How much you’ll be paid 

£1.72 per tree

Payments for creating new woodland

You can be paid up to £6,800 per hectare (ha) if you use this item to create new woodland.

Payments for restocking after a tree health issue

If you are restocking woodland where trees have been infected by ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxinea), Phytophthora ramorum, Phytopthora pluvialis or Sweet chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) you’ll be paid up to the following amounts.

Restock tree species	Ancient woodland site	Other
Native	£6,000 per ha	£4,720 per ha
Non-native	£3,000 per ha	£3,850 per ha

The amount for native tree species applies where over 80% of restocked trees are native. If over 20% of restocked trees are not native, the amount for non-native tree species applies.

For confirmation on which tree species are classed as native or non-native, contact the Forestry Commission.

How this item benefits the environment

Planting trees including shrubs:

• supports wildlife particularly when new trees, woodland, scrub or wood pasture links, restores or creates a protective buffer
• reduces the risk of floods, improves water quality and prevents soil erosion
• improves resilience and allows wildlife and habitats to adapt to climate change
• enhances the landscape including designed landscapes, for example, parkland
• improves air quality by using trees to capture ammonia emissions, reducing the impact on sensitive habitats and species and on human health

Where you can use this item 

You can use this item with Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Woodland Tree Health grants to plant single trees, clumps of trees, hedgerows or woodlands on either:

• land that has not been woodland for at least 10 years before the date of application
• woodland following felling due to a plant health disease
• hedgerows

You can also use this item with the approval of Catchment Sensitive Farming in Capital Grants to plant tree shelter belts. These help improve air quality by capturing ammonia from:

• slurry or digestate stores
• livestock housing for poultry or pigs
• free-range areas for poultry or pigs

Catchment Sensitive Farming provides advice where there’s water or air quality, or flood risk issues linked to farming.

You cannot use this item:

• if tree planting could damage areas of ecological, archaeological or historic interest
• to plant woodland for producing Christmas trees or biomass
• to plant cricket bat willows
• for restocking woodlands following a conditional felling licence, except where this has been issued for tree health reasons
• to plant ash trees

You cannot use fencing, tree shelters or individual tree guards to     protect the trees from livestock.

What you must do to use this item

When planting trees, you must:

• use tree species that support the planting objectives and are appropriate for the soil and climatic conditions
• select planting stock that complies with the Forest Reproductive Material Regulations 2002 (where applicable)
• select planting stock that is appropriate in size and type for the planting site
• create a suitable planting site by spraying herbicide in advance – scarifying in lines or preparing a bare patch of land (screefing) with a spade
• use a planting method that helps survival, with roots fully inserted in the ground with the root collar at ground level – the tree must be firmed in without damaging the stem
• protect young trees by attaching a 0.6m spiral guard secured with a cane -you need to agree this with your Forestry Commission or Natural England adviser if you do not use them for protecting broadleaved species (conifers do not require spiral guards)
• plant trees when dormant and attach the spiral guard immediately if needed
• maintain the spiral guards until the trees are established – remove the spiral and cane when the tree no longer needs support
• replace dead trees in the following planting season – at the end of the agreement, each grant funded tree must be alive and in good condition

Planting new woodland

When planting new woodland, you must prepare a habitat creation plan that includes:

• your planting objectives – for example, to support biodiversity, water or air quality or to restock after a plant health disease issue
• the species you’ll plant
• the number of trees you’ll plant per hectare

• the percentage and location of open space in the new woodland and how it will be protected (either with fencing or tree guards)

• a map showing the areas where you’ll plant and open space

Creating or restocking woodland

If you are planting trees to create new woodland or to restock woodland, you must follow these requirements:

Dimensions	Create new woodland	Create new woodland to improve water or air quality or reduce flood risk	Restock after a tree health issue	Plant tree shelter belt or area under Capital Grants
Minimum agreement size	3ha	1ha	0.25ha	see note 1
Minimum block size	0.5ha	0.1ha	0.1ha	see note 1
Minimum width	20 metres (m)	10m	20m	Width of livestock shed or store or free range area (or both) – see note 1
Minimum depth				20m** or free-range area
Minimum stocking density	1100 stems per ha (sph) – see note 2	1,600sph	1100sph – see note 2	Main canopy 1100 sph Backstop canopy 2500 sph
Maximum internal open space	20%	20%	20%	0
Maximum individual glade area (after canopy closure)	0.5ha	0.5ha	0.5ha	NA
Maximum linear open space width (after canopy closure)	20m	20m	NA	0

Note 1: depends on source of ammonia and effectiveness of capture by trees – see below.

