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

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
Supplementary guidance for a forest road and/or quarry project seeking an EIA Opinion in England
(PDF, 426KB, 16 pages)

You can find out more about the process with the:

• 
  EIA scoping guidance
  (PDF, 652KB, 31 pages)
  

• 
  EIA screening guidance
  (PDF, 942KB, 21 pages)
  
  if you’re applying for consent

Appeals

You can make a complaint or appeal against a Forestry Commission decision.

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

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:

• 
  EIA screening guidance
  (PDF, 942KB, 21 pages)
  

• 
  EIA scoping guidance
  (PDF, 652KB, 31 pages)
  
  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.

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

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:

• 
  EIA screening guidance
  (PDF, 942KB, 21 pages)
  

• 
  EIA scoping
  (PDF, 652KB, 31 pages)
  
  if you’re applying for consent

See additional advice on
EIA requirements for woodland creation
(PDF, 574KB, 20 pages)

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.

You may have to notify the Forestry Commission or ask for it’s opinion about environmental impact, depending on the scale and location of the forestry project you’re proposing. Once you’ve had a Forestry Commission response you may have to apply for consent. These formal processes are written into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations – see the overview guidance for general information on EIAs).

Notification

If your forestry project is for afforestation, small scale in nature and/or located within a low risk area you may simply be able to notify the Forestry Commission of your proposal, using the EIA enquiry form, in order to get it’s decision. Check the afforestation thresholds table to see if you’re eligible for this process, and which notification procedure would apply.

Opinion

For all other eligible forestry projects, the Forestry Commission will give an opinion on whether or not you, the applicant, must apply for consent to carry out any work. Below is the process for getting it’s opinion.

1. Bring your proposal together

When planning your project, you should use your own forestry experience or seek advice from a professional forestry agent, and should engage with local and statutory stakeholders who may have an interest in the land on which your project will lie, as required.

Gather information from on the site and from as many other sources as possible and use that information to design a UK Forestry Standard compliant forestry project. You should consider liaising with Natural England and the Environment Agency at this stage, and submit their comments along with your EIA enquiry application.

2. Complete an EIA enquiry form

Once your project proposal has been drawn together, complete the relevant EIA enquiry for your project(s).

3. Send your details to the Forestry Commission

Send your completed form with the following information/documentation to your local Forestry Commission admin office

• a map identifying the area and showing the extent of the project – this should be a clear Ordnance Survey map at a scale of 1:10,000 or 1:2,500
• information on the characteristics of the project and any likely significant effects on the environment – significant effects are specified in Appendix 2 of the
  EIA screening guidance
  (PDF, 942KB, 21 pages)
  
  document
• any other information or evidence that you have gathered and is relevant, eg species maps, plans, photographs etc, including a description of any features of the project or measures envisaged to avoid or prevent what might otherwise have been significant adverse effects on the environment

If the Forestry Commission reasonably requires further information in order to form an opinion, it will contact you. If, at any time, it becomes aware of proposals that require it’s consent, the Forestry Commission may give it’s opinion to the person whom it believes should have asked it.

4. When to expect an opinion decision

The Forestry Commission will only begin to form an opinion when all the relevant information has been received. If the Forestry Commission has asked you for more information, the process may take longer. It will normally form an opinion within 28 days of receiving all the relevant information, but in exceptional circumstances it may take longer than this period to form an opinion. If this is the case, the Forestry Commission will let you know in writing.

5. If consent is not required

If the Forestry Commission decides that consent is not required, it will inform you in writing.

6. If consent is required

If the Forestry Commission decides that consent for the work is required, it will inform you in writing. If you wish to progress with your project you will be required to produce an Environmental Statement and application for consent in order to get a decision about whether or not the work can proceed.

When the Forestry Commission publicises the decision

After notifying you of their decision, the Forestry Commission will publish the decision on a Public Register for 28 days. This will notify the public of the decision on your project.

Grant applications for EIA project types

If you’re applying for a Forestry Commission grant to deliver a EIA project type you may not be required to submit an EIA Enquiry Form, as the information provided in your grant application may meet the information requirements of the Enquiry Form.

Additionally you should note that grant applications take longer to assess than EIA projects, so the final EIA decision for Notification or Opinion won’t be given until the final grant offer is ready to be made. This may be significantly longer than 28 or 42 days.

Apply for consent

If the Forestry Commission decides your project has a significant impact on the environment, you must get its consent for the work before you start.

Your application will need to include an Environmental Statement and you will have to scope the project. For more help, read the
EIA scoping environmental statement guidance.
(PDF, 652KB, 31 pages)

The Forestry Commission is required to provide formal consent for certain ‘relevant projects’ under the EIA Regulations. The process for getting its consent is outlined below.

In most cases, the Forestry Commission would strongly advise applicants to proceed with the notification or application for our opinion, whichever is relevant, prior to submitting an application for consent. But if you’re certain that an application for consent is required, it’s possible to apply for consent without completing the previous steps.

1. Make preliminary enquiries

Speak to your local Forestry Commission woodland officer about your project and the need to apply for consent. They will help you to decide which countryside organisations may need to be involved with providing information that might help the preparation of the Environmental Statement.

2. Hold a scoping meeting

This meeting between you, the Forestry Commission, relevant countryside organisations, consultees and interested parties, such as neighbours, will help to identify the particular issues that the environmental statement must address.

3. Prepare an Environmental Statement (ES)

The purpose of an ES is to provide the Forestry Commission and other interested parties with as full an understanding of the consequences of the proposals as possible.

