Historic treescapes grant

This grant provides up to 100% funding for tree planting projects to restore trees that have been lost since the 1890 Ordnance Survey.

With this grant we want to improve the natural beauty, habitat connectivity, and resilience of our countryside.

The funding is only for projects within Dover district at the moment, but we may expand the eligible area in the future.

Our project officers can support your application and your eventual planting projects. We can advise on:

• location suitability
• tree species choice
• planting techniques
• protection approaches.

Email treegrant@kent.gov.uk if you have any questions.

How the fund can help

The grant will pay for the trees, materials, protection, and labour of non-woodland planting projects.

The grant could cover the restoration of historic:

• hedgerows
• hedgerow maiden trees
• in-field trees
• orchards
• parkland trees
• small, wooded areas (copses or spinneys) less than 0.2 hectares in size.

We can fund the planting of any species listed on the English Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) species list, which include common traditional orchard species such as:

• apple
• damson
• hazel
• pear
• plum
• walnut.

We are more likely to fund the planting of smaller trees (whips or feathers), rather than larger trees, as they are more likely to establish well with less maintenance.

However we will judge each application on a case-by-case basis and we understand there may be circumstances where bigger trees would be more appropriate.

The grant will not cover Unsuitable projects such as creation of new woodland greater than 0.2 hectares in size and extension of an existing woodland.

Application guidance

Who can apply

Funding is only available for projects within the border of Dover district.

You must either own the land you wish to plant trees on, or have written permission from the landowner.

The planting location must be based in the countryside, rather than urban or town settings, and must be free of any of the following designations:

• Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
• Local and National Nature Reserves
• Priority Habitat Inventory sites
• RAMSAR sites
• SACs
• Scheduled Monuments
• SPAs
• SSSIs
• Wooded areas (National Forest Inventory sites).

Before you apply

We suggest you check if your proposed planting area is an eligible location.

There are 2 ways to check the area's eligibility:

Use DEFRA's online map tool.

You can compare modern satellite imagery with historic Ordnance Survey maps to find where trees have been lost since 1890.

The mapping tool is not suitable for users of assistive technology and may be difficult to use for those with fine motor control impairment.

Or, email treegrant@kent.gov.uk to check the area for you, or call 03000 41 83 14.

Apply

We are temporarily pausing this scheme, check back soon for further updates.

We’ll review applications as we receive them until our funding runs out. Applications will close no later than January 2025. If you are unable to complete the application form, email treegrant@kent.gov.uk or call 03000 41 83 14.

After you apply

Assessment

We'll review applications on a first come, first served basis, until our allocated funding runs out.

We consider your application date to be when you first made contact with us, regardless of how long it takes us to confirm a location's suitability.

We'll aim to contact you within 5 days of your application to discuss your proposal in more detail.

We will consider value for money in our assessment and final decision. We may offer to partially fund projects we consider too expensive.

Payment

If your application is successful, you'll need to complete planting and provide us with invoices by February 2025.

The process for submitting invoices will be confirmed as part of your assessment.

We will pay grants in arrears before the end of the 2024 to 2025 financial year.