Managing and maintaining woodlands: overview
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-22)

Find information on sustainable woodland management in England, including funding to maintain your woodland, and regulations you need to follow.

Create a woodland management plan

The first step to managing your woodland sustainably is to establish what your objectives are. Do you want to focus on timber production, nature conservation or climate change adaptation? Perhaps you want to manage your woodland for all of these and more.

A woodland management plan (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/create-a-woodland-management-plan) provides a structured way to plan and organise the sustainable management of woodland to a common industry standard.

Funding for woodland maintenance

There are a number of grants and incentives to support the maintenance of established woodlands and the creation of management plans.

The woodland management plan grant (Countryside Stewardship) offers funds to farmers and land managers to produce a woodland management plan that meets the UK Forestry Standard (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-forestry-standard).

Find out more about the woodland management plan grant (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/woodland-management-plan-grants-2024).

You may also be eligible for other capital grants (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-capital-grants-plan).

Regulations for woodland management

If you own a woodland, you’ll have to follow the rules on:
- tree felling licences (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-felling-overview)
- tree health, pest and disease control (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-health-legislation)
- Environmental Impact Assessments for woodlands (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/environmental-impact-assessments-for-woodland)
- woodland species and habitats protection (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-and-protect-woodland-wildlife)
- importing and exporting wood and timber products (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/importing-and-exporting-wood-and-timber-products)
Useful guides for woodland management

Managing ancient and native woodland in England

Read about managing ancient and native woodland in England (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-ancient-and-native-woodland-in-england). This provides good practice guidance on woodland management and planning, including species conservation, for owners of ancient and native woodland.

Managing semi-natural woodland

Managing semi-natural woodland in England (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61a78df6e90e07043c35f48a/Managing_semi-natural_woodland_in_England.pdf) (PDF, 934 KB, 36 pages) includes information on the need for management, harvesting, weeding, tending and thinning, tree regeneration, grazing and pest control.

Managing woodlands in a climate emergency

Managing England’s woodlands in a climate emergency (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-englands-woodlands-in-a-climate-emergency) will help you plan, plant and manage your woodlands appropriately for both current, and future climates. The guide supports foresters, farmers and landowners to adapt their woodlands to the impacts of our changing climate.

Visit Forest Research’s Climate Change Hub (https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/climate-change/) for information and guidance on protecting our woodlands and forests from the impacts and risks due to the changing climate.

Woodland management resources

Tree planting and woodland creation resources (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-planting-and-woodland-creation-resources) has a list of expert guides, including sourcing biosecure trees, how to protect young trees and ongoing managing woodland.

Habitats and species protection

Diverse forests and woodlands contribute to the sustainability of the wider landscape. The conservation of biodiversity is therefore an essential part of sustainable forest management.

Learn How to benefit priority habitats and species biodiversity (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-benefit-species-and-habitats-biodiversity-in-your-woodland) in your woodland, and find out about the value of ancient and native woodland, and when to remove trees to restore open habitats.

You must also plan how to manage threats to your woodland such as:
- tree pests and diseases (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tree-pests-and-diseases)
- destructive animals and invasive species (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-threats-to-woodland-destructive-animals-invasive-species)
Managing people in woodlands

Woodlands provide space for recreation and improve people’s health and wellbeing. Access to woodlands gives people a chance to learn about forests and woodland management, and recreation can provide opportunities for business diversification.

Read our guides on Managing people and public access in your woodland (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-people-and-public-access-in-your-woodland).

If you have legal rights of public access to your woodland, you must manage these appropriately (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-rights-of-way-landowner-responsibilities). By maintaining paths, tracks, and signage, you can also help people to access your woodland in a way that supports other management objectives, such as habitat and species protection, and timber harvesting.

The Woodland Condition Assessment (WCA) app

You can download the Woodland Condition Assessment app to get results on the ecological condition of your woodland. This will help you assess your woodland’s condition in a standardised way, and it incorporates new rules on Biodiversity Net Gain, and other legislation.

Learn more about the WCA app and training courses (https://www.field-studies-council.org/woodland-condition-assessments/).