Sustainable Management of Forests – Public Access – Rural Woods

This is an old version of the page

This is an old version of the page

Date published: 30 March, 2015

Date superceded: 25 June, 2015

This option aims to provide support for the management of rural woodlands for public access.

Support is provided to assist with the ongoing maintenance of paths that promote the use of woodlands for health benefits.

This is an annual grant to support the costs of maintenance of public access in woodlands.

The grant supports the ongoing activities of:

  • carrying out annual tree and path safety inspections
  • keeping access routes free of litter and tree debris
  • keeping paths and signs and recreational facilities up to an acceptable standard

The rate is £100 per eligible hectare per year for up to a maximum of five years.

We have calculated payment rate using the length of path with a 25 metre buffer on either side to allow for management activities. Therefore 200m x 50m = 1 hectare of grant aidable area.

If the area of the path (including the buffer area) exceeds the area of the woodland we will only pay grant up to the area of the woodland.

Grant support will be capped at £10,000 per management unit per year.

Please check that you are eligible to apply for Forestry Grant Scheme funding before you begin your application.

Sustainable Management of Forests

You must have an approved Forest Plan for woodland areas of 100 hectares or more. For woodland areas less than 100 hectares you must have an approved Management Plan or Forest Plan.

Long-Term Forest Plan technical guidance

Management Plan

Please see the 'Supporting information' section below for the information you need to supply us when applying for this option. You must use the appropriate standard template to give this information.

You must carry out and retain annual tree safety surveys and keep a diary of time inputs as required. This must include days spent litter picking and undertaking path, sign and furniture maintenance.

You must comply with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code over your entire property.

To help us assess your application you must provide us with supporting information. You must give the details as listed below using the template provided.

Provide information on the current level of public access in the woodland, for example information on visitor numbers, community use and so on. This can be an estimate but must be supported by your local access officer.

Please outline the current and past management of the woodland including any grant support.

Provide details about the path network, construction material and condition of the paths that you wish to include for annual payments.

You must provide a map that shows the perimeter of the woodland and the network of paths within that woodland.

General mapping guidance for the Forestry Grant Scheme

Sustainable Management of Forests – Public Access – Rural Woods supporting information template

To make sure we achieve the best value for money and to ensure we meet the scheme’s objectives, we assess each application using selection criteria. These criteria differ depending on the option.

We will set a minimum score that an application for any particular option must achieve to be considered for approval. We will make details available before the start of the scheme.

We will pay grants for up to five years for each year that your contract is covered by a Forest Plan or Management Plan. If your Forest Plan or Management Plan expires during the five years of your contract you must ensure that it is renewed in time to be able to continue making annual claims. We cannot pay your claim for any claim year that is not covered by a Forest Plan or Management Plan.

You must claim this grant on your Single Application Form.

You will be required to keep a diary of the activities carried out. This will include days spent litter picking, and undertaking path, sign and furniture maintenance. You must also undertake annual tree safety surveys. The diary template will be sent out with the contract and then annually. Please retain the diary and survey for checking by our woodland officers.