£1m woodland fund sees cash for deer fencing double and boost for small woodland projects

An added £1 million in Forestry Grant Scheme funding will be handed to those working the land to encourage more small-scale woodland creation projects of up to 20 hectares.

Woodland schemes in areas appropriate for trees can help farmers and other land managers increase biodiversity and diversify income options.

The fund includes an extra £750 per hectare for the first 20 hectares of new woodland across Scotland and an increase of up to £1,750 per hectare in the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) area - a 10,000 square kilometre zone in central Scotland, spanning 19 local authority areas - to encourage woodland creation near towns and cities.

It means the support for such projects will increase by 15 per cent across Scotland and by 30 per cent within the CSGN.

Support for deer fencing and stock fencing will also double in the north west of Scotland and the Western Isles where the Scottish Government said there are more challenges with deer management.

Up to £10,000 will be available to help community-led woodland management schemes develop.

Meanwhile, woodland creation projects between 20 and 40 hectares will see an average increase of around 5 per cent in funding. For projects over 40 hectares the rates remain unchanged.

The details of the fund were announced by agriculture minister Jim Fairlie at the first ever Nature Friendly Farming Network Summit on Tuesday.

The event brought together farmers, policymakers, and environmental organisations to discuss the future of farming in Scotland.

Addressing the summit, Mr Fairlie said: "Farmers and crofters have a very important part to play in helping raise our woodland creation goals in Scotland.

“This £1 million funding boost is designed to support our farming and crofting communities integrate trees into their business plans. Many were hit by inflation and saw material and labour costs rise so this extra help should ease some of that burden.

“I’m very pleased to see that extra funding will also go towards helping communities plan and kickstart the management of their own woodlands. These woodlands are hugely important to local people and can increase the environmental value to their surroundings.”

Commenting on the new grants, Brendan Callaghan, of Scottish Forestry, said: “We know that farmers and crofters have a great deal of interest in integrating trees into their businesses. In fact nearly half of all new woodland applications were from the crofting and agricultural community, but this tailed off due to rising costs of materials due to inflation.“We have taken action to target more support to overcome this barrier and we hope that the increased funding will act as a catalyst for more smaller scale planting in the future.”