Tree Health
This is an old version of the page
This is an old version of the page
Date published: 30 March, 2015
Date superseded 16 July, 2015
Aim
This option provides support to prevent the spread of:
- Chalara ash dieback
- Phytophthora ramorum (P. ramorum)
This option helps with the restoration of forests affected by the above tree diseases by supporting the work to remove infected trees and carry out subsequent replanting.
Grant support
Grant support consists of a number of standard cost capital items. These are available for work to help prevent the spread of disease and restore affected woodlands. The eligible items are listed below in the table under eligible operations.
Application eligibility criteria
Your application and proposed work must comply with the UK Forestry Standard.
Land ownership
If you are a tenant then a Landlord’s Declaration must be provided with your application. The control of the land must extend for the duration of the proposed contract.
If you are a contractual licensee then the Contractual License must be provided with your application. The control of the land must extend for the duration of the proposed contract.
If you are a crofter you may have to notify the Crofting Commission of your application. See the Crofting Commission website for further details.
Eligible land
Your site must have a Statutory Plant Health Notice served on it that specifically requires the site to be cleared within a defined timescale.
The Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands grant is also available on land within the designated management zone for P. ramorum. This grant will be paid on the infected land within the management zone and any other areas that are required for reasonable access as agreed with your local conservancy office. If you receive the grant for Restocking – Delivering Diversity and Resilience in Woodlands then you are not eligible for the Woodland Improvement Grant – Restructuring Regeneration grant.
We will only approve your application if you agree to replant any area of woodland that you clear.
Other eligibility criteria
You must be or have a Forestry Commission Scotland approved agent to qualify for the Agent Services capital items marked with an asterisk.
If you need to fell trees that are not included in the Statutory Plant Health Notice area, such as for access or adjacent areas, you must get an approved felling licence or Forest Plan amendment before you start to fell.
Operations
Capital grant operations that can be applied for under this option are listed in the table below.
'Per hectare of infected land' refers to the net area of the required operation (e.g. tree clearance, rhododendron control, cut, spray and burn) within the Statutory Plan Health Notice area boundary.
Supporting information
We need supporting information to help assess your application.
You must give the details listed below:
- a copy of your Statutory Plant Health Notice, where required
- provide maps that show the following information:
- perimeter of the affected area
- the individual associated capital elements
- restocking plans, where relevant
Selection criteria
We have set agreed financial budgets for each of the options under the Forestry Grant Scheme. In order to ensure that we make the most cost effective use of the money available and to meet Scottish Government objectives, we will assess each application using scoring criteria.
The criteria will be written as appropriate to each Forestry Grant Scheme 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.
How to claim
The grant for Tree Health is based on a number of capital grant operations. We will pay capital grants once you have satisfactorily completed the proposed work. We may inspect the capital grant operations you are claiming to ensure that the work has been carried out to the correct specification.
Please refer to the capital grant operations minimum specification guidance to find out what supporting documentation and maps you need to supply with your capital claim.