tree Production Capital Grant (TPCG)

The TPCG is a competitive grant, which provides funding to help tree nurseries and seed suppliers invest in projects which improve, expand, automate or mechanise their operations. This will help improve the quantity, quality, diversity, and biosecurity of domestic tree supply.

The government aims to at least treble tree planting rates in England by 2025, and has set legally binding targets to increase tree and woodland cover to 16.5% of total land area by 2050. Meeting these planting targets domestically will require a corresponding increase in UK production of tree planting material. The TPCG supports projects that will better equip nurseries to supply the trees required for new woodlands and tree planting projects. The grant forms part of the government’sGovernment’s Nature for Climate Fund (NCF).Fund.

As well as enhancing the quantity of trees produced, we need to enhance the quality and diversity of trees produced. This will enable us to plant resilient treescapes that support biodiversity and are resilient to stresses such as climate change and pests and diseases. This means facilitating the supply of diverse planting material from a range of species and provenances. Stocking material should be of the highest possible quality to reduce planting losses and ensure the delivery of healthy trees thriving in the landscape.

The fund aims to help suppliers increase their domestic production, efficiency, and resilience. It has been designed to complement the Tree Production Innovation Fund, which provides support for research projects that will enhance UK tree production methods.

The grant is open to tree and tree seed suppliers of all sizes, as well as new entrants looking to diversify into the sector.

Read our case study to find out how Cutlers Wood Ltd upscaled tree production through mechanisation to meet customer demand with TPCG funding.

What funding is available?

The TPCG provides 50% funding for projects up to a maximum grant value of £175,000.

You should consider the source of your match funding before applying and explain this in your application. You may not source match funding from another NCFNature for Climate Fund (NCF) funded grant.

Example projects suitable for funding could include:

• investments in machinery such as transplanting systems and grading machines
• improved polytunnel infrastructure and irrigation systems
• biosecurity through improved water treatment and refrigeration equipment
• seed processing or storage equipment

You may submit no more than one bid during each funding round.

Funding is available for the 2024-2025 financial year only. All items must be received and work completed between 1 April 2024 and 27 March 2025. Before applying, please make sure you are confident that you can complete all activities and receive all items before thethis projectdate. deadline. Any spend after this date will not be eligible to claim for.

Funding will be split into 2 streams:

• Stream A: projects valued between £10,000 and £100,000
• Stream B: projects valued at greater than £100,000

Projects must have a minimum total cost of £10,000 to be eligible.

Funding Stream	Project Value	Funding Available (50%)
A	£10,000 to £100,000	£5,000 to £50,000
B	>£100,000	>£50,000 to £175,000

Eligible costs that may be claimed for include:

• costs of equipment and machinery purchased
• delivery and shipping costs of items purchased
• personnel costs related to the construction or implementation of the items purchased at the applicant’s site of operation

The following expenditure is ineligible:

• retrospective funding for work already carried out or to be carried out before a grant agreement is signed
• maintenance costs of the items purchased
• any training required for staff to make use of the items purchased
• trees of tree seed or to be delivered as the outputs of the project proposal
• consumables, for example compost or fertiliser

ThePlease be aware that the grant is paid in arrears. ToIn order to claim for an item, you must have purchased and received it. SoTherefore, please make sure you canare able to purchase items up front before applying.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for funding, you must be UK-based and will need to demonstrate how the grant will be used to increase English tree seed or sapling supply.

Applicants to the TPCG could include:

• private sector nurseries and seed suppliers
• public sector organisations such as Local Authorities
• new entrants to forestry from horticulture or agriculture
• environmental NGOs
• community tree nurseries

The grant is open to forestry nurseries as well as those which produce amenity, fruit, or nut trees.

Forestry England and Forest Research are not eligible for funding under the TPCG.

Consortium applications

You are welcome to apply for the TPCG in partnership with other organisations. In your application you should identify which organisation will be lead organisation.

If your application is successful, the lead organisation will become the sole agreement holder and will be the sole recipient of grant funding upon receipt of valid claims. They will be responsible for the undertakings and obligations detailed in any grant agreement, in line with termsTerms and conditionsConditions of funding.

The contractual arrangements held between the lead organisation and their collaborators are not the responsibility of the Forestry Commission. The lead organisation will have sole responsibility for onward disbursal of grant funding to collaborators, for example.

How do I apply?

To apply to the TPCG, you must submit a completed Application Form and Finance Spreadsheet to tpcg@forestrycommission.gov.uk by 11.55pm on Tuesday 30 January 2024. A single stage application process will be followed. This is a competitive grant and so it is possible that not all eligible applications will be funded.

