Co. Tyrone based Premier Woodlands has welcomed the reopening of the forestry grant schemes in Northern Ireland.
These are the Forest Expansion Scheme (FES) and Small Woodland Grant Scheme (SWGS).
The closing date for applications for both measures is August 31 this year.
Premier Woodlands managing director, John Hetherington commented:
“The August closing date should mean that meaningful levels of planting can take place during the 2022/2023 season.
“Up to now, the later application closing date has severely curtailed the number of projects that can be undertaken during a specific planting season.
“It resulted in confirmed approvals only being granted in December or January, which is half way through the winter planting season.”
Cost of forestry
But according to the Hetherington, amending the application date-related issue is only one of the problems that needs fixing, where both forestry schemes are concerned.
“All of the costs associated with any planting project have escalated dramatically over the past 12 months – fencing, ground preparation work, fuel and the prices associated with the actual procurement of young trees,” he said.
“But the Forest Service unit costs used in the grant rates available for both FES and SWGS have not been changed. This matter must be remedied as a matter of priority before the start of the 2022/2023 planting season.
“If this does not happen, then the number of landowners wanting to establish any form of woodland or new forestry plantation next year will plummet.”
John Hetherington believes there is no shortage of money available to the Forest Service, which can be used to enhance planting grant rates to levels that reflect the swingeing inflationary pressures now impacting on all the woodland sectors.
“The annual planting rates achieved under FES are well below the targets set for the scheme,” he added.
“There has been a significant underspend of the monies initially set aside for all of Northern Ireland’s forestry grant schemes. This, in turn, gives Forest Service the scope to increase all relevant grant rates with immediate effect.”
The Premier Woodlands managing director noted that successful applicants to FES are supposed to receive up to 100% of eligible establishment costs but added that this is not the case at the present time.
Both grant schemes have been developed to support all types of sustainable woodland, and in doing so reducing CO2 atmospheric levels.
SWGS has been developed as a simple online scheme for new native woodlands of 0.2ha and larger.
FES, on the other hand, supports native woodland, mixed woodland or commercial conifer woodland that can best meet landowners’ business needs while contributing to a living, working, active landscape.
