The guidance also reflects the principles set out in the Scottish Government’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement 2022.
Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement 2022 (Scot.gov)
Applicants should follow the guidance in the following circumstances.
Proposals seeking grant support
Proposals which do not require screening
For proposals more than 10 and below 20 ha, the applicant should follow the full application process but is not required to complete the EIA screening section in the WC operational plan.
Proposals for less than 10 ha do not need to meet the formal requirement for stakeholder engagement (minimum 12 weeks for engagement and feedback after 6 weeks) and can submit the proposal as a grant application at Stage 2 (Submission to Scottish Forestry). However, proportionate due diligence is expected to have been undertaken and this must be clearly detailed in the woodland creation operational plan.
For proposals of 5 ha or less, the small operational plan can be used.
Proposals of less than 2ha are not normally subject to public consultation.
Where a small proposal adjoins or is near to other woodland creation projects(s) which were completed in the last 5 years, the new proposal may be subject to screening due to the accumulated area of woodland created. In which case, the new proposal should follow the route for “Proposals which require screening.” Scottish Forestry can be contacted for further advice on this.
Proposals which require screening
The proposal must follow the full woodland creation application process. The applicant should use the Woodland creation operational plan template.
In exceptional circumstances, for natural regeneration proposals, Scottish Forestry may allow a grant application to be submitted before Step 1.2 (Due diligence) has been completed. However, this must be agreed with Scottish Forestry before starting due diligence.
A grant application can only be submitted at Stage 5 of the process.
The small operational plan cannot be used.
