A Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund worth £7.8 million has been launched for local authorities with the aim of creating more woodland and tree planting in local areas, particularly in winter seasons 2023/24 and 2024/25.
The fund provides financial support to increase the capacity of specialist skills within local authorities enabling them in turn to accelerate the delivery of tree planting and woodland creation commitments.
The Forestry Commission and Defra are in charge of delivering the scheme, which is part of the £750 million Nature for Climate Fund. The Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund is a revenue only fund, and individual authorities can apply for up to £150,000 in total which will be given to them over a two year period. The maximum grant grows to a total of £300,000 when authorities work in partnership.
Calculation of the funding is based on the typical salary cost of two suitably qualified full time employees, which could include project managers, woodland creation officers and specialist advisers.
The support will be offered to a minimum of 50 local authorities in England, with applications closing on Friday 8 July 2022.
The applications will be assessed on:
