Farm Woodland Premium Scheme
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 FWPS8 Successor's Application![[Click to download Adobe Acrobat Reader]](/graphics/buttons/pdf.gif){kind=small} [70KB]Guidance notes[153KB]Forestry Commission website |
What is the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme?
With the introduction of the new English Woodland Grant Scheme, the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme is now closed to new applicants. However, existing agreements will continue until their expiry date.
The Farm Woodland Premium Scheme was introduced on 1 April 1992. It replaced the Farm Woodland Scheme (FWS) and encouraged farmers to convert productive agricultural land to woodland by providing annual incentives in the form of payments for 10 years ( for mainly conifer woodlands) or 15 years ( for mainly broadleaved woodlands) to compensate for lost farming income. The objective was to enhance the environment through the planting of farm woodlands, thereby improving the landscape, providing new habitats and increasing biodiversity.- Download a flyer leaflet on the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme.[55KB]
FWPS payments are additional to woodland establishment grants made under the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS).
The FWPS is part funded by the EU. Until 1 January 2000 it was governed by EC Regulation 2080/92 on forestry measures in agriculture and all approvals issued before that date are still governed by that Regulation. All approvals issued on or after 1 January 2000 are governed by Council Regulation (EC)(1257/99).
The ERDP provides for a total expenditure over 7 years of £77m on the FWPS and £139m on the WGS over the 7 years 2000 to 2006.
A booklet providing guidance information on the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme is available from the 'Forms and Regulations' section of the Defra website, or you can download it directly by using the link below:-
What are the rates of payment?
| TYPE OF LAND | PAYMENT RATE |
|---|---|
| Arable land | |
| Outside Less Favoured Areas | £300/hectare/year |
| Disadvantaged Areas of Less Favoured Areas | >£230/hectare/year |
| Severely Disadvantaged Areas of Less Favoured Areas | £160/hectare/year |
| Other Improved land | |
| Outside Less Favoured Areas | £260/hectare/year |
| Disadvantaged Areas of Less Favoured Areas | £200/hectare/year |
| Severely Disadvantaged Areas of Less Favoured Areas | £140/hectare/year |
| Unimproved Land | |
| Less Favoured Areas (whether Severely Disadvantaged or Disadvantaged Areas) |
£60/hectare/year |
These payments are in addition to the establishment grants made under the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme.
Where FWPS land is used to meet a farmer's set-aside requirements under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), the FWPS payment rate will be reduced in such cases by an amount equivalent to the SPS set-aside payment being received in respect of the land concerned. This is because such land will already be attracting a set-aside entitlement payment under the SPS.
Page last modified:
6 June, 2006
Page published: 10 December, 2002