My little plot is a meadow and orchard in England (100 metres from the border with Wales).
As it's not really a woodland, I haven't bothered with any statutory or Forestry Commission related aspects to trees - it is however on the Rural Land Register with the Rural Payments Agency, has an agricultural number and I have a personal identifier for SFP.
All of the above will be familiar to anyone who has gone through the various incarnations of Woodland Grant Schemes, as part of the qualifying aspects and traceability or Single Farm Payment aspects.
Nearly twenty years ago I was involved with a group in North Wales that acquired an ex-FC clear felled spruce plantation of 30 acres and went about replanting broadleaf native species under one of the early grant schemes. That all went very well, with a public engagement and educational activity aspect (we set up as a small educational charitable trust).
Until recently, most land designation schemes could be viewed on the Government 'Magic Map and even zoom down to the type of woodland grant scheme and the 'item' identity when zooming in on the map.
I believe the Forestry Commission publicly viewable / searchable online maps used the same datasets.
I'm now looking at a young woodland near to me, but across the border in Wales.
Magic Map http://www.magic.gov.uk/ is England only for forestry schemes and the new 'Natural Resources Wales' pages refer back to a Forestry Commission web map tool that ominously cautions that it is an interim measure http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-8A9FPS
Anyway, background research aside, the potential vendor had a Woodland Grant Scheme 3 for planting a few fields. This is now known a 'Better Woods for Wales. The new woodland from around 2006 was part of a larger farm and leisure landscape scheme as part of diversification etc.
The woodland and its management plan, is now potentially surplus to the farm business and if it is sold, I understand that the vendor and purchaser may agree to disregard the Woodland Grant Scheme obligations, with any appropriate repayment or cessation acknowledged with the appropriate WGS forms back to the Forestry Commission (or Natural Resources Wales in this case).
My understanding is if WGS form 9 to transfer obligations is not completed and returned within 3 months, then the scheme ceases anyway and cannot be transferred (again with any appropriate repayment)?
From what I can see from publicly viewable information, for the plot that might become available, WGS3 shows a start of 2006 and end of 2011.
Before I commit to hours of chasing the vendor for documents to view and then (if I commit to buy) hoping that the various solicitors don't bill us for hours of chasing each other and the FC / NWS for the same info - should the 'start and end' dates be interpreted as the duration of the WGS3 grant period.
(Because it was a farm scheme amongst other farm business diversification, it was done under contract with a woodland management company).
I get the impression from conversation with the vendor that is was created as a package and with the idea of 'creating' a woodland rather than a long term strategy. For myself, it is attractive as a mixed young woodland with potential for selective coppicing / coppice work and apart from specimens that may require a felling licence if their size is such, then if the WGS3 has come to its end in 2011m then potentially a relatively young woodland with a flexible future management outlook...
