Funding available to Upper Tier Local Authorities in England for the additional staff / consultants required to accelerate plans for tree and woodland planting.

The £8 million Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund (WCAF) is designed to provide financial support to increase the capacity of specialist skills within local authorities enabling them in turn to accelerate the delivery of tree planting and woodland creation commitments.

The overall objective of the fund is to enable more trees planted particularly in winter seasons 2023/24 and 2024/25.

The WCAF is a revenue only fund (funding new staff and/or consultants). The Commission would expect typical applications to seek funding for new posts such as woodland creation officers, community engagement posts, project officers, specialist consultants or a blend of these.

All upper tier authorities (county councils, unitary councils, London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, combined authorities) are eligible to apply.

Individual authorities can apply for up to £150,000 in total – split over two financial years (this funding is based on the typical salary costs of two suitably qualified FTEs). Where authorities are working together in partnership, the ceiling for grant support is up to a total of £300,000.

The deadline for applications is 8 July 2022.

How To Apply

Expressions of Interest (EoI) must be submitted online via Defra’s e-portal system by the deadline.

The deadline for applications is 8 July 2022 (5pm).

For more information, visit the GOV UK website.