Tree Planting Grants UK 2026 — Countryside Stewardship, EWCO & More

Why Tree Planting Grants Matter to UK Arborists

In short: in England the main tree planting grant is the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO): standard costs up to an average of £10,200 a hectare for 1 hectare or more of new woodland, plus £400 a hectare a year for 15 years of maintenance. Scotland has the Forestry Grant Scheme, Wales its woodland creation grants and Northern Ireland the Forest Expansion Scheme. The grant is paid to the landowner, and work can only start once their agreement is in place: an offer letter isn't enough.

The UK government has set a legal target for England: at least 16.5% of land covered by woodland and trees outside woodland by the end of 2050 (SI 2023/90 reg 3). A series of grant schemes pay landowners to create new woodland, manage existing trees and restore hedgerows. Landowners on those schemes need contractors to plant, protect and look after the trees — work that UK arborists and forestry contractors can quote for.

Grant-funded tree planting work is different from domestic amenity work. The contracts are longer, the acreages are larger and the planning requirements are more complex, and each scheme publishes its own payment rates. The grant is paid to the landowner, not to you, and schemes change or close, so check the current rules before you price a job. This guide breaks down the main schemes, their payment rates, eligibility requirements, and how you position your business to access this market in 2026.

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The Main Grant Schemes in England

1. England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)

Administered by: Forestry Commission
Target audience: Landowners, farmers, land managers

The EWCO is the primary woodland creation grant in England. For proposals of 5 hectares or more, the separate Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) can help pay for planning before you apply. EWCO pays two types of support:

Capital payments (one-off, per hectare planted), from the Forestry Commission's EWCO guidance, checked on 25 October 2026:

Annual maintenance payments (15 years), from the same guidance:

The minimum area is 1 hectare of new woodland. You need a Rural Payments account, then you email the EWCO application forms to the Forestry Commission. Landowners must include a woodland creation plan (WCP), which they or an agent can prepare; a Forestry Commission Woodland Officer assesses it (how to apply for EWCO).

What this means for arborists: planting, deer fencing installation, rabbit protection and other standard cost items, plus ongoing maintenance (through the annual payment), are funded within EWCO agreements; advisory fees are not (EWCO guidance). If you hold or can sub-contract Forestry Commission forester relationships, you can pitch as the delivery contractor on EWCO sites — many landowners have the land and the grant but not the forestry expertise.

2. Countryside Stewardship (CS) — Woodland Supplements and Actions

Administered by: Rural Payments Agency
Target audience: Farmers and land managers in England

Countryside Stewardship agreements and capital grants include tree, woodland and hedgerow items such as:

New CS agreements are now Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You can now send an expression of interest for woodland improvement, agroforestry, species-rich grassland or scheduled monuments; if it goes ahead, you're invited to apply (express an interest in CSHT). Capital Grants open in rounds (the 2026 round has closed); some capital grants, such as Woodland Tree Health grants, can be applied for at any time (capital grants guidance).

3. Tree Health Pilot and Woodland Tree Health grants

Administered by: Forestry Commission / Defra
Target audience: Woodland owners with diseased trees

In England there are two Woodland Tree Health grants, open to land managers all year since 5 January 2026. Restoration helps pay to restock woodland felled because of a confirmed tree disease on the grant's list, including ash dieback; Improvement helps pay to remove trees and rhododendron infected with Phytophthora (GOV.UK applicant's guide, updated 14 July 2026).

The Forestry Commission's Tree Health Pilot runs in certain regions of England (North West, West Midlands, South East and London). It covers ash dieback, Phytophthora ramorum, oak processionary moth and other threats. Depending on the tree and the disease, grants can cover:

• felling of infected larch, spruce and sweet chestnut (not ash)
• biosecurity kit, such as washing equipment
• restocking and maintenance of the new trees

For arborists working on ash dieback, neither grant pays for felling diseased ash. The Woodland Tree Health grant helps pay for restocking woodland after felling. The Tree Health Pilot's ash dieback grant, for ash along roads and public rights of way, pays towards tree survey reports, protected-species surveys, traffic management and road closures during felling, and restocking and maintenance. That can lower a landowner's overall cost of dealing with diseased ash.

See our ash dieback UK guide for arborists 2026 for a full breakdown of commercial opportunities in ash clearance work.

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Scotland: Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS)

Administered by: Scottish Forestry

Scotland's Forestry Grant Scheme covers:

Scottish applications are made online through Rural Payments and Services; contact Scottish Forestry with questions. Scotland's rural payment system operates separately from England's RPA, and application windows differ.

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Wales: Woodland Creation Grant and Small Woodland Creation Grant

Administered by: Welsh Government / Natural Resources Wales

Wales is moving farm support to the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), which includes tree planting and hedgerow actions, and runs its own woodland creation grants alongside it. Rates and rules change, so check the Welsh Government's current woodland creation schemes before you quote.

For small plantings, the Small Woodland Creation Grant (part of the Sustainable Farming Scheme's Optional Layer) pays for 0.1 to 1.99 hectares of new planting, plus fencing and gates. Its 2026 window ran from 20 July to 23 October 2026 (GOV.WALES). The larger Woodland Creation Grant's 2026 window runs from 4 March to 20 November 2026 (GOV.WALES).

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Northern Ireland: Forest Expansion Scheme

DAERA's Forest Expansion Scheme pays for new woodlands of 3 hectares or more: up to 100% of eligible establishment costs, plus £469 per hectare a year for 10 years. It opens in windows; the 2026 window closed at 3pm on 19 October 2026 (DAERA).

