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Detailed guide: Environmental Impact Assessments for woodland: overview
The Forestry Commission is responsible for administering the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999, as amended.
These regulations affect 4 forestry projects. These are:
- afforestation: creating new woodland, including by use of direct seeding or natural regeneration processes, planting of Christmas trees or planting of short rotation coppice
- deforestation: felling trees to use the land for a different purpose
- forest roads: the formation, alteration or maintenance of private ways on land used (or to be used) for forestry purposes, including roads within a forest or leading to one
- forestry quarries: quarrying to obtain materials required for forest roadworks on land that is used or will be used for forestry purposes, or on land held or occupied with that land
Forestry projects and thresholds
The regulations give each of these projects a range of area thresholds depending on sensitivity to environmental impact. Lower thresholds are given for projects that lie within sensitive areas, such as a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Use the threshold information to work out if you’re exempt from needing a Forestry Commission EIA decision all together or if you need:
- to give notification (basic or full)
- to get an opinion
The Forestry Commission will respond with a decision and you may need to apply for consent to carry out your work. Where you need a decision from the Forestry Commission, you must not carry out any work until you have received that decision.
Find out more about giving notification, requesting our opinion and applying for consent.
Each of the 4 projects have thresholds tables that the Forestry Commission uses to understand the scale of your work. You must check the thresholds table to work out if you need an EIA.
EIA enquiries
To help with our decision, we need you to complete an EIA enquiry form, along with a plan or map of the project area and any other relevant information that you’ve gathered about the site and from stakeholders.
The enquiry form to use will depend on whether the forestry project that you’re proposing involves creating new woodland, felling trees for deforestation, or working on roads and/or quarries – see the guidance listed above.
Notification
If your forestry project is afforestation (woodland creation), small scale in nature and/or located within a low risk area, you may simply be able to notify us of your proposal using the EIA enquiry form to get our decision.
Grant applications for woodland creation
If you’re applying for a Forestry Commission grant for woodland creation then you may not be required to submit an EIA Enquiry Form, as the information provided in your grant application may meet the Forestry Commission’s requirements to assess environmental impact.
Applying for consent
If our opinion is that the proposed project is a relevant project under the regulations, and that it will have a significant impact on the environment, then you must get our consent for the work before you start. Your application will need to include an Environmental Statement. You can find guidance on scoping and preparing an Environmental Statement below, under ‘Further information’.
In some cases, we may ask for more information before we can make this decision. The Forestry Commission will write to you detailing which information is required, and will wait for you to provide that information before proceeding with our decision.
Penalties and Enforcement Notices
If the Forestry Commission discovers that you’re carrying out work subject to EIA regulations without consent, or that you’ve breached the terms of a previously granted consent, we may serve an Enforcement Notice.
Who can be served an Enforcement Notice
An Enforcement Notice can be served on:
- the person carrying out the work, possibly the contractor
- the land owner
- any other people who have sufficient interest in the property (allowing them to carry out the work without the need to get permission from anyone else)
Further information
You can find out more about the process with the:
-
-
if you’re applying for consent
If you have any questions, you can contact your nearest Forestry Commission area office.
Detailed guide: Assess the environmental impact of work on roads or quarries in forests
The thresholds of projects for forestry roads and quarries are affected by the scale of the project and the sensitivity of the location for the road or quarry. Use the tables below to see which threshold your project falls into. You must apply for our opinion where your project requires EIA screening.
You may need to repair, improve or create new infrastructure through your woodland or across open land to reach your woodland, and you may need to quarry for materials to build that infrastructure.
You must check with your local planning authority to see if they will grant you permitted development rights for your infrastructure proposal. If they don’t grant permitted development, you may need to apply for planning permission. The local planning authority should assess all your infrastructure proposals when considering your planning application, and you shouldn’t need to ask the Forestry Commission for its opinion under the EIA Forestry regulations.
If they do grant permitted development, you need to check the thresholds table below to see if you’ll need the Forestry Commission’s opinion under the EIA Forestry regulations.
Forest road/quarries thresholds table
| Land type | Proposed project area | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The land, or part of the land, is in a sensitive area | Area of any size | Application for EIA opinion required |
| No part of the land is in a sensitive area | 1 hectare or less | No EIA required |
| No part of the land is in a sensitive area | More than 1 hectare | Application for EIA opinion required |
Use the Land Information Search (LIS) and other online map browsers, such as MAGIC.gov.uk to identify any designations or sensitivities that may be affected by the project. The sensitivities will determine the particular area threshold that must be used.
Getting our opinion and applying for consent
If you do not qualify for an exemption or notification then you must apply to the Forestry Commission for our opinion. Your afforestation project may have impacts on the environment which, when seeking our opinion, will highlight the need for our consent to be given before the project can commence.
See the overview guidance on EIAs for general information about EIAs, or find out more about getting our opinion and consent.
Send your form to your local admin hub.
EIAs grant applications for forest roads and or quarries
If you’re applying for a grant to enable forestry roads or quarries, you should not start any work until you have received an EIA determination on your deforestation proposal.
Further information
You can find more information about EIAs for work on roads and quarries in forests in the
You can find out more about the process with the:
-
-
if you’re applying for consent
Appeals
You can make a complaint or appeal against a Forestry Commission decision.
Detailed guide: Assess environmental impact before felling trees
You may intend to fell trees to use land for a different purpose, for example, open habitat restoration.
The thresholds of projects for felling woodland to use the land for a different purpose are affected by the scale of the project and the sensitivity of the location in which tree felling is to take place. Use the table below to see which threshold your project falls into. You must apply for our opinion where your project requires EIA screening.
