Countryside Stewardship – Woodland Improvement and Agroforestry Update

Following the release of further updates/guidance for both the new Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) offers and the pre-application process we thought it would be useful to provide an update that will focus on the Woodland Improvement and Agroforestry actions and associated supplements.

Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) action CWD2: Woodland improvement and associated woodland supplements to support the sustainable management of woodland in line with the UK Forestry Standard. You can also use other species actions, access actions and capital items to support your woodland management objectives.

You must have a Forestry Commission approved Woodland Management Plan (WMP) and associated felling licence(s) covering all the woodland, before making your CSHT application. Your WMP must support the management objectives in your CSHT woodland improvement application.

Woodland management plans approved from 2023 onwards are being prioritised for pre-application activities. Those whose agreements expired in 2024, and older Woodland Management Plans, will follow

You must have an approved WMP for the duration of your CSHT agreement. If your WMP ends before your CSHT agreement, you will need to produce a new WMP for the remainder of your CSHT agreement. This new WMP will require Forestry Commission approval in the usual way.

WMP can either be funded by the applicant or by applying for a capital grant to help pay for producing it, through a capital grant application under PA3 for a WMP Grant.

If your current WMP does not support your intended CSHT application, then it may be possible to amend your existing WMP, as it is intended to be a working document.

You will also need to complete a species management plan, if you intend to apply for species management actions in CSHT, for example CWS1: Deer control and management or CWS3: Grey squirrel control and management. These plans will need to be approved before you can apply for CSHT.

You will need to provide a feasibility study for the flood and drought, and rewetting supplements to demonstrate the application site has potential to provide suitable hydrology to deliver the intended environmental outcomes.

CSHT actions available for agroforestry

The aim of these actions is to help you manage your agroforestry system at an agreed density, spacing, and arrangement of trees, as identified in your PA4: Agroforestry plan. They are all 10-year actions.

To be eligible for these actions, your in-field agroforestry system must contain established trees at any stage of maturity, including newly planted saplings if they'll be left to become mature trees. You must grow fruit trees on semi-vigorous or vigorous rootstocks, which usually produce trees at least 4m tall.

For agroforestry systems with a density between:

251 and 400 trees per hectare, use action CAGF1: Maintain high density in-field agroforestry

51 and 130 trees per hectare, use action CAGF2: Maintain low density in-field agroforestry on more sensitive land

131 and 250 trees per hectare, use action CAGF3: Maintain medium density in-field agroforestry

30 and 50 trees per hectare, use action CAGF4: Maintain very low density in-field agroforestry on more sensitive land.

Similarly to the Woodland Improvement action(s), there must be an agroforestry plan approved by the Forestry Commission if you are applying for CSHT Agroforestry actions. The plan must include all the agroforestry trees in your application. It will help you set out what you need to do when creating or managing your agroforestry system.

For further guidance, contact our team on 01768 866 611.