Forestry Commission Wales is providing new grants to replant woodlands that have been cleared in the ongoing fight against ramorum disease of larch.
Landowners who have been issued with a Statutory Plant Health Order to fell infected trees are eligible for the new funding.
The grants will help with the cost of restocking with trees and replacing boundary fences to protect the newly planted areas from damage by wildlife and livestock.
Rachel Chamberlain, Grants and Regulations Operations Manager, Forestry Commission Wales, said, “Ramorum disease causes extensive damage and mortality to trees and we are determined to minimise its impact on woodlands and the forest industry.
“Larch is an important timber tree in Wales and those woodlands affected by ramorum disease have a vital role to play in the country’s sustainable development and economic future.
“We are supporting owners to replace crops that have been felled to assure the future supply of timber and to maintain tree cover in Wales.”
The grant rates for restocking range from £500 per hectare to £2000 per hectare depending on the type of trees planted.
So far, the majority of the outbreaks of ramorum disease of larch have been on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate but there have also been eight outbreaks in private woodlands in Wales.
The only way to prevent the disease’s spread is to fell infected trees to kill the living plant material on which the Phytophthora ramorum pathogen depends.
For more information about the grants, contact the Grants and Regulations Technical Services Team on 0300 068 0300 or [email protected].
Further information about ramorum disease can be found on the Forestry Commission’s website at www.forestry.gov.uk/pramorum.