Tree felling thresholds table
| Scale of project | Sensitive area: not an AONB/NP | Sensitive area: AONB/NP only | Not within a sensitive area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1ha or more | Full EIA screening | Full EIA screening | Full EIA screening |
| 0.5ha to 1ha | Full EIA screening | Full EIA screening | No EIA required |
| Less than 0.5ha | Full EIA screening | No EIA required | No EIA required |
Use the [Land Information Search (LIS])(/government/admin/detailed-guides/827362)
and other online map browsers such as MAGIC.gov.uk to identify any designations or sensitivities that may be affected by the project. The sensitivities will determine the particular area threshold you must use.
Converting woodlands to open habitats
You also need to complete the Convert woodland to Open Habitats application form, providing information on why this project is important, and where, when required, you will plant compensatory woodland. See the Get consent to convert woodland to open habitat guide.
Getting opinion and consent
See the overview guidance on EIAs for general information about EIAs, or find out more about getting our opinion and consent.
If you’re applying for a grant to enable deforestation, you mustn’t start any work until you have received an EIA determination on your deforestation proposal.
Send your form to your local admin hub.
Penalties
If you carry out work that would have required our consent and have not received it, or breach the conditions of a consent we have given, the regulations allow us to issue an Enforcement Notice, which will require you to rectify the breach of the regulations.
Failure to comply with an Enforcement Notice carries a penalty on conviction of an unlimited fine.
Further information
You can find out more about the process with the:
-
-
if you’re applying for consent
If you have any questions, you can contact your nearest Forestry Commission area office.
Appeals
You can make a complaint or appeal against a Forestry Commission decision.
Detailed guide: Assess environmental impact before you create new woodland
Woodland creation means work that involves direct seeding or natural regeneration processes, planting Christmas trees or planting short rotation coppice.
The thresholds of projects to create new woodland are affected by the scale of the project and the sensitivity of the location in which the project is to take place. Use the table below to see which threshold your project falls into. You must apply for our opinion where your project requires EIA screening, or you may simply be able to notify us of your project instead. For very small proposals away from sensitive locations, you could be exempt from assessment by the Forestry Commission.
Afforestation thresholds table
| Project Size (Ha) | Land type – sensitivity | EIA requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 0ha – 2ha | A sensitive area but not a National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) | Full EIA screening |
| 0ha – 2ha | Everywhere else | No EIA screening |
| 2ha – 5ha | Any sensitive area | Full EIA screening |
| 2ha – 5ha | Everywhere else | (Prior) basic notification |
| 5ha – 50ha | Only in a low risk area | (Prior) full notification |
| 5ha – 50ha | Everywhere else | Full EIA screening |
| >50ha | Everywhere else | Full EIA screening |
Notification
If your forestry project is afforestation (woodland creation), small scale in nature and/or located within a low risk area then you may simply be able to notify us of your proposal (giving a basic or full notification) using the EIA Enquiry Form to get our decision.
This process gives specific timescales in which the Forestry Commission must give you a decision. However, if you’re also applying for a woodland creation grant from the Forestry Commission then you will not receive the decision for a Notification until the Forestry Commission has made a decision on the grant offer.
About prior basic notification
For afforestation projects between 2 and 5 hectares in non-sensitive areas, prior basic notification will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements under the EIA Regulations. Use the Land Information Search (LIS) and other online map browsers such as MAGIC.gov.uk to identify any designations or sensitivities that may be affected by the project.
When you submit prior basic notification to the Forestry Commission, you must include:
- a description of the proposal for the project
- a map or plan sufficient to identify the land that is the subject of the proposed project (including its boundaries)
- information about the proposer and any agent or manager of the proposer
Within 28 days of first giving us notification, we may ask you to give further information. If you don’t get an assessment from the Forestry Commission within 28 days then you can assume that the project is unlikely to have significant effects on the environment and no further action will then be required under the EIA Regulations.
About prior full notification
For afforestation projects between 5 and 50 hectares that are fully within low risk areas, prior full notification will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements under the EIA Regulations. Use the Land Information Search (LIS) and other online map browsers such as MAGIC.gov.uk to identify any designations or sensitivities that may be affected by the project.
Full notification submitted to the Forestry Commission on the EIA enquiry form must include:
- a description of the proposals for the project, including evidence that the proposals are consistent with good forestry practice
- information about the land that the project covers or affects, including a map or plan sufficient to identify the land and its boundaries, habitats and water features
- information about the proposer and any agent or manager of the proposer
It must also include evidence that the proposer has consulted on the project with (for example):
- the person responsible for maintaining the Local Environment Records for the area (in respect of biodiversity)
- the Environment Agency (in respect of the possible impact of the project on any water features)
- the relevant local authority (in respect of the possible impact of the project on the landscape)
- the person responsible for maintaining the Historic Environment Records for the area (in respect of the possible impact of the project on the historic environment)
- any potentially affected neighbours
Within 42 days of first giving us notification, we may ask you to give further information. If you don’t get an assessment from the Forestry Commission within 42 days then you can assume that the project is unlikely to have significant effects on the environment. No further action will then be required under the EIA Regulations.
Send your form to the FC admin hub
EIAs and grant applications for woodland creation
If you’re applying for a Forestry Commission grant then you may not be required to submit a separate EIA enquiry form, as the information in your grant application may meet the Forestry Commission’s requirements to assess environmental impact.
Getting our opinion and applying for consent
If you do not qualify for an exemption or notification then you must apply to the Forestry Commission for our opinion. Your afforestation project may have impacts on the environment which, when seeking our opinion, will highlight the need for our consent to be given before the project can begin.
See the overview guidance on EIAs for general information about EIAs, or find out more about getting our opinion and consent.
Further information
You can find out more about the process with the:
-
-
if you’re applying for consent
See additional advice on
If you have any questions, you can contact your nearest Forestry Commission area office.
Appeals
You can make a complaint or appeal against a Forestry Commission decision.