FCS have announced an updated version of the Restructuring Felling Guidance.

In view of the extreme weather conditions experienced at the beginning of this year FCS have reconsidered the closure date for allowing applications for Restructuring Felling grant for felling already carried out. The closure date for applying for this grant to cover felling carried out retrospectively will be 30th June 2010.

Some key points are:

i). As from 30th June 2010 FCS will no longer approve Restructuring Felling, if the felling has already been carried out (see 3d) With current snow & forest access difficulties there may be some concern from landowners and agents how this works especially where alternative felling sites are necessary to ensure continuity of timber supply. FCS have promised to fast track felling licence approvals but to ensure Restructuring Felling payments we would expect landowners and agents to follow the general approach in para 3b ie

Step 1: Apply for felling licence

Step 2: Apply for Regeneration Felling payment within RP (immediately after step 1 and while FCS is dealing with Felling Licence application)

Step 3: Once RP SoI has received Amber Feedback from Case Officer and you have your Felling Licence approved you can commence felling without negatively impacting your eligibility for Restructuring Felling payments.

ii). As from 4 April 2011, you must have an approved Forest Plan for restructuring felling and regeneration (see para 3c)

iii). Restructuring Felling and Regeneration payments will be based on gross area (see paras 2c and 3e)

Forestry Commission Scotland Guidance on Restructuring of Forests Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities

1.0 Introduction: This guidance explains how new proposals, and legacy scheme payments, for restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration will be handled under Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities from January 2010.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the following SRDP web based guidance:

Sustainable Management of Forests – restructuring felling

Woodland Improvement Grant – restructuring regeneration

2.0 Approved SFGS Forest Plans and Restructuring Payments:

a. Before you carry out the restocking You must first notify us about the restocking that you intend to carry out. To do this, send an SFGS/FP4 claim form with the details of the areas you would like to restock with a map that clearly shows these areas. We will compare these details with the Forest Plan and formally agree the proposals with you. Once we have done that, you can carry out the restocking and make a claim.

b. What you can claim If you have an approved Forest Plan then you can claim grant at a single grant rate per hectare equivalent to those currently available for restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration, under Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities. You can claim grant as a single capital payment following replanting or when natural regeneration physically occurs. The grant rates are:

*includes Sitka spruce produced by vegetative propagation from seeds derived from controlled pollination in ‘Parents of Families’ in the tested category.

^ Natural regeneration can only be claimed once the natural regeneration is established.

c. How to make your claim You must be IACS registered and so have been allocated a Business Reference Number. Send your completed SFGS/FP4 to your local Conservancy office with a map When we receive your claim, our Conservancy staff will check it in the normal way and may inspect the work. Once the claim is authorised for payment the data about the claim is shared with SGRPID who will validate the Business Reference Number and Field Identifiers and then cross check the claim against any other grants that are being claimed on the land. Advice is available about how to ensure your claim gets through these SGRPID checks: see Claiming Legacy grants (PDF 25k). If your claim successfully passes these checks then payment will be issued by SGRPID through the Scottish Executive Accounting System (SEAS). You should use the following Operation Codes on your claim form based on gross area (ie including any open ground up to 20%.)

3.0 New proposals coming forward through RDC-RP: a. Your application will be assessed in line with generic guidance for processing applications.

By-pass Statement of Intent - You may choose to bypass the Statement of Intent (Sol) but you must complete a Proposal in all cases. Guidance about this process is available on the Scottish Government website

Ongoing approval process - If your application is for forestry options only and under Regional Priorities 14, 21 or 23, are non contentious and has a total grant value of under £250k then we will use the Ongoing Approval process for your application. Guidance about this process is available on the Scottish Government website.

The two relevant RDC-RP options are:

• Sustainable Management of Forests – Restructuring felling

• Woodland Improvement Grant – Restructuring regeneration

You must submit a plan/felling licence map that indicates the proposed design of felling and replanting, with your Proposal b. In 2010, you will not require to have an approved Forest Plan as a prerequisite for the approval of restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration funding. The minimum planning requirement for Proposals will be good quality maps indicating both the timing of adjacent felling coupes and the design of the restructuring regeneration. You may start felling operations as soon as you have received;

• An approved felling licence, and

• SoI Feedback (if you choose to submit an SOI) from your case officer which relates specifically to Restructuring Felling and Regeneration Options for the area to be felled, or

• If you have opted to bypass an SOI, confirmation from your Case Officer that your ‘Submitted’ Proposals for Restructuring Felling and Regeneration options are acceptable Providing you have met these conditions, you will not prejudice your application for restructuring felling annual payments if you start felling operations.

c. From 4 April 2011, you must have an approved Forest Plan with any Proposals for restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration funding for all woodlands greater than 30 ha. This means that any new applications for restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration payments received from 4 April 2011 must be linked to an approved Forest Plan. The woodlands must be linked to a single Business Reference Number.

d. From 1 January 2010, we will not approve Restructuring Felling proposals if the felling has already been carried out. [up to this date, we had permitted such proposals to cover areas that had been felled prior to the RDC –RP being available]

e. Restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration payments will be based on gross areas ie includes open ground up to 20%. 4.0 Allocation of funding: FCS will, along with delivery partners RPID and SNH, undertake regular detailed monitoring of budget allocations and 'pipeline' expenditure commitments. If we anticipate a shortage of available funding for restructuring felling and restructuring regeneration we may adjust eligibility rules and payment rates so as to maximise the number of beneficiaries who can receive a contribution to the costs of restructuring. FCS will advertise any intention to adjust eligibility rules or payment rates on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Rural/SRDP/RuralPriorities

FCS Grants and Regulations January 2010