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How to Position Your Business for Grant-Funded Work

Step 1: Understand which qualifications unlock which contracts

Some of these are the law. Others are what clients ask for:

• Pesticide certificate (PA1, plus PA6 for hand-held kit): the law requires one to use professional herbicides, unless you're training under the direct supervision of a certificate holder (HSE)
• NPTC/Lantra chainsaw units for any felling element
• CPCS or NPORS card where a client or site asks for one for plant operation

Step 2: Target land agents and rural estates

Much large-scale planting happens on farms and estates managed by rural land agents (Savills, Carter Jonas, Strutt & Parker, Fisher German). A direct relationship with a land agent who manages multiple CS and EWCO agreements can generate a pipeline of smaller contracts rather than requiring you to tender for each individually.

Introduce yourself at Royal Agricultural Society and Country Land & Business Association (CLA) events, where agents and landowners are concentrated.

Step 3: Source and sell equipment efficiently

Grant-funded planting programmes require specialist machinery: deer fencing post knockers, tree tubes and spirals at volume, tracked access vehicles for wet ground, and tractor-mounted augers. As planting volumes grow, second-hand equipment from completed projects often comes up for sale.

Browse forestry and plant equipment on TreeBay to source used machinery for planting contracts, or list equipment you no longer need between contracts.

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Planting Specifications: What You Need to Know

Species selection

Grant schemes require species that suit the site. An EWCO application includes a woodland creation plan listing the species, and a Woodland Officer assesses it. Trees you plant must match the species in the application. Don't plan on ash: where ash has died, Forestry Commission advice is to restock with other species.

Stocking density

Stocking density depends on the woodland type and the scheme. The approved woodland creation plan sets it, so plant to the plan.

Deer protection

Woodland creation agreements often include protection from deer, rabbits and hares. EWCO's standard cost items set the shelter height by animal: 1.2 metre shelters for roe, muntjac or Chinese water deer, 1.8 metre for fallow, red or sika deer, and 1.2 metre or smaller for hares and rabbits. Agree a deer fence's specification with the Forestry Commission Deer Officer for the area. Shelters inside a deer fence are not normally paid for (standard cost items for EWCO).

Maintenance obligations

EWCO agreements commit the landowner to 15 years of maintenance (EWCO guidance). Offer the landowner a maintenance contract when you quote for the planting.

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Application Timelines

EWCO takes applications all year, but apply by 31 May to plant in the coming season. CS Higher Tier starts with an expression of interest or an invitation, and Capital Grants open in set rounds.

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Common Pitfalls

1. Starting work before the agreement is in place Work started before the grant agreement starts isn't paid for, and nor are materials bought before then. An offer letter isn't enough: the landowner must accept the offer, and the agreement must be in place before any work begins. EWCO's guidance says "You can only start work once you have an agreement in place" (GOV.UK). Make sure your clients understand this before they rush to catch a planting season.

2. Using non-approved species Trees must match the species in the approved plan or agreement, and you can only claim for work in the agreement. Agree any change in writing before you plant.

3. Inadequate record-keeping Grant payments require evidence: planting records (species, quantities, planting date, grid references), photos at planting, receipts for materials. Build a digital record system from day one — Forestry Commission and RPA claim inspectors visit sites.

4. Missing the maintenance window CS and EWCO agreements have defined management actions with associated dates. Set calendar reminders and confirm agreements in writing with the landowner.

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Hedge Planting Grants

In England, hedgerow creation and management are funded separately from woodland creation:

• CS BE3 pays £13 per 100m for one side of a hedge, per year, in existing agreements only; the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI26) action CHRW2 (Manage hedgerows) pays £13 per 100m for one side of an eligible hedgerow per year. SFI26's two application windows closed on 28 August and 22 September 2026, and GOV.UK hasn't said when it will open again (SFI26 scheme rules).
• EWCO does not cover hedgerows
• CS Capital Grant BN11 (Planting new hedges) pays a fixed £22.97 per metre; Capital Grants open in set rounds

BN11 hedges must be native species, with no single species making up more than 70% of the total (BN11). Hedge planting is a natural complement to arborist winter work — see our guide to hedge cutting regulations UK 2026 for the legal framework around existing hedge management.

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Summary Checklist

• Identify which grant scheme applies to your target area (EWCO, CS, FGS or the Welsh schemes)
• Review Forestry Commission approved species lists for your intended planting zone
• Confirm the landowner's grant agreement is in place before you start work
• Build species-by-zone planting record from day one (grid references, photos, quantities)
• Check you hold PA1/PA6 before any herbicide work
• Lock in maintenance agreement at point of planting
• Set calendar reminders for CS annual claim submission deadlines

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Get Started

Woodland creation grants are tied to the government's 2050 woodland cover targets, but rates, rules and budgets change, and schemes can close or pause at short notice. Knowing how the schemes work means you can price grant-funded jobs properly when a landowner or land agent asks.

Look for forestry and planting kit in Kit & machinery on TreeBay and for subcontract work in TreeBay Jobs, or list your own plant while it isn't in use to offset capital costs between grant-funded contracts.

For further questions on how the grant schemes affect arborist compliance obligations, see our PUWER compliance guide for arborist equipment.

Official sources

• GOV.UK: How the England Woodland Creation Offer works
• GOV.UK: Countryside Stewardship
• Rural Payments and Services (Scotland): Forestry Grant Scheme
• GOV.WALES: Woodland Creation Grant