Woodland management plans and the felling they authorise
An approved woodland management plan carries felling permissions for ten years. Here is what the plan must contain, how restocking obligations work, and which operations still need planning permission.
An approved woodland management plan carries felling permissions with it, which is the main reason owners bother with one. Once the Forestry Commission has approved a plan that meets the UK Forestry Standard, the thinning and felling operations described in it can be authorised without a separate licence application each time. For a working wood on a farm, that turns a series of applications over ten years into one exercise, and it is usually the condition of entry for grant funding as well.
What an approved plan contains
A plan describes the wood and what you intend to do with it over its term, normally ten years. It sets out compartments, species composition, age structure, access, the objectives of management, the operations proposed and their approximate timing, and the environmental features that constrain them.
The constraint survey is what takes the time. Designated sites, protected species, archaeological features, public rights of way, ancient woodland status, water features and neighbouring land all have to be identified, since the plan has to show how operations avoid harming them.
Plans are public documents once approved. That is worth knowing before you write an objective that reads oddly to a neighbour.
Most owners use an agent to prepare the plan, and the useful test of a good one is whether the compartment descriptions match what you find when you walk the wood with it. Plans written from aerial imagery alone tend to miss the wet flush, the badger sett and the old boundary bank that will govern how you actually work.
How a plan replaces individual felling licences
Felling growing trees generally needs a licence under the Forestry Act 1967. The exemptions are narrower than owners assume: up to 5 cubic metres per calendar quarter, of which no more than 2 cubic metres may be sold, plus diameter exemptions for small trees, thinnings and coppice measured at 1.3 metres above ground.
| Route | What it covers | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Exemption | Small volumes and small diameter stems | Rolling, per quarter |
| Felling licence | Specified felling, with restocking conditions | Fixed period |
| Approved management plan | Operations described in the plan | Normally ten years |
Under a plan, the approval process considers the felling proposals alongside everything else in the wood, and the permissions issued follow the plan. You still have to operate within what was approved. Felling a compartment ten years early because timber prices moved is not covered by the fact that felling appears somewhere in the document.
The standard the plan has to meet
The UK Forestry Standard is the reference. It covers biodiversity, climate change, historic environment, landscape, people, soil and water, and it is the benchmark against which the Forestry Commission assesses whether management is sustainable.
Practical consequences show up in familiar places: buffer zones alongside watercourses, limits on clear-fell coupe size and shape, retention of deadwood and veteran trees, restocking with an appropriate species mix, and protection of soils during extraction in wet conditions.
For ancient woodland the standard, and national planning policy, both point the same way. Restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites is favoured over continued conifer rotation, and irreplaceable habitat is not compensated by planting elsewhere.
Thinning, coppicing and clear felling under a plan
Thinning is the routine operation and the one most plans cover in detail. The plan should state the compartments, the intended intensity and the intervals, since an approval given for a light thinning does not authorise a heavy one.
Coppicing is treated as a management system in its own right, with cutting cycles by compartment and protection of regrowth from deer and stock. Clear felling attracts the most scrutiny, because coupe size, shape and adjacency all matter under the standard, and because restocking obligations follow.
Some operations still need separate consent. Deforestation, meaning felling without restocking to convert the land to another use, is not a felling matter alone, and projects of that kind can require assessment under the environmental impact assessment rules for forestry. Where a wood sits in a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Natural England consent is needed regardless of what the plan says.
Protected trees and how the regimes interact
Where trees in the wood are covered by a Tree Preservation Order, the forestry and planning regimes are designed not to run twice. Where felling is authorised under the Forestry Act, separate consent under the Order is generally not required, and the local planning authority is consulted as part of the forestry process instead.
That does not remove the Order. It changes who decides. If your plan is refused or your licence is not granted for particular trees, the Order continues to bite, and the penalties for unauthorised works are set out in penalties for damaging or destroying a protected tree.
Trees in a conservation area follow the six week notice route, and works on land subject to a planning agreement follow whatever that agreement says. Long term tree management secured by planning agreement covers the obligations that survive a change of ownership.
Restocking and what happens if you ignore it
Felling permissions carry restocking conditions: what to plant, where, by when, and how long to maintain it. The obligation runs with the land, so a buyer inherits it.
- Check the restocking conditions attached to any existing licence before you buy or sell woodland.
- Record planting dates, species, numbers and protection measures as they happen.
- Keep beat-up records, because failures have to be replaced to meet the condition.
- Expect inspection, and expect the Forestry Commission to ask for evidence.
Enforcement is real, and it does not depend on anyone complaining. Illegal felling is an offence, and the Forestry Commission can serve a restocking notice requiring trees to be planted and maintained, with further offences for failing to comply.
Where planning permission is still needed
A management plan authorises forestry operations. It does not grant planning permission for anything else.
New forestry access tracks, buildings for forestry purposes and some other operations sit in the permitted development rights for forestry, which normally require prior notification to the local planning authority before work starts. Timber processing as a business, log sales to the public, holiday accommodation, events use and any change of use away from forestry all need a planning application.
Development near the wood raises separate questions again. Root protection areas under BS 5837:2012, arboricultural method statements and construction exclusion fencing belong to the planning process, and a Tree Survey is the document councils expect. Where landscape planting is proposed as part of a scheme, a Landscape Strategy sets out the species and the management.
Grant schemes for woodland creation and management change from year to year, so check the current offers rather than working from a rate you were told two seasons ago.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
PlanScope drafts the planning documents that sit alongside woodland work, from tree reports to landscape strategies. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site needs.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need a felling licence?
Whenever you fell growing trees beyond the exemptions. The volume exemption allows up to 5 cubic metres per calendar quarter, of which no more than 2 cubic metres may be sold. Diameter exemptions cover small stems, thinnings and coppice measured 1.3 metres above ground. An approved management plan can authorise the felling it describes instead.
How long does an approved woodland management plan last?
Normally ten years, with the felling and thinning operations described in it authorised for that term. You must operate within what was approved, so bringing a clear fell forward or increasing thinning intensity beyond the approved level is outside the permission. Plans are revised or renewed at the end of the term.
Does a management plan override a Tree Preservation Order?
It changes who decides rather than removing the Order. Where felling is authorised under the Forestry Act, separate consent under the Order is generally not required, and the local planning authority is consulted through the forestry process. If the felling is not authorised, the Order continues to apply in full.
What are restocking obligations?
Conditions attached to felling permissions setting out what must be replanted, where, by when and how it must be maintained. The obligation runs with the land, so a purchaser inherits it. Keep planting and beat-up records, since the Forestry Commission can serve a restocking notice and prosecute failures to comply.
Do I need planning permission for a forestry track?
Forestry access tracks and some forestry buildings fall within permitted development rights for forestry, which normally require prior notification to the local planning authority before work starts. Timber processing as a business, public log sales, events and holiday accommodation are changes of use that need a planning application.
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.