Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Accepted
Paragraph: 95
Presumption to plant' principle could facilitate ecologically sensitive tree planting and faster approvals.
Conclusion
To realise the benefits of tree planting, and to avoid detrimental outcomes, it is essential that the ‘right tree in the right place’ principle is followed. The ‘presumption to plant’ principle being developed by the Forestry Commission could be a useful tool to enable ecologically sensitive tree planting and faster approvals, and is likely to reduce the administrative burden entailed in woodland creation so as to encourage private landowners to apply for woodland creation grants.
Government Response Summary
The government has already published initial maps for woodland creation constraints and is actively developing updated versions with Natural England, planning to publish them in autumn 2023 to support forestry regulation under the 'presumption to plant' principle.
Paragraph Reference:
95
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Forestry Commission has published maps showing parts of England where there are likely to be fewer constraints to woodland creation together with a short report that provides details of the data sets used to construct the maps.1 The Forestry Commission are working with Natural England to further develop these maps with additional datasets indicating potential sensitivities to planting. We plan to publish these updated maps in autumn 2023, along with a short report that sets out how they can be used to support the regulation of forestry proposals. This work will be promoted at forestry and farming events. Even in ‘high opportunity’ areas where few constraints exist, some site-specific features, such historic environment artifacts, may be present and a proportionate site assessment will be needed where owners want to plant trees or create woodlands. It is worth noting that much of the land outside these areas will also be suitable for planting although the constraints are likely to be higher. UKFS compliance checking is currently limited to grant applications (and any subsequent monitoring of the grant agreement) and assessment of felling license applications. We are considering what additional resource would be needed for greater woodland management oversight.