Grants & Funding
Grants for woodland and deer management, explained plainly
Landowners and farmers across North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire, East Lancashire, South Durham can get significant costs of new planting, fencing, and protection covered by government schemes.
At a glance
Three schemes, at a glance
| Scheme | What it pays | Best for | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| EWCO | Up to £10,200/ha capital costs, up to £12,700/ha more for public benefit, deer fencing at £10.27/m | New woodland creation | Full guide → |
| WCPG | £1,500 (Stage 1), £150/ha minus Stage 1 (Stage 2), capped at £30,500 | Planning before you plant | Full guide → |
| Agroforestry | £248–£849/ha/year by tree density, £1,268 one-off planning payment | Trees on farmed or grazed land | Full guide → |
Figures sourced from gov.uk, September 2026. Always confirm current rates on gov.uk before applying, as these get revised during the year.
The schemes
What each one actually covers
EWCO
Funds new woodland creation: planting, ground preparation, and protection, including deer fencing as a priced line item. The fencing rate only gets approved at the right level if the application shows the actual deer pressure on site, not a generic assumption.
WCPG
Funds the planning stage before EWCO, not the planting itself. A deer impact assessment can be funded as a specialist study within Stage 1, meaning the evidence that shapes a later EWCO application doesn't have to come out of your own pocket.
Agroforestry
An ongoing per-hectare payment for maintaining trees at a set density on farmed land, whether that's arable (silvoarable) or grazed (silvopastoral). It's a maintenance payment, not capital funding, so establishing and protecting the trees is a separate cost.
How to apply
The application process, step by step
EWCO: how to apply
- Register on the Rural Payments service and get a Customer Registration Number
- Contact your regional Woodland Officer early for guidance
- Check with your Local Environment Record Centre and Historic Environment Record for site constraints
- Confirm your tree stock meets the Plant Health Management Standard
- Submit your application, declaration, woodland plan, and site map, by 31 May to catch the next planting season
- Forestry Commission reviews your submission, usually within about 3 weeks
- A Woodland Officer visits the site, which is where a fencing spec backed by real evidence matters most
- Your application is scored against others competing in the same funding round
- If approved: a formal agreement is issued, with 3 years to complete the work
- Submit claims as work completes (£5,000 minimum per claim), with payment following verification
This is the general shape of the process, not a substitute for the live guidance, which gets revised from time to time. Check the official guidance on gov.uk before applying.
WCPG: how to apply
- Confirm you have 5ha+ of woodland creation in total, in blocks of 0.5ha+ and 20m+ wide
- Submit your initial application, rolling with no fixed deadline
- Forestry Commission responds, usually within about 20 working days
- Signed Stage 1 agreement issued, £1,500 paid for the desk-based assessment
- A deer impact assessment can be funded here as a specialist study, if flagged as needed
- Forestry Commission decides whether the site is worth taking to design stage
- Stage 2 offer issued: £150/ha, minus the £1,500 already paid
- Detailed design work: site appraisal, concept plan, UKFS-compliant woodland design
- Design approved, plus an EIA regulatory decision for applications since December 2024
- Approved plan carried forward into an EWCO application
This is the general shape of the process, not a substitute for the live guidance, which gets revised from time to time. Check the official guidance on gov.uk before applying.
Agroforestry: how to apply
- Get an agroforestry plan approved by the Forestry Commission first
- Plant the trees, since Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier requires this before you can apply, unlike EWCO or WCPG
- Submit an online Expression of Interest for the site or agreement
- Wait to be invited to the pre-application stage, since an Expression of Interest doesn't guarantee an agreement
- Complete the full application, referencing your approved plan
- Agreement offered, annual density-based payments begin
- Simpler alternative: SFI's AGF1/AGF2 route skips the approved-plan requirement, with a lower payment ceiling
This is the general shape of the process, not a substitute for the live guidance, which gets revised from time to time. Check the official guidance on gov.uk before applying.
How we help
Evidence for your application, not the paperwork
We don't complete or submit applications. What we do provide is the on-the-ground evidence that makes an application stronger: which deer species are on the land, how many, and what pressure they're putting on new or existing planting.
That's the same Deer Number Survey & Impact Assessment used across all three schemes above, and it's free for landowners and farmers anywhere across North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire, East Lancashire, South Durham.
FAQ
Common questions
Sometimes, but not always on the same land. WCPG specifically can't be used if you've already applied for EWCO on the same site. Agroforestry is a different land use decision, not a step in the same sequence.
Only EWCO has a specific per-metre rate for it. WCPG funds assessment work, not fencing. Agroforestry's per-hectare payment is for ongoing maintenance, not the capital cost of protection.
It's not always mandatory, but an application with real evidence behind the fencing spec or protection plan tends to hold up better than one built on assumption.
No. We provide the survey and evidence; the application itself is something you or your agent submits.
Rates and caps are sourced from gov.uk as of September 2026 and get revised periodically. Always confirm the current figure on gov.uk before relying on it for a live application.