In the application form, you will be asked to provide details about:

• the project and the outputs expected
• how the project aligns with the scope of the grant and meets the aim to increase the quality, quantity, diversity and/or biosecurity of tree or tree seed supply in England
• your approach to delivering the project and any delivery risks
• the cost of the project and how it represents value for money your organisation and for the taxpayer
• the source of your match funding 
• whether you have received, have applied for, or intend to apply for any other government funds

In your financeFinance spreadsheet,Spreadsheet, you should itemise project costs and funding applied for. Where possible, please base costs on quotes. All costs and financial details should be in £ Sterling and should be exclusive of any recoverable VAT.

All sections of the application form are mandatory and you must complete the forms in English. DoPlease do not make any alterations to the layout or format of the forms. If any part of your application is incomplete, we will return your application to you within 3 working days for you to revise and resubmit before the deadline.deadline should you wish. If any part of your application is unclear, we may contact you to request further information.

If you needwish to amend your application before the published deadline or withdraw your application at any time, please email: tpcg@forestrycommission.gov.uk

If you consider the information contained within your application to be commercially sensitive, you must notify us of this when submitting your application.

How will applications be assessed?

All applications will be evaluated and scored by a panel with expertise and experience of tree production methods used in England. If the grant is oversubscribed, funding will be awarded to the highest scoring applications.

Any applications deemed to fall outside the scope of the fund or that do not meet the TPCG eligibility criteria will not be evaluated and will be rejected.

If your application scores 0 for any of the scored questions or scores less than 16/32 overall, it will be unsuccessful. Funding decisions may be conditional on the outcome of a physical inspection by the Forestry Commission to ensure the suitability of the site and proposals.

We will notify applicants of their TPCG funding decision by Friday 8th March 2024.

The Forestry Commission reserves the right to not award all of the funding available if insufficient bids of an appropriate quality are received.

All eligible applications will remain valid for 6 months after the closing date. If the funds are oversubscribed and additional funds become available, we may reconsider valid applications for funding.

Reporting and payments

If your application is successful, you will be issued with a grant agreement. You must not begin your project before the start date of your grant agreement or before you have signed your agreement. Expenditure outside of the funding period will not be eligible to claim back.

You may claim at any time but are advised to claim for multiple items at once where possible, and to submit claims no more frequently than once per month. You must have received an item or completed a piece of work before you can claim for it. The deadline for final claims will be 27 March 2025.

We will pay claims in arrears by BACS transfer following receipt of completed claim forms. Payment of the claim will be made within 30 days of usthe FC approving your claim. All All claims must be supported by evidence of eligible expenditure (i.e., invoices/ timesheets) and photos and descriptions of purchased items or work carried out to date. We reserve the right to arrange site visits to confirm progress made on projects.

You must complete a post-implementation report within three to six months of submitting your final claim. This must detail achievement against stated outcome and outputs, lessons learnt, a complete cost breakdown outlining how the grant funding has been spent, and any need for further development. We will provide you with a template for this report.

Payments may be reclaimed if reports are not submitted on time. You may be encouraged to work with us to publish a short article in a suitable trade press after the work has been completed.

Further Information

The Forestry Commission reserve the right to change the deadline for applications or make changes to the application process at short notice. The Forestry Commission reserve the right to amend, add to or withdraw all or any part of the funding application process at any time during the process.

All changes are recorded at the bottom of this page (click ‘show all updates’). If you have already submitted an application, we will contact you by email to inform you of these changes. Material changes (for example to the closing date or eligibility rules) will also be communicated via the Forestry Commission’s Grants and Regulations eAlert. 

If you needwish to queryclarify any application requirements or the application process, please email  tpcg@forestrycommission.gov.uk. If we consider queriesinformation requests relevant to any applicant, we will provide additional guidance to all applicants (via point of contact provided) by email to ensure a fair and open process. We may be unable to respond to some queries or requests due to the competitive bid process. We reserve the right not to answer queriesclarifications where we consider that the answer to that clarification would or would be likely to prejudice commercial interests. 

Applicants who canvass Forestry Commission or Defra employees associated with the TPCG may have their applications rejected from the process. Applicants who are unable to accept the standard terms and conditions of the funding may have their application eliminated from the application process.  

The Forestry Commission may carry out checks on each application using a variety of government tools including the Cabinet Office’s automated grants due diligence tool called ‘Spotlight’ and bankBank accountAccount verificationVerification software. As part of due diligence process, the Forestry Commission may share details of the organisations involved in applications with other parts of government.

The Forestry Commission is not responsible for any losses, breakages or injuries incurred by the applicant whilst engaged in activities associated with the TPCG.

Neither the Forestry Commission nor its respective advisers, directors, officers, members, partners, employees, other staff or agents:

• makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness, or completeness of this guidance
• accepts any responsibility for the information contained in this guidance or for the fairness, accuracy or completeness of that information nor shall any of them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of reliance on such information or any subsequent communication

Contact us

If you have questions about the TPCG or the application process, emailplease contact us at tpcg@forestrycommission.gov.uk.

Find out how to make a complaint or appeal.