The Forestry Commission is a government department whose main functions are to manage most of the forestry land owned by the government and to regulate the UK’s privately owned forests and woodlands.    It also has a significant research branch headquartered at Alice Holt on the Surrey/Hampshire border.  The Commission was set up in 1919 after the First World War with the twin aims of developing a reliable source of timber and creating employment in the forestry sector.

The national FC headquarters are in Edinburgh and is run by a Board of Commissioners.  The structure has always been very regional but this has become more devolved into the super-regions of FC England, FC Wales and FC Scotland.

For owners of small woodlands the Forestry Commission can help in two main ways:

-         they give advice and support and have recently become much more supportive of management for conservation objectives and the Commission’s managers are now more supportive of woodland ownership for enjoyment;

-         they are responsible for the grant regime.  This used to be based around “Woodland Grant Schemes” but these are being replaced by schemes reflecting the FC’s devolved structure such as the “English Woodland Grant Scheme”.  The Forestry Commission also has an involvement in grants relating to Farm Woodland Grants - which are payments for planting and maintaining trees on land previously used for farming.

The Forestry Commission is responsible for regulating woodlands and specifically controlling felling.  Within certain limits some minor felling can be carried out without permission (as long as there is no Tree Preservation Order on a woodland) but for larger areas the woodland owner needs permission of the Forestry Commission.  This can come in two forms – either through a Woodland Grant Scheme, which includes the felling as part of the planned and agreed operations, or separately through a felling licence. Felling licences are usually granted with conditions to restock the cleared land.

It is very much the objective of the Forestry Commission to increase woodland cover and in this they have been quite successful.  From tree cover of around 5% in 1900, the percentage of land under woodland has increased to over 11% today.  However much of that increase has been the planting of coniferous crops and the pressure to plant more agricultural land has at times in the past been quite intense.  For example in the 1950s many Welsh farmers were asked to sell their land to the Forestry Commission for planting or face compulsory purchase.  Much of the land that was sold in this way was sold on long leases usually for 199 or 999 years.  This is the origin of most forestry land that is held on a leasehold title.

About a third of the UK’s woodland is owned by the government and much of that is Forestry Commission land. However the Forestry Commission’s holdings are heavily skewed towards Scotland and 60% of their land is there.  It is also true that the vast majority of FC trees are conifers but they do have 90,000 hectares of broadleaves.

The FC’s management objectives include public access and conservation but the Commission is extremely interested in timber production.  Overall, including private woodlands, the FC anticipates that UK production will increase from about 10 million cubic metres in 1999 to about 15 million cubic metres in 2015.  This would meet almost 25% of the UK’s demand for timber.

 As a woodland owner you are most likely to come across a “Woodland Officer” who is responsible for privately owned woodlands in your area.  This may be arranged if you plan to put in an application for a Woodland Grant Scheme.  The person you meet will have a forestry qualification and will almost always be very supportive.  Their principal purpose, in line with the FC’s aims, is to increase timber production, but as field officers they can share experience of many different woodlands in your area, which can be extremely useful.  They may also know from first-hand experience some of the history of your particular woodland.  Definitely try to meet the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Officer if he or she can make time to come out to see you in your woodland.  Sometimes they like to meet several owners of small woodlands in one visit and that can also be a good way of meeting neighbours and harmonising management plans.