Morewoods agreement
All MOREwoods planters must sign an agreement and pay their contribution towards the new woodland before receiving their trees.
The agreement must be signed by the landowner or long-term tenant to confirm they have permission to plant the trees. The agreement will be based on the advice and recommendations discussed with you on your site visit and will outline:
- the cost to be paid by, or on behalf of, the landowner.
- the cost being funded by the Woodland Trust.
- the location that has been agreed for the new woodland.
- the materials that will be supplied by the Woodland Trust including the agreed trees and any tree protection. Please note that tree species may change due to availability and the Trust reserves the right to do this.
- the requirement for the recipient to provide an appropriate delivery location, be available to receive delivery, and report any issues with the materials to the Woodland Trust within 48 hours of the delivery date.
- where the landowner has agreed to plant the trees themselves, the expectations on the landowner to plant the trees within one week of delivery, OR where the Trust is organising a contractor to plant the trees on behalf of the landowner, the requirement for the landowner to have Public Liability Insurance in place.
- the expectations on the landowner to use their best endeavours to maintain the woodland and achieve at least an 80% survival rate after 10 years.
- the expectation that no activities will be carried out on the agreed location that could result in loss or damage to trees or shrubs funded through MOREwoods.
- the requirement that the agreed location is maintained as woodland for 30 years.
- the obligation on the landowner to give access to Woodland Trust staff or contractors to the site for the purpose of inspecting the condition of the trees provided at least 7 days’ notice is given.
- the agreement that the applicant will not sell any carbon rights for the Project Site unless they do so via the Government’s Woodland Carbon Code.
Frequently asked questions
All landowners wishing to participate in MOREwoods will be asked to sign a contract with the Woodland Trust including the need to commit to the care and management of the trees for at least 30 years as part of the ambitions of the UK to reach net carbon zero by 2050.
As a charity we have to ensure that we are spending our funders’ and supporters’ money wisely, supporting trees that will be in the ground for a long time.
That’s not a problem, you’ll just need to let your solicitor know about the MOREwoods agreement in place on that part of your land. Your solicitor should share this with the new owner and the new owner will need to get in touch with us to confirm they will take on any remaining requirements on the agreement.
The Woodland Trust will work with the landowner to identify what maintenance has already been carried out and advise on future maintenance that might be required. Provided appropriate measures have been taken by the landowner the Trust may support by providing replacement trees. These would only be provided once during the course of the agreement and are normally 50% funded by the Woodland Trust, with the landowner paying the remaining 50%.
In rare cases, if the Woodland Trust finds the low survival rates are due to a landowner completely breaching their obligations, then we retain the right to ask the landowner to compensate the Woodland Trust for some, or all, of its financial contribution to their MOREwoods project. Each situation would be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances and in discussion with the landowner.
Your advisor will be able to share any particular concerns with you based on your particular site, but a common example would be permitting livestock to enter the planted area. This does not include poultry provided the trees are adequately protected – something that can be discussed during your site visit.
Landowners can sell the carbon from their MOREwoods project but have to do so in line with the official scheme, the Woodland Carbon Code. Further information is available at www.woodlandcarboncode.org.uk. Any carbon sold would not be associated with the Woodland Trust.
The Woodland Trust requires access to the project site for the term in order to inspect the planted trees and ensure the terms of the agreement are being met. As a charity, the Trust is under an obligation to its funding partners and supporters to ensure the trees are established. We also use any inspections as an opportunity to monitor the success of our support and identify if we can make improvements going forward to ensuring our charitable funds are correctly spent.
Not all sites are inspected and we ensure all visits are pre-arranged with the landowner with at least 7 days’ notice.
No, planning permission is not required for new woodland planting – although you might need planning permission if you plan, for example, to dig a new pond in your wood. In some circumstances consents do need to be gained and/or consultations are needed. For example in certain situations you may require an Environmental Impact Assessment, equally the Environment Agency should be involved if planning new woods in floodplains or close to main rivers. Whilst the Trust will advise on any consents required it is not responsible for gaining such consents.
If the Woodland Trust finds that a landowner has breached their obligations then we retain the right to ask the landowner to compensate the Woodland Trust for some, or all, of its financial contribution to their MOREwoods project. Each situation would be considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances and in discussion with the landowner.
Where the Woodland Trust is organising a contractor to plant trees we ask that landowners arrange adequate public liability insurance for the duration of the planting and maintenance work. This is to ensure that both the landowner and the Trust (as the organiser of the works) are covered in the event of an accident on site. The public liability insurance held by the contractor covers only the public on the project site, not the contractor(s) working on the project site. You can purchase this through a major insurance provider or arrange through a broker.