Note 2: in exceptional circumstances, where there will be a specific biodiversity benefit, you may be able to use a reduced stocking density of 400sph.

Read replace trees after felling due to pests and diseases for more information on replacing trees in plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS).

When planting trees to capture and reduce ammonia emissions    

You must  prepare a tree planting plan which is designed to capture ammonia from:

• livestock housing
• slurry or digestate stores
• livestock housing for pigs or poultry
• free-range areas for pigs or poultry

You must plant the trees within 20 metres (m) of either the:

• livestock building
• slurry or digestate stores
• entire ranging area for free range poultry or pigs

You must also get approval from Catchment Sensitive Farming for your application. 

Approval is based on the effectiveness of the proposed tree planting for capturing ammonia emissions. The guidance and tree calculator for ammonia mitigation can help you plan your planting. 

When planting, you must plant trees based on your design plan.

Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations

Before planting trees, you must check if you need a forestry Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The area you plan to plant usually determines the need for an EIA:

• planting less than 0.5ha will never require an EIA as this does not meet the definition of afforestation
• planting between 0.5ha and 2ha will typically mean you do not need to make an EIA application unless there’s a statutory designation on the site like a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), or other environmental sensitivity such as an archaeological feature
• planting more than 2ha will typically require an Environmental Impact Assessment application

You should discuss and agree requirements that are specific to your site with your Forestry Commission adviser.

Evidence you must keep     

You must keep photographs of the completed work and provide them with your claim.

You must also keep and provide on request:

• any consents or permissions connected with the work
• receipted invoices or bank statements where a receipted invoice is unavailable

Read the record keeping and site visit requirements in the Agreement holder’s guide: Capital Grants, Higher Tier capital grants and Protection and Infrastructure grants for more information.

Other items you can use with this item

You can use this item with these items:

FG1 Fencing

FG2: Sheep netting

FG4: Rabbit fencing supplement

FG5: Fencing supplement - difficult sites

FG9: Deer fencing

FG12: Wooden field gate

FG14: Badger gate

FG15: Water gates

TE5: Supplement for use of individual tree-shelters

TE6: Tree guard (tube and mesh)

TE7: Tree guard (wood post and rail)

TE8: Tree guard (wood post and wire)

Advice to help you use this item

The following advice may help you to use this item, but you do not have to follow it to get paid. It’s not part of this item’s requirements.  

Selecting the tree species

Select a tree species for the site that suits the management objectives, local soil, and current and predicted climate conditions. Your Forestry Commission or Natural England adviser can help you with this. For woodland sites, use the Forestry Commission tree species selection tool to find the right species and estimate yield class.

Advisers can guide you to suitable restocking species for specific sites in line with applicable felling licence conditions and the UK Forestry Standard UKFS.

Additional information is available at Replacing trees after felling due to pests and diseases.  This item is only available  if trees are infected by ash dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, Phytopthora pluvialis or Sweet chestnut blight.  

The Forestry Commission or the Animal and Plant Health Agency must confirm cases of ash dieback. A statutory plant health notice (SPHN) must confirm Phytophthora ramorum, Phytopthora pluvialis or a Sweet chestnut blight infection.

Locating trees to protect water quality and reduce flood risk

You should plant across slopes, along contours, in field corners that are pinch points for water flows, across run-off pathways or riparian zones     .zones. Slowing the flow improves water infiltration and water storage in soils, reduces sediment loss and buffers water courses.

You can find out more about effective planting from the:

• UK Forestry Standard Practice guide to designing and managing forests and woodlands to reduce flood risk
• Forest Research guide to Managing forest operations to protect the water environment
• Woodland Trust guide to Keeping Rivers Cool

Controlling weeds

You should protect trees must from competing weeds for 3 years, or until they are big enough not to be threatened by them.

You can do this by using suitable mulch, an appropriate herbicide or weeding by hand. You must follow relevant laws and codes of practice if spraying.