Woodland creation and the forestry EIA regulations
Afforestation falls outside the planning system and inside a separate consent regime. Here are the thresholds, the opinion process and the evidence that supports it.
Planting trees is not development, so it needs no planning permission. It can still need consent, and the consent comes from the Forestry Commission under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999. Plant more than the threshold area without an opinion or a consent and you have committed an offence, whatever the intention behind the scheme.
The thresholds are low. Five hectares in most places, two hectares in a sensitive area, and those figures aggregate across related projects rather than applying to each parcel on its own.
Why forestry sits outside the planning system
Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 defines development, and the use of land for forestry, including afforestation, is outside it. That is why a farmer can plant a hundred acres without approaching the council.
Parliament filled the gap with a separate consent regime. The 1999 Regulations apply the environmental assessment requirement to four categories of forestry project: afforestation, deforestation, forest roads and forest quarries. The Forestry Commission is the regulator in England and decides both whether assessment is needed and whether consent is granted.
Planning permission may still be needed for buildings, hard standing, a new access onto a classified road or a change of use to something other than forestry. The planting itself is not the trigger.
The thresholds, and how sensitive areas change them
| Project | Standard threshold | Threshold in a sensitive area |
|---|---|---|
| Afforestation | 5 hectares | 2 hectares |
| Deforestation | 1 hectare | 0.5 hectares |
| Forest roads | 1 kilometre | 100 metres |
| Forest quarries | 1 hectare | 0.5 hectares |
Sensitive areas are defined in the Regulations and cover Sites of Special Scientific Interest, National Parks, National Landscapes, World Heritage Sites, scheduled monuments and European sites. Verify the current definitions and figures against the Regulations, because the designations have been renamed and the text has been amended.
The aggregation rule catches more schemes than the raw numbers suggest. Where planting forms part of a larger project, or follows earlier planting on the same holding, the Commission looks at the whole rather than at the parcel in front of it. Splitting 9 hectares into two applications a year apart does not work and is treated as what it is.
Asking for an opinion
The first step is to apply to the Forestry Commission for an opinion on whether the project needs consent. The application describes the land, the area, the species mix, the ground preparation and the drainage, and it is supported by a map.
The Commission consults Natural England, Historic England, the lead local flood authority and the local planning authority as relevant, and it considers whether the project is likely to have a significant effect on the environment. Three outcomes follow. The project is below threshold or unlikely to have such an effect, so it may proceed. The project needs modification to avoid an effect. Or consent is required, which means preparing an environmental statement.
Apply early. Species choice, ground preparation and drainage are all things the opinion may ask you to change, and the grant timetable rarely allows for a redesign in the planting season.
Evidence that supports the application
- A soils and site survey, including peat depth, because afforestation on deep peat is not supported by the UK Forestry Standard.
- A habitat survey of what is there now, since planting improved grassland is a different proposition from planting species-rich meadow or lowland heath.
- A historic environment check against the Historic Environment Record, covering ridge and furrow, earthworks and scheduled monuments with their buffer.
- Hydrology, covering existing field drainage, watercourses and any culverts, and the effect of ground preparation on runoff.
- A landscape appraisal where the site is prominent or sits in or near a designated landscape. On larger or more sensitive schemes that becomes a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment following the established guidance, prepared by a landscape professional.
- A record of consultation with neighbours, the parish council and any commoners or tenants.
Where hedgerows are to be removed or gapped up as part of the work, the hedgerow removal notice procedure runs separately and has its own tests.
Agricultural land quality, and the argument you will have
The UK Forestry Standard and the grant schemes built on it steer planting away from the best and most versatile agricultural land, meaning Grades 1, 2 and 3a. Councils and Natural England take the same line when they are consulted.
If your land is mapped as Grade 3 on the provisional national series, that map does not distinguish 3a from 3b. It was drawn at a coarse scale for strategic purposes and it is not evidence about a field. A site-specific Agricultural Land Classification survey, carried out to the published criteria by a soil scientist, is what settles it, and on a marginal site it frequently reclassifies land downwards.
Survey conditions matter. The work can be done at most times of year but not when the ground is waterlogged, so build it into the programme rather than commissioning it in January.
Check the mineral safeguarding position at the same time. Planting over a safeguarded sand and gravel deposit raises the same sterilisation argument as building on it, and mineral and waste safeguarding on farmland catches owners who never thought of their fields as a resource.
Grant schemes and their own hurdles
Woodland creation grants carry requirements beyond the Regulations. Expect compliance with the UK Forestry Standard, a woodland creation plan, stakeholder consultation, screening against designated sites and protected species, and a commitment to maintain the woodland for a set period.
Scheme names and rates change, sometimes annually, so check what is open before you plan the cashflow. Two practical points hold across schemes. Grant approval is not consent under the Regulations, and the environmental work done for one will usually serve the other if it is scoped that way from the start.
Illustrative example. An owner proposes 7 hectares of mixed broadleaf on former pasture, 400 metres from a scheduled round barrow and adjoining a National Landscape boundary. The site is not itself in a sensitive area, so the 5 hectare threshold applies and the project is over it. The opinion requires an unplanted buffer around the monument's setting, a reduced conifer component in the western block and a revised ride layout. The scheme proceeds without a full environmental statement. The detail is illustrative.
Sequencing the work
- Check the designations and the peat depth before anything else.
- Establish whether the area, aggregated with related planting, crosses the threshold.
- Apply for an opinion, allowing time for consultation responses.
- Commission the agricultural land classification survey if any part of the site could be best and most versatile.
- Run the grant application in parallel, sharing the survey work.
- Deal separately with hedgerows, protected species, watercourse crossings and any building or access that does amount to development.
Getting the order wrong is the common failure. Owners apply for the grant, fix the species mix to the scheme rules, then discover the opinion requires something else.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with the Forestry Commission, your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need planning permission to plant a wood?
No. The use of land for forestry falls outside the definition of development in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Consent instead comes from the Forestry Commission under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999. Buildings, hard standing and new accesses associated with the woodland can still need planning permission.
What is the afforestation threshold?
Five hectares in most locations, reduced to two hectares in a sensitive area such as an SSSI, National Park, National Landscape, World Heritage Site, scheduled monument or European site. The areas aggregate across related projects, so dividing a scheme into smaller parcels or phasing it across years does not avoid the requirement.
How do I get an opinion from the Forestry Commission?
Apply with a map and a description of the land, the area, species mix, ground preparation and drainage. The Commission consults bodies such as Natural England and Historic England and then decides whether the project may proceed, needs modification, or requires formal consent supported by an environmental statement. Allow time for consultation responses before the planting season.
Can I plant on best and most versatile agricultural land?
It is discouraged by the UK Forestry Standard and by the grant schemes, and consultees take the same view. The provisional national map does not separate Grade 3a from 3b, so it is not evidence about a particular field. A site-specific survey carried out to the published criteria by a soil scientist often reclassifies marginal land downwards.
Does a woodland creation grant count as consent?
No. Grant approval and consent under the Regulations are separate, and having one does not give you the other. The sensible approach is to scope the survey work so it serves both, and to secure the opinion before the grant fixes your species mix, because the opinion may require a different design.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.