4. Prepare the application

You will need to include:

• a map showing the area where the project is proposed, and the extent of any planting, regeneration, constructions, works or operations – this should be a clear Ordnance Survey map at a scale of 1:10 000 or 1:2 500
• a description of the nature of the relevant project
• any other information that might be relevant e.g. species maps, plans, photographs etc
• the Environmental Statement for the work
• a copy of the publicity notice that you must place in newspapers (this should only be done once the ES has been finalised with the Forestry Commission)

Note: you may have already supplied some of this information if you’ve previously asked for the Forestry Commission opinion under the EIA regulations. This information can be reused to help inform your ES. You can also use other relevant and equivalent ES from other similar projects as part of your application for consent, rather than having to recreate the required evidence.)

5. Send the application

Send the documents to your local admin hub.

The Forestry Commission may ask for multiple copies of the application documents to send to appropriate consultees.

6. Publicise the ES and consult

• Once the Forestry Commission is satisfied that the ES addresses all the issues of concern as agreed at the scoping meeting then you must make a public notice.
• Place the public notice (advertisement) in local newspapers and/or electronically, as directed by the Forestry Commission. You’re responsible for the cost of this notice.
• Full details about the contents of the notice are given in the Environmental Impact Assessment of Forestry Projects.
• You must make copies of the application and the ES available in public places such as the local library, post office etc. The Forestry Commission will advise you about suitable locations.
• The Forestry Commission will give details of your application to the appropriate consultees and statutory bodies as well as the local authority with an interest in the application. They’re required to give us their comments within 30 days.
• Proposals to carry out new planting or felling will appear on the Register of New Planting and Felling.

7. The Forestry Commission responds

The Forestry Commission will respond with one of 3 possible decisions. You will either be:

• granted consent subject to the standard conditions (that the work must be started within 5 years from the date of consent and finished no later than 10 years from the date of consent)
• granted consent subject to the standard conditions (above) plus other additional conditions
• refused consent

8. The Forestry Commission publicises the decision

After notifying you and other interested parties about their decision, the Forestry Commission will advertise their decision in the same newspapers in which the notice of the application for consent was placed and will be responsible for the cost of this notice.

Appeals

You can make a complaint or appeal against a Forestry Commission decision.

Tree felling licence

It’s an offence to fell trees without a licence if an exemption does not apply. Full details are available in the booklet
Tree felling – getting permission
(PDF, 1.69MB, 8 pages)

.

Everyone involved in the felling of trees, the owner, agent and timber merchant or contractor must ensure that a licence has been issued before any felling is carried out, unless they are certain that one of the exemptions apply. If there’s no licence or other valid permission, or if the wrong trees are felled, anyone involved can be prosecuted.

You’re advised to engage with neighbours to make them aware of your tree felling plans.

UK Forestry Standard

The UK Forestry Standard sets out the UK government’s approach to sustainable forestry and woodland management, including standards and requirements, regulations and monitoring, and reporting. It applies to all woodland and woodland operations, regardless of who owns or manages it.

Register of Woodland Planting and Tree Felling

The Forestry Commission’s Register of Woodland Planting and Tree Felling gives details of proposed tree felling projects.

You can request more information on tree felling proposals that we’re consulting on, and you can submit comments on how the proposals may affect you during the consultation stage.

We also publish details of licences that have been issued.

Tree preservation order (TPO)

When you apply for a tree felling licence, you must inform the Forestry Commission if the trees to be felled are covered by a TPO or are in a conservation area.

A TPO is made by the local planning authority (LPA), usually a local council, to protect specific trees and areas of woodland from deliberate damage and destruction. You can contact your LPA to find out if a TPO applies to your proposed project, or if you’re in a Conservation area.

Find out more about when to contact the Forestry Commission about a TPO.

Woodland management plan

As a woodland owner or manager, you may need to consider creating a detailed woodland management plan that meets the standards and requirements set out in the UK Forestry Standard (see above). Within this plan you can detail long-term tree felling proposals and use the approved plan to apply for a felling licence for up to 10 years.

A woodland management plan will also support your applications for woodland funding under the Countryside Stewardship (CS) scheme and other grant funds as well.

Find out how to write a woodland management plan to support sustainable management of your woodland and apply for funding.

Environmental information map browsers

The Forestry Commission’s Land Information Search (LIS) is a map-based tool that allows you to search for information about land designations or features that might already apply to your land or affect your woodland management proposals. It also shows basic details of approved felling licenses and grant schemes.

Find out more about how to use the Land Information Search.

Natural England’s MAGIC map browser contains a greater range of environmental data and can provide further information on designations and issues that might affect your woodland or woodland management proposals.

Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI)

Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) are protected by law to conserve their wildlife, habitat or geology. Natural England can help identify if woodland you own or occupy is an SSSI – this is called being designated.

If you’re proposing tree felling on or near an SSSI and will need to apply for a felling licence, you should also complete a Supplementary Notice of Operations (SNO) to provide detailed information on how you will protect the SSSI interest while undertaking the tree felling.

Find out what you can do on or near an SSSI, when you’ll need consent for an activity and how Natural England and the Forestry Commission help you manage your woodland site of special scientific interest.

Scheduled monuments

If you plan to carry out work to any trees on a scheduled monument, you may need to obtain scheduled monument consent before you start works. Find out more about the licence you need.

You can use the Forestry Commission’s Land Information Search or Natural England’s MAGIC map to check if a scheduled monument restriction applies to your proposed project.

European protected species (EPS)

An EPS mitigation licence may be required from Natural England under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations (2017) if felling operations could adversely affect any EPS.

The majority of felling operations will be able to proceed without a mitigation licence even in the presence of EPS, providing that good practice guidance is followed.

Find out more about European Protected Species (EPS) restrictions in the guide on how to protect wildlife and habitats and apply for wildlife licences so you can legally operate in woodlands and forests.